06.28.16

Durbin Speaks Out Against Anti-Muslim Bigotry in Cruz Hearing on ‘Radical Islam'

Rebukes Subcommittee Chairman Cruz’s call for increased police patrols of “Muslim neighborhoods” across America

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today condemned the rise of anti-Muslim rhetoric and bigotry in the United States during a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights, and Federal Courts, entitled: “Willful Blindness: Consequences of Agency Efforts to Deemphasize Radical Islam in Combating Terrorism.” Durbin chaired the first ever congressional hearing on the Civil Rights of American Muslims in 2011.
   
“Instead of dealing with suspected terrorists, we’re dealing with a suspected religion, according to some. That’s where I think we’ve crossed the line,” said Durbin. “If there are those who would abuse their religious beliefs to threaten others and threaten America, for goodness sake, use all of our power to protect us. But the notion that we would call for ‘radical Christians,’ ‘radical Islam,’ and therefore have the right answer to keeping America safe, I think, is just fundamentally wrong.”
 
Video of Durbin’s remarks before the subcommittee is available here.
  
Audio of Durbin’s remarks before the subcommittee is available here.
  
Footage of Durbin’s remarks before the subcommittee is available for TV stations using FTP in high definition here and in standard definition here.