Context: McCarthyism 2.0

The latest initiative of Peter King, a U.S. representative from Long Island, has the unmistakable odor of McCarthyism, which his critics have not hesitated to point out. As head of the House Committee on Homeland Security, this Republican politician called a hearing last week on “the radicalization of American Muslims.” This took place in the same chambers where Joe McCarthy once terrorized those who did not share his ultraconservative ideas by labeling them as communists.

In 1954, the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings lasted a full 36 days, during which no proof was presented to support the communist plot invented by the fiery senator. The current committee under Mr. King has only sat one term, but proof of an islamo-terrorist plot has similarly been missing. However, this circus has become most valuable to its creator, acclaimed by many and largely dismissed as a firebrand by many others.

Like many American politicians, Mr. King has often taken advantage of his fellow citizens’ distrust of the Muslim community, which numbers between 1.3 and 7 million members (the U.S. Census does not include questions on religion). He exploited their suspicions again recently, after the shooting at Fort Hood (by a fanatic Muslim military psychiatrist) in November 2009 and the failed Times Square plot in May 2010.

It is worth pointing out that Peter King is not an extremist at the most radical edges of his political party. Before September 2001, he had a good relationship with the Muslims in his district. More recently, he supported tighter laws on gun control, proposed by a Democratic senator after the shooting in Tucson.

Still, the wording of the March 10 hearing’s call to order — “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and That Community’s Response” — gives the impression that the hearing’s true goal was to stigmatize an entire community rather than to shed some light on a homeland security issue without biasing the results of the investigation.

Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca, one of the main witnesses called before the committee, testified that Muslims in his jurisdiction do collaborate with authorities in the fight against terrorism, and that 48 out of the 120 Muslims arrested for terrorism in the United States after Sept. 11 had actually been previously denounced by others of their faith. Citing a university study, Baca added that the majority of terrorist plots hatched in the U.S. since then were by non-Muslims (77 cases, versus 41 cases attributed to Mohammed’s followers).

How many more hearings will Mr. King call on the subject? The March 10 hearing was preceded by protests in support of the American Muslim community, and it has been followed by many scathing editorials denouncing the Long Island representative.