Republican Congressman Peter King of New York, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee today defended himself against accusations of unfairly singling out Muslims in his upcoming hearings on “Radicalization in the American Muslim Community.” Meanwhile, the New York Times recently uncovered that King has a history of supporting the Irish Republican Army, itself a terrorist group. 

He told CNN:

"I have no choice, I have to hold these hearings, these hearings are absolutely essential," said King. "There are elements in that community that are being radicalized, and I believe that the leadership, the leaders of that community, do not face up to that reality. Too many cases are not cooperative, not willing to speak out and condemn this type of radicalization that is going on."

Critics have accused King of trying to indict all Muslims and have compared him to Joseph McCarthy. The New York Times article on King said that the Congressman has shown less vitriol for terrorists in the past:

“We must pledge ourselves to support those brave men and women who this very moment are carrying forth the struggle against British imperialism in the streets of Belfast and Derry,” Mr. King told a pro-I.R.A. rally on Long Island, where he was serving as Nassau County comptroller, in 1982. Three years later he declared, “If civilians are killed in an attack on a military installation, it is certainly regrettable, but I will not morally blame the I.R.A. for it.”

King was one of the most vocal opponents of the “Ground Zero Mosque” last year. Slate author William Saletan wrote that this was one of the primary incidents in which King showed his penchant for “collective blame.” Saletan also challenged King’s accusation that Muslims are unlikely to cooperate with law enforcement on matters of national security:

These sweeping allegations—particularly the claim that law enforcement agents "throughout the country" are getting little or "no cooperation from Muslim leaders and imams"—don't jibe with a study issued last month by a consortium of North Carolina university researchers. The study found that in cases where Muslim-American terrorist suspects were brought to the attention of U.S. officials, "the largest single source of initial information (48 of 120 cases) involved tips from the Muslim-American community."

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