On Faith Panelists Blog: Archives by Date - On Faith at washingtonpost.com

Radicalization is not just a Muslim problem

My concern is that the hearing failed to recognize that radicalism is not limited to Islam, nor are most Muslims radical. If this hearing were part of a series of hearings on radicalism it would have be justified; but as an isolated inquiry, it was not.

By David Saperstein | March 11, 2011; 10:45 AM ET | Comments (2)

On Muslims, King has reached his own fact-less conclusion

All one needs to know about what is behind the King hearings can be gleaned by Peter King's own statements regarding Muslims in the US.

By Reza Aslan | March 11, 2011; 9:07 AM ET | Comments (13)

Flaws of the King hearing on Islam

These issues are much too important to allow Representative King to continue to occupy the field.

By Melissa Rogers | March 11, 2011; 8:25 AM ET | Comments (1)

King's hearings: barking up the wrong tree

I hope that the impassioned discussions the nation has had over the hearings will help convince many people there is little to fear from the American Muslim community.

By Pamela K. Taylor | March 10, 2011; 9:48 AM ET | Comments (5)

Peter King's Muslim hearings: extremism and fear are our common enemies

The actual battlefront of our times is not between Islam and America, but between moderates of all faiths against the extremists of all faiths, between the purveyors of fear and the champions of love. If we will not be convinced by the right facts, shouldn't we at least be motivated by the right emotions?

By Feisal Abdul Rauf | March 10, 2011; 8:20 AM ET | Comments (23)

The outsider wins

There are wise people everywhere who fly off to share wisdom elsewhere but have little street cred back home. There are prophets in every city, but we may not offer them the respect and platform they deserve.

By Erica Brown | March 9, 2011; 5:24 PM ET | Comments (0)

A certain people, scattered and dispersed

Today, Americans have a choice: Will we repeat the disastrous mistakes of the past? Or will we embrace American Muslims as positive contributors the economic, political, and social life of our country?

By Jill Jacobs | March 9, 2011; 10:57 AM ET | Comments (0)

Aren't there better ways to do intelligence work?

If the goal of the King hearings is for legislators to better understand the threats of terrorism from within the Muslim community, then the whole thing is misconceived.

By Richard Mouw | March 9, 2011; 8:24 AM ET | Comments (10)

Ash Wednesday: a Catholic coming out day

I like to think of Ash Wednesday as a kind of Catholic "coming out" day in our country. Suddenly, I can readily recognize those sportscasters, grocery clerks, and mailmen who share my faith by the smudges of ashes on their foreheads.

By Danielle Bean | March 9, 2011; 7:08 AM ET | Comments (32)

Islamic terror is real, so is Islamophobia

Raising questions, however uncomfortable, does not constitute bias against the group to whom those questions are addressed.

By Brad Hirschfield | March 8, 2011; 3:16 PM ET | Comments (8)

The truth about Muslims in America

Homegrown terrorism - of whatever stripe - is a serious issue that deserves serious attention. But a Congressional hearing singling out one religious community and framed by vague and unsubstantiated charges against the leadership of that community is both wrongheaded and dangerous.

By Charles C. Haynes | March 8, 2011; 1:37 PM ET | Comments (1)

Love, rather than fear, can defeat terror

These hearings are not intended to get to a truth but rather to prove an assumption.

By Valerie Elverton Dixon | March 8, 2011; 1:13 PM ET | Comments (0)

Rep. King's hearing is the wrong answer to the wrong question

In today's political climate, it may not ensure an "electoral win" to defend the rights of the American Muslim community, but there is no question that it is the right thing to do.

By Welton Gaddy | March 8, 2011; 10:48 AM ET | Comments (1)

Singling out one faith affects them all

To impugn the patriotism and good faith of this sizable community is not only a threat to their liberty and ours, but actually could be counter-productive in resisting terrorism.

By J. Brent Walker | March 8, 2011; 10:28 AM ET | Comments (2)

The appeal to fear

There's a proper way to tackle the issue of self-radicalization, and that is to work with American Muslims at the grassroots, to build bridges and trust, not hold hearings.

By Jason Pitzl-Waters | March 8, 2011; 9:46 AM ET | Comments (1)

Peter King vs. the American public

A poll, conducted by Public Religion Research Institute in partnership with Religion News Service, reveals that while a majority (56%) of the public may think the hearings are a good idea, they don't see eye-to-eye with Rep. King on his justifications for the hearings.

By Robert P. Jones | March 8, 2011; 9:33 AM ET | Comments (19)

Mardi Gras: A Fat Tuesday before Lent

Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is celebrated on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, just before beginning the penitential forty days of Lent that lead up to Easter in the Catholic liturgical year.

By Danielle Bean | March 8, 2011; 8:07 AM ET | Comments (0)

President Washington or Congressman King?; 'To bigotry, no sanction'

We must ask ourselves what it means for Congress to be exposing an entire religious community to "bigotry and persecution."

By Arthur Waskow | March 8, 2011; 4:31 AM ET | Comments (2)

It's time to hear from more Muslims

I understand the desire to investigate religious extremism, but these hearings are a gross affront to our freedoms and our principles. Instead of having "Muslim radicalization" hearings, I want to propose something truly radical: let's promote voices of inclusion instead of drumming up unwarranted suspicion and inciting fear.

By Chris Stedman | March 8, 2011; 2:24 AM ET | Comments (3)

Separating Islam and the state

"The potential consequences of singling out one religious group" are not as grave as those of failing to do so.

By Willis E. Elliott | March 7, 2011; 9:35 PM ET | Comments (0)

CAIR's cause for concern

There are alternatives to CAIR and Congressman King is providing them a platform.

By Jordan Sekulow | March 7, 2011; 6:34 PM ET | Comments (65)

King's speech

Congress does have a duty to legislate against enemies foreign and domestic. Investigating our enemies is one thing Congress should be doing.

By John Mark Reynolds | March 7, 2011; 6:11 PM ET | Comments (5)

The King hearings: dangerous for America

I challenge our country to rise above this crude and dangerous form of demagoguery.

By Barry Lynn | March 7, 2011; 5:13 PM ET | Comments (1)

Hearings will not make us safer

Perhaps he could hold hearings on whether hatred and stereotyping by pandering politicians who focus on guilt by association might be making the rest of us both more fearful and less safe--in other words, hold a hearing on King himself.

By Herb Silverman | March 7, 2011; 12:13 PM ET | Comments (10)

Abortion is a tragedy

Should a Christian group ever seek having its own moral teachings enacted as secular law? Both Judaism and Christianity, if true to their holy scriptures, are communities established as "holy" communities. That is, they are "set apart" from the world though continuing in the world.

By Gene Davenport | March 7, 2011; 11:48 AM ET | Comments (1)

Hearings? For what reason?

Manufactured paranoia will not make us safer, Rep. King.

By Susan K. Smith | March 7, 2011; 11:33 AM ET | Comments (0)

Muslims should insist on fairness

I have no objection, in principle, to a hearing that investigates an alleged radicalization of any religion if there is sufficient evidence that some citizens are abusing the tenets of that religion as a cover for violent activity.

By Fr. Frank Pavone | March 7, 2011; 11:22 AM ET | Comments (18)

A Sikh perspective on the King hearings

By vilifying the entire Muslim American community in both the letter and spirit of his upcoming hearings, Congressman Peter King and his supporters could make life palpably worse for Sikhs and Muslims in this country, and give needless propaganda points to terrorists, in ways that fatally undermine homeland security.

By Rajdeep Singh | March 7, 2011; 10:38 AM ET | Comments (5)

Rep. King using Nixon's playbook: create the enemies you need

Rep. Peter King and his hearings are part of an emerging pattern where Republicans are exchanging the "Islamic threat" for the "communist threat" and running the same plays as before. This is certainly going to be the new "wedge" issue in the 2012 presidential campaign.

By Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite | March 7, 2011; 10:09 AM ET | Comments (2)

King using blunt instrument but nuance needed

When a member of the government announces that an entire religious tradition is under suspicion the effect is not to foster trust and fidelity. Rather it feeds into the stereotype in the Muslim world that America is opposed to the Islamic tradition as a whole.

By David Wolpe | March 7, 2011; 9:45 AM ET | Comments (10)

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