King's hearings: barking up the wrong tree

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, will begin holding hearings Thursday on "the extent of the radicalization of American Muslims." Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has characterized the hearings as "a witch hunt." Are they? King also has said he believes the "self-radicalization" of American Muslims represents "a very small minority" of the overall community. What are the potential consequences of singling out one religious group? According to a study by the Triangle Center on Terrorism, there have been 120 cases of American Muslims charged with committing or conspiring to commit an act of terrorism since 2001. That's approximately ten a year. Given the American Muslim population is... [via Washingtonpost]