Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) reassured Muslim and Arab-American organizations he would consult with them on homeland security issues.
Lieberman, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, joined ranking member Sen. Susan Collins (R-Me.) in responding to a letter from four Arab and Muslim advocacy groups raising concerns about a May report by the committee entitled “Violent Islamist Extremism, the Internet and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat.”
The groups claimed the report lacked sufficient input from American Muslims and “generalizes Muslims in America as susceptible to “radicalization.”
The July 30 letter stated that “as the Committee moves forward on this critical issue, we will continue to reach out to your organizations and others that represent the diverse American Muslim community. Meeting the threat of homegrown terrorism must be a collaborative effort that engages the millions of Americans of all faiths who are committed to combating the pointless destructiveness of violent extremist ideologies of any kind.”
The Muslim Public Affairs Council, American Arab Anti- Discrimination Committee, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Muslim Advocates were the four organization which signed the letter to Lieberman.
MPAC urged in a statement that the committee “examine a truly representative range of recommendations in order to craft a more credible and less discriminatory analysis of how to secure safety, while preserving the freedoms of all Americans.”
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