: Civil Rights Groups Angered by Bush Appointee

Taken at face value, it could be argued that the comments of US Commission on Civil Rights member Peter Kirsanow at a meeting in Detroit last week were exactly what he later claimed – an illustration of the public reaction if there were another attack by Arabs on U.S. soil. “Not too many people will be crying in their beer if there are more detentions, more stops and more profiling,” he said. But Arabs, Muslims, and civil liberties groups saw it another way, saying it reflected a political bias of the controversial appointee, and launched a protest in response. Kirsanow has been targeted in the past for his political leanings (he lectured for the conservative Heritage Foundation) and is seen by many as President Bush’s attempt to neutralize the commission’s work (although other members of the troubled commission have been challenged). Still, Kirsanow maintains his innocence. “I was trying to emphasize that an effective war on terrorism and preserving civil liberties are not mutually exclusive,” he said Monday.

Zahed Amanullah is associate editor of altmuslim.com.  He is based in London, England.