(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - On the same day that the American Congressman, Peter King, held the fourth "homegrown terrorism" hearing focused exclusively on Muslims, as residents and citizens, considering them the number one responsible for terrorism inside the American homeland, the White House released its Strategic Implementation Plan for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States. This plan was largely consistent with King’s plans to confront Islamic terrorism.
Sahar Aziz, an associate professor of law at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, confirmed that the actual practices of the current American Administration are completely similar to the perceptions of Congressman Peter King that directly ascribes terrorism to Islam. “While preventing terrorism before it happens is a legitimate strategy, the way in which it is currently implemented comes at a high price to a vulnerable minority; the Muslims in America. Expansive surveillance laws coupled with a relaxation of terrorism investigative standards have placed mosques under intrusive surveillance. Similarly, thousands of informants have been hired, for hefty payments, to induce inept and often mentally ill young Muslim men to join fake terrorist plots”… according to an article Aziz published in the Huffington Post on December 19, 2011.
The writer said that the government’s credibility to establish a partnership with the Muslim community has become on the line, and proving this credibility became dependant on stopping to depict the Muslims as enemies and adversaries. She also confirmed that the first step down this road should be made by activating outreach programs with the Muslim community, turning it into an opportunity for cooperation between both parties, after it had been a means for espionage.
Until the Administration translates its lofty rhetoric into tangible policy reforms, there will not be much difference between Mr. King's and President Obama's approaches to counterterrorism.
On another level, ahead of the coming presidential elections, Robert McCaw, Government Affairs Coordinator, called on all American Muslims to fulfill their civic responsibility by doing their part in the upcoming presidential elections, pointing that the campaign provides a presidential voter guide, an online voter registration tool and a video promoting online voter registration and focuses on Muslim voters under the age of 30 who are under-represented on voter rolls.
For clear political and electoral goals, these American policies do not serve the reality; but rather, they further complicate it, and they do not participate in promoting the values of freedom, justice and communication that we hear a lot about. It is as if these values are only used in the speeches as the election seasons approach to win votes in the bourse of the changing politics…
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