Messing Up the One Good Thing

The Republicans in the House of Representatives now want to investigate the influence of the Council on American Islamic Relations. One of the best things Bush did in the aftermath of 9/11, undermined by pretty much everything else he did, was to define the Muslims in the US as not a fifth column but as Americans with whom we can work to fight the terrorists. And now the Republicans, searching desperately for an issue, are trying to alienate this key minority. I guess this is partly fair treatment, since the GOP has alienated African-Americans and Latinos, so Muslims might just be next in line.

But seriously, I have already found the Quebec treatment of Muslims to be counter-productive--keeping girls off the soccer field if they wear a head scarf, one of the events that kicked off the Reasonable Accommodation debate, was stupid enough. But, to pick on a key lobbying group of a threatened minority seems to be a bad idea. Yes, there are some Islamic charities that might be fronts for terrorist groups, but CAIR is not one of them, and Muslim Americans should be discriminated against in their pursuit of employment or political access.

Let's bring back the House Un-American Activities Committee--not to persecute the Muslims, but to consider the efforts to undermine American values, including rule of law, due process, and equality under the law.