Counterterrorism Blog :: America’s Muslim Representatives: Are the Right Questions Asked? By Zeyno Baran

"American officials are rightly eager to promote moderate Muslims. However, words alone cannot be the basis to determine whether someone is truly committed to the Constitution and to American pluralism. While many public Muslim figures will surely say the things we would expect to hear from them, we should not so readily bestow upon anyone the title of “moderate” title without a thorough investigation of the person’s background.

The recent White House appointment of Imam Talal Eid to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) may be an example of just such a rush to judgment. The Commission is, as it describes itself, an “independent, bipartisan U.S. government agency … to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights … and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and the Congress.” Given the importance of this Commission, one would expect the Executive Branch to have done the necessary checks on its appointees, especially when it comes to their views on religious freedom and Islamist terrorism.

As a Muslim, I am happy that the USCIRF includes a Muslim commissioner, given that there is so little religious freedom across the Islamic world. That said, I certainly do want any commissioner—whether Muslim or non-Muslim—to be fully committed to American ideals and principles, including secular democracy and the protection and equality of all human beings, especially regardless of gender."

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