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Photo: Associated Press
Congressman Andre Carson is first Muslim to serve on House Intelligence Panel.
Photo: Associated Press

First Muslim appointed to US House Intelligence Panel

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi appoints Indiana congressman Andre Carson to House Intelligence Panel, causing anti-Muslim response on the internet.

Some eyebrows were raised after US President Barack Obama said on Friday that Europe must do more to better integrate its Muslim citizens – especially in light of the fact that only 0.6 percent of the US population is Muslim. However, the appointment of a Muslim congressman, Andre Carson, to the House Intelligence Panel could show that Obama backs his words with actions.

 

 

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi appointed Carson to the position, which oversees government intelligence departments and activities. The appointment caused an anti-Muslim response on the Internet – especially on Twitter. Some web surfers said they feared government secrets being shared with Carson.

 

Carson gets sworn in by House Speaker Boehner. (Photo: Associated Press)
Carson gets sworn in by House Speaker Boehner. (Photo: Associated Press)

 

Carson is the first Muslim to be a member of the lucrative panel – he was the second Muslim appointed to Congress after Minnesota democrat Keith Ellison, who was appointed in 2006. Carson has already attended one meeting of the intelligence panel – which discusses highly classified matters.

 

Carson serves as the US Representative of Indiana's 7th congressional district. The US representative was born a Baptist but converted to Islam during his youth. Carson has several qualifications in the security sector – he worked as a police officer and is already a member of the House Armed Services subcommittee on Intelligence. Carson also worked for the Department of Homeland Security's Fusion Center – a hub that combines intelligence collected by various security organizations such as the CIA, FBI, Pentagon and Justice Department.

 

Several websites tried to brand Carson as a "Trojan horse," while others made claims that he had connections to the Muslim Brotherhood because of funding he received from Islamic organizations during his campaign.

 

"The difference between a Trojan horse and what Nancy Pelosi is doing is that the Trojans had no idea that Greek soldiers were inside (the horse)," said the conservative website godfatherpolitics.com.

 

One Twitter user called Carson an "extremist Muslim mole" and another "the fox guarding the hen house."

 

Democrats in the House of Representatives, headed by two Jewish representatives, defended Carson and Nancy Pelosi's choice to appoint him to the intelligence panel.

 

Representative Adam Schiff from California said: “I am deeply disturbed that since his appointment to the committee, Congressman Carson has been subject to vicious, anti-Muslim attacks online and in social media, questioning his loyalty to our country solely because of his faith.”

 

Schiff added, “These un-American and unfounded smears have no place in our national discourse and are contemptible.”

 

In an interview given over a decade ago, Carson told of how he was arrested at the age of 17 at a mosque with no grounds and how the incident sparked his passion to become a policeman. "What I learned in my career as a man of law is that in the US, just as in Britain, it is impossible to fight the threat of world terror without help from the Muslims," said Carson.

 

On Saturday, in an interview with CNN, Carson said: "We won't win the war against terror without Muslims. There are threats and many terrorist attempts thwarted because of help from Muslims who are never talked about on TV. We work together with Muslims."

 

Carson expressed his appreciation of Pelosi, who believed in him and appointed him to the intelligence panel. "It is clear that in our country there is the wrong perception of Muslims. My father-in-law (Judge David Shaheed) was the first Muslim judge in the United States. Many Muslims serve as council members, in city councils, and as legislators in various states. They make a positive contribution to American society. Now we must protect the security of the American people."

 


פרסום ראשון: 01.17.15, 23:50
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