This week, the House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on what they are calling the radicalization of American Muslims. The hearing, hosted by chairman of the committee, Representative Peter King (D-NY), is tasked with investigating the threat posed by homegrown Muslim terrorists. “At this stage in our history, there is an effort to radicalize elements within the Muslim community,” Rep. King said on CNN’s “State of the Union” this weekend. There has been an outcry by Muslim Americans criticizing the congressional committee for signaling out the Muslim community as posing a threat to the country. Is it a worthwhile exploration of the issues or a witch hunt? On Sunday, more than 500 protesters gathered in New York City’s Time Square in opposition to the hearing. And one of the only two Muslims in the Congress, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) has compared the hearing to a modern-day witch hunt.
We talk with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, founder and chairman of the Cordoba Initiative – the group behind the plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero.