Peter King, Scholar of Islam

Rep. Peter King's scheduled hearing next week on the subject of Muslim radicalization is drawing criticism from one seemingly unlikely expert: Daniel Pipes, who no one (except possibly the lunatic Pamela Geller and her cadre of racists) could mistake for an apologist for radical Islam. Says Pipes, about these misbegotten hearings:

"The U.S. government should investigate domestic Islamist radicalization," Daniel Pipes, the Middle East Forum director who has written extensively on the threat posed by radical Islamists, said in an e-mail. "Unfortunately, Rep. Peter King has proven himself unsuited for this important task, as shown by the gratuitous controversy he has generated over the mere selection of witnesses."

The problem of radicalization is a serious one -- obviously, the thoughts and actions of such men as Anwar al-Aulaki and Nidal Hasan suggest that, on the margins, radicalization of American Muslims is a problem demanding attention -- but the vast majority of American Muslims reject the violence and extremism of Islamism, and they are right to fear the consequences (intended?)  of Rep. King's probe, which does not seemed designed to generate light on the subject, and could only serve to marginalize the mainstream.