NY Congressman Says 'Too
Many Mosques' in US
Washington, DC: The Council
on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called on Muslims
and other people of conscience to ask Republican leaders to
repudiate remarks by Rep. Peter King (R-NY) in which he said
"we have too many mosques in this country."
CAIR also asked that Americans of all faiths contact Republican
presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani and urge him to drop
King and commentator Daniel Pipes as campaign advisors because
of their extremist and Islamophobic views and comments.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has already condemned
Rep. King's statements, calling them "deplorable."
CAIR said both King and Pipes have a long history of rhetorical
hostility to the American Muslim community and to the protection
of civil liberties.
In a recent interview, Rep. King said: "Unfortunately,
we have too many mosques in this country. There are too many
people who are sympathetic to radical Islam. We should be
looking at them more carefully. We should be finding out how
we can infiltrate . . . I think there's been a lack of full
cooperation from too many people in the Muslim community.
And it's a real threat here in this country."
SEE: Rep. King: "Too many mosques..."
King, who is on Giuliani's Homeland Security Advisory Board,
has in the past claimed that the vast majority of mosques
in his state and nationwide are being run by "radicals"
and called for racial profiling of Muslims in airports. He
said: "I think it is time to end political correctness.
To me, if a person is of Middle Eastern descent it is legitimate
for the screener to ask more questions."
In 2004, King said that "85 percent" of American
Muslim community leaders are "an enemy living amongst
us" and that "no (American) Muslims" cooperate
in the war on terror. He made these claims despite the fact
that American Muslims have consistently condemned terrorism
and work to protect national security.
In a 2003 interview with The Minaret magazine, FBI Director
Robert Mueller said: "I would like to thank the Muslim
Americans for their support on the war against terrorism and
working with the FBI around the country as well as state and
local law enforcement
. . . "
SEE: CAIR's Anti-Terrorism Campaigns
(Note: King has taken political donations from members of
a New York mosque he claims is a hotbed of radicalism. An
article in Newsday stated: "Rep. Peter King is attempting
to link his political opponent to men he calls 'radical' Muslim
leaders on Long Island, but federal records show the congressman
accepted thousands of dollars last year in campaign contributions
from some of the same donors.")
Daniel Pipes has long been regarded by Muslims and other observers
as one of America's leading Islamophobes. In 2001, Pipes claimed
the "presence" and "enfranchisement" of
American Muslims present "true dangers to American Jews."
Pipes recently renewed a call to "raze" Palestinian
villages from which anti-Israeli attacks are launched.
SEE: Giuliani Advisor: Raze Palestinian Villages (Harpers)
In 2004, Pipes said he supported the widely repudiated internment
of Japanese-Americans. He wrote: "Yes, I do support the
internment of Japanese Americans in World War II." He
has also stated that the views of far-right French racist
Jean-Marie Le Pen "represent an important outlook in
the national debate over immigration and Islam."
Like King, Pipes supports racial and religious profiling of
Muslims and Arabs.
"We call on Republican leaders and other people of conscience
to repudiate Representative King's bigoted remarks and to
support the civil and religious rights of all Americans,"
said CAIR National Legislative Director Corey Saylor. "We
also urge Rudy Giuliani to send a clear message that he will
not tolerate Islamophobia or other types of fear-mongering
by dropping Peter King and Daniel Pipes from his campaign."
CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad applauded the DNC statement
repudiating King's remarks. "The type of Islamophobic
rhetoric used by King and Pipes promotes an atmosphere in
which ordinary American Muslims face bias or even violent
attacks," said Awad.
Awad noted that just this week, CAIR called on the FBI to
investigate an attack on a Muslim businesswoman in King's
own district as a hate crime. The Muslim owner of a nail and
facial salon was beaten Saturday in what local police are
calling a bias attack. Anti-Muslim slurs were scrawled on
mirrors in the salon.
SEE: FBI Asked to Probe Bias Attack on NY Muslim (CAIR)
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