Congressman King‘s Islamophobic Remarks
Ask Congress to Censure Rep. King‘s Racist Remarks Take Action!
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) asks members and supporters to contact their congressional leaders to censure Congressman Steve King (R-IA) for racist comments he made about presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL). Congressman King is the ranking Republican member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law.
On Saturday, March 8, 2008, on an Iowa radio, Congressman King said, “if [Obama] is elected president, then the radical Islamists and their supporters will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11 because they will declare victory in this War on Terror.” King continued his Islamophobic commentary by saying, “[Obama’s] middle name does matter…because they read a meaning into that in the rest of the world…They will be dancing in the streets because of his middle name [and] because of who his father was and because of his posture that says: pull out of the Middle East and pull out of this conflict.”
King reiterated his comments yesterday in an interview with the Associated Press saying, “[Obama will] certainly be viewed as a savior for them,” King told The Associated Press, “That’s why you will see them supporting him, encouraging him.”
King’s comments suggest that Senator Obama is somehow linked with terrorism and that his potential election would be cause for celebration among fanatical extremists. He also raises questions and suspicions about Senator Obama’s middle name Hussein. ADC is deeply troubled by King’s fear promoting comments which are part of an increasingly vicious pattern noted by ADC. ADC has found that particularly malicious forms of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bigotry are becoming more prevalent in mainstream discourse and King’s comments are another example.
ADC encourages supporters to contact their member in the House of Representatives asking them to formally censure their colleague Congressman King for his comments. Congressman King can be directly contact at his Washington office through the information below:
Congressman Steve King
1609 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202.225.4426
Fax: 202.225.3193
Website: http://www.house.gov/steveking/index.shtm
Email: http://www.house.gov/steveking/email.shtm
*Note: Emails from those living outside of Iowa’s fifth district, identified through zip codes, may not reach Congressman King’s office.