Religious Extremism in America
Congressional Action
112th Congress (2011-2012)

The terrorist attacks of 9/11 awakened Americans to the danger of al-Qaeda and the extremist interpretation of Islam propagated by Osama bin Laden.  Over the following years, a number of terrorist plots (and a handful of successful attacks) planned or conducted by radicalized American Muslims raised concern about the reach of such ideologies into America’s Muslim communities. 

During the 112th Congress, several Congressional committees have investigated different aspects of radicalization among American Muslims.  A series of hearings convened by the House Homeland Security Committee, under the leadership of Representative Peter King, has generating the most controversy.  A parallel hearing, held by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on civil rights, investigated potential persecution and discrimination against American Muslims.

Hearings on Religious Extremism in America

• Homeland Threats and Agency Responses
  Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
  September 19, 2012
• Lessons from Fort Hood: Improving our Ability to Connect the Dots
  House Homeland Security Committee
  Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
  September 14, 2012
• Eleven Years Later: Preventing Terrorists from Coming to America
  House Homeland Security Committee
  Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security
  September 11, 2012
• Eleven Years after 9/11: Can TSA Evolve to Meet the Next Terrorist Threat?
  House Homeland Security Committee
  Subcommittee on Transportation Security
  September 11, 2012
• Understanding the Homeland Threat Landscape
  House Committee on Homeland Security
  July 25, 2012
• A Decade After 9/11 Could American Flight Schools Still Knowingly Be Training Terrorist?
  House Committee on Homeland Security
  Subcommittee on Transportation Security
  July 18, 2012
• The American Muslim Response to Hearings on Radicalization within their Community
  House Committee on Homeland Security
  June 20, 2012
• Joint Hearing on Homegrown Terrorism: The Threat to Military Communities inside the United States
  House Committee on Homeland Security
  Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
  December 7, 2011
• Al Shabaab: Recruitment and Radicalization within the Muslim American Community and the Threat to the Homeland
  House Committee on Homeland Security
  July 27, 2011
• The Threat of Muslim-American Radicalization in U.S. Prisons
  House Committee on Homeland Security
  June 15, 2011
• The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community's Response
  House Committee on Homeland Security
  March 10, 2011
• Ticking Time Bomb: Counterterrorism Lessons from the U.S. Government's Failure to Prevent the Fort Hood Attack
  Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
  February 15, 2011

Hearing on the Rights of Religious Minorities

• Protecting the Civil Rights of American Muslims
  Senate Committee on the Judiciary
  Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights
  March 29, 2011

Hearings on the Threat of Religious Extremist Abroad

• Combatting the Haqqani Network
  House Committee on Foreign Affairs
  Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
  September 13, 2012
• The State Department’s Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications: Mission, Operations, and Impact
  House Committee on Foreign Affairs
  Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
  August 2, 2012
• U.S. Policy toward Nigeria: West Africa’s Troubled Titan
  House Committee on Foreign Affairs
  July 10, 2012
• The Tuareg Revolt and the Mali Coup
  House Committee on Foreign Affairs 
  Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights 
  June 29, 2012
• The Lord’s Resistance Army, Boko Haram, al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and other Sources of Instability in Africa
  House Committee on Foreign Affairs
  April 25, 2012
• The State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism: Budget, Programs, and Policies
  House Committee on Foreign Affairs
  April 18, 2012
• Iran, Hezbollah, and the Threat to the Homeland
  House Committee on Homeland Security
  March 21, 2012
• Current and Future Worldwide Threats to the National Security of the United States
  Senate Committee on the Armed Services
  February 16, 2012
• Jihadist Use of Social Media: How to Prevent Terrorism and Preserve Innovation
  House Committee on Homeland Security
  Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence
  December 6, 2011
• Boko Haram: Emerging Threat to the U.S. Homeland
  House Committee on Homeland Security
  Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence
  November 30, 2011
• Joint Hearing: Iranian Terror Operations on American Soil
  House Committee on Homeland Security
  Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence
  Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management
  October 26, 2011
• Hezbollah in Latin America: Implications for U.S. Homeland Security
  House Committee on Homeland Security
  Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence
  July 7, 2011
• Ten Years on: The Evolution of the Terrorist Threat since 9/11
  House Committee on the Armed Services
  Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
  June 22, 2011
• Threats to the American Homeland after Killing Bin Laden
  House Committee on Homeland Security
  May 25, 2011
• Al Qaeda, the Taliban and other Extremist Groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan
  Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
  May 24, 2011
• The Threat to the U.S. Homeland Emanating from Pakistan
  House Committee on Homeland Security
  Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence
  May 3, 2011
• The Terrorist Threat to the U.S. Homeland: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
  House Committee on Homeland Security
  Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence
  March 2, 2011