Senate Hearings Set to Protect Muslim Civil Rights

In a bit of counterprogramming, a Senate subcommittee plans to hold hearings next week on protecting the civil right of American Muslims. The hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on the Constitution comes just three weeks after Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., held House hearings on the radicalization of American Muslims, The Washington Post reported.

The Senate hearing, “Protecting the Civil Rights of American Muslims, will be held Tuesday and led by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill.

Richard Durbin

Durbin said in a statement that “during the course of our history, many religions have faced intolerance. It is important for our generation to renew our founding charter’s commitment to religious diversity and to protect the liberties guaranteed by our Bill of Rights,” the Post said.

The hearing, according to a release from the subcommittee, “is in response to the spike in anti-Muslim bigotry in the last year including Koran burnings, restrictions on mosque construction, hate crimes, hate speech, and other forms of discrimination.”

Witnesses include Farhana Khera, a Muslim civil rights activist, Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, and current and former government civil rights officials, according to the Post.