New York Republican Rep. Peter King, Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, announced Monday that he will be testifying in London before a British House of Commons committee on the “Roots of Violent Radicalisation.”
King, who has led the charge combating Islamic radicalization with hearings in the House of Representatives, was invited to testify by Keith Vaz, Member of Parliament and chairman of the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee Chairman. He will be the first Member of Congress to testify before a Parliamentary hearing in the United Kingdom, according to the Congressional Research Service.
“While I have consistently stated the overwhelming majority of Muslim-Americans are outstanding people, the reality is that radicalization within the Muslim-American community by al-Qaeda and its affiliates is a real threat to the security of our homeland,” King said in a statement, adding, “I am honored to have been invited by Chairman Vaz to testify before the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee as our vital ally, the United Kingdom, struggles with this same threat within its own borders. I look forward to sharing a number of our preliminary findings with Chairman Vaz and the Committee.”
Chairman Vaz echoed the happy expectations: “I am delighted that Congressman Peter King has accepted my invitation to visit the UK Parliament to launch our inquiry into the roots of violent radicalisation,” he said. “This is a unique opportunity to create an unbreakable bond between Westminster and Washington and more specifically between the Homeland Security Committee and the Home Affairs Select Committee.”
King speaking against terrorism in the United Kingdom has some recalling his past as an Irish Republican Army supporter.
“We must pledge ourselves to support those brave men and women who this very moment are carrying forth the struggle against British imperialism in the streets of Belfast and Derry,” King said in 1982 at a pro-IRA rally on Long Island.
King explained how his past support of the IRA does not conflict with his focus on eliminating Islamic terrorism to the New York Times in March. (RELATED: U.S. Muslims can sideline domestic Islamists, says reformer)
“I understand why people who are misinformed might see a parallel,” he said. “The fact is, the IRA never attacked the United States. And my loyalty is to the United States.”