The first Muslim elected to Congress told a White House conference on violent extremism Wednesday that prosecuting the murders of three young Muslims in North Carolina as a hate crime would help to counter terrorists’ recruiting efforts in America.
Rep. Keith Ellison, Minnesota Democrat, dismissed comments by police in Chapel Hill that the three victims were killed in a dispute over a parking space. The lawmaker said the official explanation “defies our sense of logic and common sense.”
“It’s important that we at least admit that what happened in Chapel Hill probably was not only about a parking space,” Mr. Ellison said to applause from the audience at the summit. “The three victims were living, walking, breathing examples of countering violent extremism until their lives were taken away. Let us not slip into the mistaken idea that terrorism is somehow a Muslim thing — it’s not. Muslims are the victims of it.”
Craig Hicks, 46, was indicted this week for the murders. Police said he carried out the shootings as a result of a parking dispute, but they have not ruled out the possibility that religious hatred may have been a motive.
President Obama, who is hosting the summit to examine the root causes of terrorism, said last week that he wants the FBI to determine if any federal laws were violated in the killings. The suspect’s wife has said the murders had nothing to do with religion.
Mr. Ellison said ignoring the hate-crime angle “actually helps to support the false narrative of the violent extremists.”
“They want to make the case that America hates you and is against you, so join us. It’s not true,” he said. “The violent extremists’ argument is that America is at war with Islam and Muslims. That is their case. All of us in this room know that is absolutely false.”
The lawmaker also urged attendees to help reverse a U.S. policy that this month halted bank remittance services for Somalis living in America because of regulations designed to stop money falling into the hands of groups branded terrorists, such as Somalia’s al Shabaab.
“These remittances pay for school fees, they pay for medical things, they pay for food,” he said. “And when you know that the al-Shabaab and other recruiters will offer a young man a gun, a wife and a few bucks, it becomes clear how critical it is for us to fix this remittance problem.”
His appearance at the summit came during a presentation about a federal pilot program to reach out to young Muslims in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in an effort to discourage recruiting by terrorist groups. Also appearing on the stage was a spoken-word artist, Abdi (Phenomenal) Farah, a Somali native who gave a rap-style performance.
“What’s the difference between galvanizing the bleak and sanitizing the heat, between utilizing the weak and institutionalizing the free?” Mr. Farah said.
Mr. Ellison said law-enforcement authorities should scrupulously follow the Constitution and refrain from “sting” operations in counter-terrorism investigations.
“It’s important to bear in mind that when cases are constructed based on offering the defendant the means, motive and opportunity to do the crime, that doesn’t assist things,” Mr. Ellison said.
Mr. Obama will deliver the keynote address at the summit later Wednesday.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.