Landmark Civil Rights Hearing Reprimands Recent Rise In Anti-Muslim Bigotry

By Anna Cameron

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) chaired the first-ever Congressional hearing on the civil rights of American Muslims Tuesday, a response to a charted rise in discrimination over the past year.

“This is a hearing that we need to have, quite frankly,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who also sits on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights Subcommittee. “[Freedom of religion] means that I have to stand up for your right to pursue your religion, because if I don’t stand up for your right, you wont stand up for mine.”

In his opening statement, Sen. Durbin spoke out against rising instances of discriminatory attacks on Muslims, including claims that there exist “too many mosques” in America, and that Islam is “wicked” and “evil.”

“Those who use this type of rhetoric, who burn Qurans and who engage in other forms of bigotry and discrimination may be few in number, but their bigoted conduct and remarks violate the spirit of our Bill of Rights,” said Sen. Durbin.

Adding to the Senators’ remarks were the testimonies of Muslim civil rights leader Farhana Khera, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez and former Assistant Attorney General Alex Acosta.

“While nearly a decade has passed since 9/11, we continue to see a steady stream of violence and discrimination targeting Muslim…communities,” noted Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez. “In each city and town… I have been struck by the sense of fear that pervades their lives - fear of violence, of bigotry and hate.”

Perez asserted that the Department of Justice continues to work to protect American Muslims from hate crimes as well as other forms of injustice, including employment discrimination, education discrimination, limits on the use of land for religious purposes and denied access to public facilities.

Though Sen. Graham emphasized the importance of the protection of religious freedoms, he stressed that attention be paid to the increasing threat of domestic Islamist radicalization.

“The front lines of this war are in our own…neighborhoods,” Graham said. “To the American Muslim community: I will stand with you as you practice your religion and you exercise your rights under the Constitution, but I am asking you to get in this fight as a community.”

The hearing comes less than three weeks after Rep. Peter King’s (R-N.Y.) controversial hearing on Islamic radicalization.

New Poll Shows Obama Ratings Down As Mosque Controversy Lingers

A new poll released Monday showed that the ongoing debate regarding Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf’s proposed mosque and cultural center two blocks from New York City’s Ground Zero is skewing the public’s opinion of President Barack Obama and how he has handled the situation.

Nine years after the September 11 attacks, public sentiment towards Islam remains relatively low with only 38 percent of voters having favorable opinions of Islam, the poll found. Fifty percent of voters, however, perceive mainstream Islam as a peaceful religion, rather than an ideology which encourages violence to non-Muslims.

Although the Quinnipiac University National Poll found that 70 percent of Americans believe that the Muslim group has the right to continue with building the Mosque, 63 percent of voters say it’s wrong to do so.

Controversy over the Mosque’s construction stirred up radical opposition among some Americans. Florida Pastor Terry Jones threatened to assemble a Quran burning rally during this weekend’s 9/11 anniversary, ultimately canceling it after receiving warnings from the White House and Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

The controversy has taken its toll on the public’s perception of President Barack Obama and how he has handled the mosque situation in New York. After publicly defending the mosque’s construction in last week’s press conference, the new poll shows American voters disapprove 44-31 percent of the way Obama is handling the situation.

“The proposed mosque near Ground Zero are taking a toll on President Barack Obama’s standing with American voters,” assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute Peter Brown said. “The fact that so many Americans think the President does not share their values might worry the White House.”

Obama: Koran Burning Is ‘Contrary To Our Values’

President Barack Obama weighed in Thursday on a Florida pastor’s proposal to burn copies of the Koran this Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

“If he’s listening, I hope [Pastor Terry Jones] understands that what he’s proposing to do is completely contrary to our values as Americans,” Obama said during an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that aired this morning. “I just want him to understand that this stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women who are in uniform,” the president added.

Obama certainly is not the first major political leader to comment on the controversy, yet he may have had good reason to show up late to this particular party. His remarks during an Iftar dinner at the White House last month supporting the rights of a group seeking to build a mosque just blocks from Ground Zero sparked a national debate on the issue that has still not ended.

This time around, however, Obama had plenty of precedent. Earlier this week his top general in Afghanistan, David Petraeus, a man who doesn’t normally interject himself into political matters, rebuked the church’s proposal, saying it would endanger the lives of U.S. troops fighting abroad. The president echoed Petraeus’ sentiment during this morning’s interview, saying, “this is a recruitment bonanza for Al Qaida. You could have serious violence in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

Jones, who heads up the 50-member Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, has drawn worldwide scorn since he announced his proposed stunt back in July. Despite that, the Christian pastor has defended his church’s idea to burn hundreds of copies of the Muslim holy book by arguing that it is constitutional as well as an appropriate response to the 9/11 attacks, in which Islamic terrorists hijacked and crashed four U.S. airplanes, killing 3,000 Americans.

The death threats Jones alleges he has received are disputable, but the global ire he has drawn is not. Several top U.S. leaders have openly condemned the church, from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who called the plan “regrettable,” to Attorney General Eric Holder, who called the idea “idiotic.” An editorial that ran recently in Dublin’s Irish Times equated the proposal to Nazi book burning.

A Facebook page created by the church to promote the event currently has over 13,000 ‘fans,’ yet it is unclear how many of them actually support the the idea. Locally, the church has been confronted over its plan by government and businesses alike. The fire department in Gainesville, a small college town in the north central part of the state, refused to grant the church a burning permit, stating the open burning of books is a fire hazard and is not allowed. Meanwhile, the bank where Dove has a mortgage loan has demanded that the church immediately repay its balance.

"Burn A Quran" Day Still On, Despite Petraeus Warning

A Florida pastor says he is now “weighing” plans to follow through with a scheduled “Burn A Quran” day on the anniversary of September 11 after Gen. David Petraeus warned that the event would endanger the lives of U.S. troops and would also be detrimental to U.S. efforts in the Afghanistan. 

Despite warnings and condemnation from top U.S. military and government officials, the Florida pastor said the proceedings will continue as scheduled.

“We have firmly made up our mind, but at the same time, we are definitely praying about it,” Terry Jones, pastor of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainseville, Florida told CNN in an interview.

According to recent reports, Jones said in response to warnings from Petraeus and others that “it’d be tragical if because of this one person died. But at the same time, we do not feel responsible for that.” 

Known to the social media world as “International Burn A Koran Day,” the event has nearly 9,000 Facebook supporters.

“On September 11th, 2010, from 6pm - 9pm, we will burn the Koran on the property of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, FL in remembrance of the fallen victims of 9/11 and to stand against the evil of Islam. Islam is of the devil!” the page reads.

The Facebook page sparked the creation of dozens of other pages denouncing the event and the intentions of Jones. Additionally, the event has also ignited a series of protests in Kabul, Afghanistan where hundreds have gathered for two consecutive days burning American flags and effigies of the pastor and shouting “Death To America.”

Muslim Countries Displeased With Obama Says Expert

Andrew Kohut, President of the Pew Research Center, said that the Pew Global Attitudes Project's 2010 Survey finds that many predominantly Muslim countries are not pleased with President Obama or the United States. (1:12)