3/14/11, Letter to Editor, The Akron Beacon Journal

U.S. Rep. Peter King is conducting hearings on the radicalization of Muslim Americans. His reasoning? Extremists are too successful at recruiting Muslim-American youth.

As a Muslim American, I agree that we must take action to ensure our safety, but it should be at a grass-roots level. That is why the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, to which I belong, has already launched a national ''Muslims for Peace'' campaign and is running a ''Muslims for Loyalty'' campaign. Our aim is the American public and Muslim youth. Our message is simple: Being a Muslim and a loyal American are in no way a contradiction.

We as Muslim-Americans must teach our youth, just as Islam teaches us, that our loyalties are to the United States because this is our home. This will resonate much farther than any public hearing.