Peter King

Administration Reaches Out To Muslims Ahead Of 'Radicalization' Hearings

Eric Lach | March 8, 2011, 8:35AM

On Sunday, White House Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough gave a speech at a Muslim center in Virginia, highlighting the Obama administration's attempts at "engagement" with Muslim communities. On Thursday, Rep. Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, will hold hearings on the "radicalization" of American Muslims. And while McDonough didn't mention King, The New York Times calls the timing of the speech "no accident."

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Topics: Muslim-Americans, Muslims, Peter King, Radicalization

Peter King

Peter King To Critics: 'Political Correctness' Won't Stop Muslim Radicalization Hearings

Ryan J. Reilly | February 8, 2011, 12:50PM

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Peter King (R-NY) said Tuesday that he plans to move forward with a series of hearings to examine the threat of Islamic radicalization, and said he "will not allow political correctness to obscure a real and dangerous threat to the safety and security of the citizens of the United States."

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) wrote a letter to King earlier this month asking him to expand the purpose of the hearings into "a broad-based examination of domestic extremist groups regardless of their ideological underpinnings."

But King said that the hearings will serve an important purpose, and that the committee "cannot ignore the fact that al Qaeda is actively attempting to recruit individuals living within the Muslim American community to commit acts of terror."

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Topics: Counterterrorism, Eric Holder, Islamic Terrorism, Justice Department, Muslim-Americans, Muslims, Peter King, Radicalization, Terrorism, Terrorist Watchlists

Bennie Thompson

Top Homeland Security Dem: Muslim 'Radicalization' Hearings Could 'Chill' Muslim Relations

Rachel Slajda | December 17, 2010, 3:50PM

A planned Republican-led inquiry into the "radicalization" of Muslim-Americans could "chill" relations between the U.S. government and its Muslim citizens, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee told TPM today.

As we reported earlier, Rep. Peter King (R-NY), the soon-to-be chairman of the committee is planning hearings on Muslim-Americans and terrorism next year.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the current chairman who will be ranking member once Republicans take over in January, thinks that might not be a great idea.

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Topics: Bennie Thompson, Homeland Security Committee, Muslims, Pete King, Peter King, Race, Radicalization

Homeland Security Committee

House GOP To Hold Hearings On 'Radicalization' Of American Muslims

Rachel Slajda | December 17, 2010, 1:03PM

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) is planning to hold hearings on the "radicalization" of American Muslims when he takes over the chair of the Homeland Security Committee next year, the New York Times reports.

King told the Times he's concerned that Muslim-American leaders are increasingly reluctant to help out with the government's terror investigations.

"When I meet with law enforcement, they are constantly telling me how little cooperation they get from Muslim leaders," King said.

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Topics: Homeland Security Committee, Muslims, Park51, Pete King, Race, Radicalization

Sundullah "Sunny" Ghilzai

Feds Say Va. Man Threatened Metro System On Facebook

Ryan J. Reilly | December 14, 2010, 10:43AM

A 26-year-old Virginia man is being held in federal custody after he allegedly threatened to set off bombs on the D.C. Metro system. The FBI was alerted to the threats, allegedly sent on Facebook's instant messaging system, by an informant before any plot was developed.

Awais Younis, who also goes by the names Sundullah "Sunny" Ghilzai and Mohhanme Khan, was arrested on Dec. 7. According to federal authorities, he described how to build a pipe bomb and said he'd place bombs on the third and fifth cars of Metro trains since those trains had the highest number of commuters on them.

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Topics: D.C. Metro system, Facebook, Radicalization, Sundullah "Sunny" Ghilzai, Washington, D.C.

Jaish-e-Muhammad

What Were Five American Men Doing At Militant-Linked House In Pakistan?

Justin Elliott | December 10, 2009, 10:30AM

Five young men from Northern Virginia have been arrested in Pakistan in a house with links to a militant group, but they have not been charged with a crime and details of what they were doing are still hard to come by. But the case is already being cited as the latest example in an emerging trend of radicalization of American Muslims who travel overseas and link up with foreign terrorist groups.

Here's the basic outlines of the story, as it has been reported so far: five American Muslim men, ranging in age from their late teens to mid-20s, flew to Pakistan earlier this month and, after bouncing around several cities, ended up in a house in Sargodha, in Punjab Province. The owner of the house where they were arrested reportedly has ties to the group Jaish-e-Muhammad, considered a terrorist organization by the United States.

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Topics: CAIR, Jaish-e-Muhammad, Najibullah Zazi, Nihad Awad, Pakistan, Radicalization, Ramy Zamzam