Recently, in the US House of Representatives, Chairman Peter King opened hearings against rising Muslim radicalisation in the US. He said that radical elements in society are an easy target for al Qaeda, as local Muslims communities refuse to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies. He claimed that public opinion polls show that a small fraction of Muslim men supported suicide bombings and most mosques in the US have radical clerics heading them. Furthermore, he suggested that Muslim communities need to band with the US government in fighting terrorism within and without the US. Peter King’s remarks remind one of a phenomenon not too long gone. It seems Peter King is following in the footsteps of a US Senator, who introduced McCarthyism to fight the ‘evils’ of communism all over the globe. In the process of wiping out evil, be it communism or radical Islam, they perpetrated the problem even further by playing right into the hands of the enemy they were trying to fight. It is clear that Mr King is not helping the cause. The only purpose he is serving is that of gaining political mileage for the Republicans. There is some truth in the assertion that the new generation of Muslims in the Western countries are rejecting the authority of the state. However, the very reason why this rift was created was because of the hardline stance taken up by the Bush regime. His measures, such as the creation of the Homeland Security Department, ended up strengthening the fundamentalist elements’ agenda. Actions such as racial and religious profiling, helped al Qaeda find more recruits. The Muslim communities in the US, especially the younger generation, are forced towards extremism through degrading security measures taken by the US law enforcement agencies. The Obama administration realised that the war will be lost if this discriminatory repressive policy continued. Even though President Obama has shifted his stance from confrontation to reconciliation, the rift between the Muslim community and the US lingers on. The last thing that was required at this point in time and under these precarious conditions, was a ‘witch-hunt’ directed against Muslims in the US. Not only did Mr King point fingers at the whole Muslim community rather than isolated cases, he also backed his claims with highly exaggerated figures not based on facts. Mr King should tread carefully and instead of widening the gap in society, take steps to create bridges so that the hearts and minds of the young generation of Muslims living in the US can be won over. *