[Peace-discuss] To Protect Democracy, the House Should Act Against Bachmann's Anti-Muslim McCarthyism

[Robert Naiman]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/to-protect-democracy-the-_b_1703185.html


Representative Michele Bachmann is using her position on the House
Intelligence Committee to promote a conspiracy
theory<http://www.salon.com/2012/07/13/bachmann%E2%80%99s_muslim_witch_hunt/>
that
government officials, including State Department official Huma Abedin, are
part of a Muslim Brotherhood plot to infiltrate the U.S. government.
Bachmann also claims<http://news.yahoo.com/does-bachmann-risk-house-censure-abedin-claims-182406538.html>
that
Rep. Keith Ellison is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood. Bachmann has refused
to apologize or back down, even after prominent Republicans like Senator
John McCaindemanded that she
stop<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/18/john-mccain-michele-bachmann-muslim_n_1683277.html>
.

As Rep. Ellison has
noted<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/19/keith-ellison-michele-bachmann_n_1688150.html>,
he and Abedin are in positions of relative power; even greater than our
concern for them should be our concern that the political participation of
Muslim-Americans will be chilled by anti-Muslim McCarthyism attacking the
role of Muslim-Americans in our country's political life.

We need the voices of Muslim-Americans to help us reform U.S. foreign
policy in the Muslim world. If Muslim-American voices are silenced,
reforming U.S. policy is going to be much harder. Urge your
Representative<http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/sanction-bachmann>
to
help draw a line by speaking out for sanctions on Bachmann, including -- as
People for the American Way has called
for<http://www.pfaw.org/press-releases/2012/07/pfaw-calls-speaker-boehner-remove-michele-bachmann-intelligence-committee>
--
her removal from the Intelligence Committee, for her attacks on the
political participation of Muslim-Americans.

It's indisputable that many Muslim-Americans have cultural ties to and
heightened concern about countries where U.S. foreign policy is especially
controversial.

We need these Muslim-American voices in the debate over U.S. foreign
policy: in the debate over policy towards Iran, in the debate over the war
in Afghanistan, in the debate over CIA drone strikes, in the debate over
the U.S. response to the Arab Spring, in the debate over the Israeli
occupation of the West Bank.

And that's why Just Foreign Policy is asking Members of Congress to speak
out against these attacks on the political participation of
Muslim-Americans. Urge your Representative to speak
out<http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/sanction-bachmann>
.

-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
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