[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 4301]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   HOUSE HEARINGS ON MUSLIM AMERICANS

  Ms. STABENOW. Madam President, I rise today about an issue of grave 
concern to me. All of us agree that America must be vigilant to stop 
violent extremists and terrorists who want to attack our Nation. We 
must do everything possible to fight terrorism and keep our country 
safe and free.
  But as we have seen, the House of Representatives recently held a 
hearing on the ``Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim 
Community and that Community's Response,'' targeting only Muslim 
Americans. This approach is the wrong way to fight terrorism.
  History has shown us that terrorists can come from anywhere, from any 
country or from any faith. We sadly know this from the tragedy in 
Oklahoma City. Focusing only on one group is not only un-American, it 
also ignores real threats from homegrown terrorists. Unfortunately, 
there are extremists in every religion. We know that the terrorists who 
attacked us on September 11, 2001, had perverted the message of Islam 
just as people have perverted other faiths at times throughout history 
to justify violent acts.
  America is home to millions of hard-working, patriotic Muslim 
Americans who stand with us in the fight against terrorism. Muslim 
Americans died in the attack on September 11, 2001, and Muslim-American 
firefighters and police officers, who rushed into the towers to save 
people while putting their own lives at risk, were rightly called 
heroes.
  I am proud to represent the great State of Michigan where we benefit 
every day from the hard work and dedication of Muslim leaders in 
business, medicine, education, science and many other professions. 
America was founded on the premise that all of its citizens are free to 
practice their religion openly, without government interference. We are 
a country founded on the principles of equality and liberty.
  I urge my colleagues to continue to forcefully fight terrorism while 
respecting the values that our country was built upon.

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