Mulvaney’s visit set a good example

Following the recent attacks in Paris by Islamic State terrorists, the world has heard a chorus of condemnation of Muslims, claiming they all are terrorists at heart. The rhetoric and get so heated and distorted that those who simply refuse to join in those accusations seem reasonable and informed.

But U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney, the Indian Land Republican who represents South Carolina’s 5th District, went a step further. He chose this moment of inflamed emotions to make a personal visit York County’s Holy Islamville, a Muslim community just outside York that some have labeled a terrorist training camp.

Mulvaney has heard these claims for years but has been assured by York County Sheriff Bruce Bryant and federal officials that Islamville residents are law-abiding Americans who pose no threat to the community. But after what Mulvaney saw as a spike in the rumors about Islamville, especially on social media, he decided to go there himself.

He was accompanied by Bryant on a 90-minute visit, during which Mulvaney talked with Islamville’s leader, Ramadan Sayeed Shakir, and other members of the community of about 200 people. Shakir said he was “very pleased” with the discussions.

This no doubt was less of a fact-finding mission on Mulvaney’s part than an effort to help dispel the rumors that Islamville is anything other than a group of American families who work, play and participate in the activities in York County much like any other residents. And, like other fellow Americans, they also denounce the actions of Islamic State and other extremist groups.

“We do not recognize ISIS as even being Muslim,” Shakir said. “They are terrorists.”

Unfortunately, merely being a follower of Islam can brand people as terrorists in the minds of many. Mulvaney’s visit to Islamville encourages his constituents to make the vital distinction between ordinary Muslims and Islamic terrorists.

Bryant, who has been to Islamville numerous times and has sought to protect residents there from being targeted by bigots, has urged public officials to go to Islamville and see for themselves what it is like. Bryant has been a leader in promoting fairness and reason on this issue.

Sadly, he and Mulvaney must contend with heavily ingrained ignorance and animosity regarding Islam and its adherents, even when they are law-abiding citizens. It is easy to find maps of so-called terrorist training camps in the U.S. – some including Islamville – and claims that extremists have infiltrated the country and are planning attacks. These diatribes offer little or nothing in the way of facts or evidence to support those claims, but fear of terrorism can make people gullible.

The visit by Mulvaney and Bryant to Islamville last week was a good antidote to that sort of narrow-minded thinking. We salute both for injecting some rationality into the discussion and, in a real sense, helping to protect American citizens who are their constituents.

We hope other public officials and members of Congress will follow their example.

This story was originally published December 1, 2015 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Mulvaney’s visit set a good example."