Forget about the Year of the Rabbit, this has become the year of the Scapegoat. 2011 has turned into a year of singling out Muslims residing in America in hopes of justifying the growing fraction of Islamic radicals in the country and abroad.

Republican Rep. Peter King is the modern McCarthy. He created congressional hearings to target the source of Islamic radicalization in America and to address whether the community is doing enough to stop it.

Senator Joe McCarthy did something along the similar lines in the 1940-50s but in contrast targeted, or rather, accused individuals working within the Government of being communists amid the Red Scare, perpetuating a fear among the citizens in this country.

Comparably, the congressional hearings from last week are reinforcing Islamophobia among Americans. What should startle many is the fact that Rep. King was a former proponent of the Terrorist Irish Republican Party, which deliberately killed people in Britain, and to his defense he stated that the IRA never attacked the U.S. If his rationale isn’t alarming, then his actions will most likely indicate his views.  This is a modern day witch-hunt that many in the media have compared to the Salem witch trials.

To say that the Muslims living in America are doing little to assist in fighting terror in the states may be partially true. But the question would be why? After the Ground Zero Mosque caused an uproar this past summer, inciting anger within the ignorant and fermenting attacks across the nation on small town mosques, how else should Muslims act? In attempts to bridging communication with those in the community, the fear remains that their attempts will be reciprocated with hatred.

In Annandale, the Mustafa Center does an exceptional job in building connections within the community as well as holding events that strive to provide an insight into the religion on the correct grounds. Mustafa Center is well known within the community and the events that were held in the past year or two have been focused on targeting the growing backlash within this country. “Calling All Heroes: The Middle Path & the Error in Terror”, “Islamophobia”, “A platform of positive activism for the community’s young professionals” and “Talking Contemporary Issues” are only a few of the many events held.

The Muslim community in Annandale prides itself in the effort they put into eradicating misconceptions and helping out the community as a whole. Holding volunteer activities such as Project Downtown and feeding homeless women at Muslimaat al-Nisaa, the Muslims in the Annandale area are doing exceedingly well to quell any semblance of radicalism in our youth.
The ACLU is one of the several organizations that have joined in on the backlash in response to the hearings, indicating the fallacy in assuming that there is a connection between all American Muslims and Radicals.

During the hearings,Senator Keith Ellison who is Muslim tearfully re-accounted the story of Mohammad Hamdani, a Muslim-American paramedic who was one of the many first responders to be killed on 9/11. Ellison, like many others, is expressing discontent over the singular focus on a specific religious minority in the United States.

If Rep. King wants to fight radicalization among the youth in our country, he should first familiarize himself with the religion he is targeting and do a tour of mosques around the country to get their input. This way he might find his answer or a solution. It would be wrong to believe that there haven’t been young American men who have been lured in by radical teachings, because it is in fact true. But that only substantiates a very minimal but growing number. There are other means in which the government can target this issue.

Taking a xenophobic approach negates the purpose of holding these congressional hearings. Slapping stereotypes on a group of individuals and their particular beliefs allows for discrimination, and for that matter these hearings will not accomplish anything other than playing a never-ending cycle of the blame game.

Now, if Rep. King were to hold hearings for the Jewish community or African-Americans, would the whole country not be in an uproar? What makes Muslims different?