On the recordMarch 17, 2011
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.…
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