Excerpt:
Sen. Dick Durbin claimed Tuesday that American Muslims face charges today that they are "not real Americans," as he convened a hearing on Muslim civil rights to counter a hearing held earlier in the month on Islamic radicalization.
Durbin, along with several other senators, expressed concern that U.S. Muslims are facing widespread discrimination in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., claimed Muslims are the victim of "demonization." Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., claimed hate groups increasingly are targeting Muslims in the United States.
"It's wrong to blame an entire community for the wrongdoing of a few," Durbin said. "Guilt by association is not the American way."