Should Congress Investigate Lutheran Terrorism?

The House Homeland Security Committee is planning to hold hearings in New York City about homegrown Muslim jihadists. In response, an "interfaith" group is organizing a rally to protest the hearings saying that it should not target just one faith. news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110306/ap_on_re_us/us_muslim_hearings_rally  Maybe they have a point.

The media is chock full of stories about Lutheran terrorists coming here from the Scandinavian countries to commit unspeakable atrocities. The myriad stories of Buddhist monks blowing themselves up in crowded public places in major American cities will never be forgotten.The worst are Episcopalians who have brought the scourge of IEDs to America. Absolutely these groups need to be examined by Congress!

But turning to our homegrown Islamic jihadists there is, to name just one, Major Nidal Hasan. In 2009 he shot and killed 13 of his fellow soldiers and wounded 32 more at Ft. Hood, TX all the while shouting the now all too familiar refrain"Allahu akbar!" Hasan was born and raised in Arlington, VA near Washington, DC and his family is of Jordanian and Islamic origin. What caused him to go off the rails is worth knowing. Why? Consider the following:

"... a 2007 survey of American Muslim opinion conducted by the Pew Research Center. Eight percent of American Muslims who took part in this survey said they believed that suicide bombing can sometimes be justified in defense of Islam. Even accepting a low estimate of three million Muslims in the U.S., this would mean that 240,000 among us hold that suicide bombing in the name of Islam can be justified. Among American Muslims 18-29 years old, 15 percent agreed with that and 60 percent said they thought of themselves as Muslim first and Americans second. Among all participants in the survey, five percent—and five percent of the low estimate of three million Muslims in America is 150,000—said they had a favorable view of al Qaeda. Given these numbers, it is not unreasonable to suggest that the political aims and ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood represent a domestic threat to national security."  www.hillsdale.edu/news/imprimis/archive/issue.asp?year=2011&month=01

I agree. While there may be a few Lutheran or Episcopal wing nuts, and although the vast majority of American Muslims may be law-abiding and peaceful, there is nevertheless a clear and present danger among homegrown Muslims that has already manifested itself several times with fatal results. Hopefully, the Congressional hearings will give us an even clearer view of this threat.