More opposition to Rep. Peter King’s radical Islam hearing

As U.S. Rep. Peter King’s hearings on radical Islam approach, I’m seeing more protests and condemnation. This one, from J. Brent Walker of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, arrived today in my inbox:

“I know a little about how this feels when last week, the Westboro Baptist Church — and their hellish, venomous speech — was thought by many to characterize all Baptists,” Walker said. “I had to remind the media that Roger Williams, Martin Luther King Jr. and Jimmy Carter are more typical of Baptists than Rev. Phelps.”

Walker said “the hearing will send a further message that Muslims present a greater threat of terrorism than other religions,” and “it would imply that the potential for terrorism from outside of Islam is not significant enough to merit a hearing.”

Walker and Co would like to see the hearings broadened to include religious extremists outside the Muslim fold.