A hip-hop mogul, a movie star, a 16-year-old Long Island high school student and a thousand others gathered in the rain in Times Square yesterday afternoon to protest Long Island Congressman Peter King’s upcoming Muslim radicalization hearings.
“I’m here to support Muslims,” “Entourage” star Adrian Grenier told Metro. “People should be able to worship whatever religion they want to without worrying about a congressional hearing.”
The controversial hearings will begin Thursday, March 10. King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said the Muslim community has not been as helpful as they could be in ferreting out potential terrorists and extremists.
Critics, however, such as Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, a Muslim, said talking about extremism is fine, but Islam shouldn’t be singled out.
Simmons on hate, Rep. King
Times square. Hip hop mogul Russell Simmons led the “I am Muslim, too” rally yesterday.
“What Peter King doesn’t understand is that hate spreads very quickly,” Simmons said. “We’ve done research every year on ethnic and religious relations, and this past 18 months things have taken a nasty turn.”
“There’s more anti-Semitism, more homophobia, more black-on-black hate and crime — and Peter King is fueling all of that.”
