Justin's Political Corner

Representative Michele Bachmann is using her position on the House Intelligence Committee topromote a conspiracy theory that government officials, including State Department official Huma Abedin, are part of a Muslim Brotherhood plot to infiltrate the U.S. government. Bachmann also claimsthat Rep. Keith Ellison is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood. Bachmann has refused to apologize or back down, even after prominent Republicans like Senator John McCain demanded that she stop.

As Rep. Ellison has noted, 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 to help draw a line by speaking out for sanctions on Bachmann, including — as People for the American Way has called for — 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.

h/t: Robert Naiman at Huffington Post