Terrorist Plots, Helped Along by the F.B.I. – NYTimes.com

Faith in Public Life :: Bold Faith Type. The Hill is reporting that Peter King has received threatening phone calls as his controversial hearings on the “radicalization” of the American Muslim community approach. This is contemptible. Such actions have no place in our society. We also hope anti-Islam activists do not seize on these threats to broadly impugn Muslims.

So what's the difference? It is this. Some expressions of bigotry are permissible in this country and some aren't. One had best keep your anti-black racism to yourself — or pretend it's just about Obama as the Limbaughs and right-wingers do. Same with Jews, where, as the Thomas case demonstrates, expressing disdain for Israel, let alone Jews, can be a career killer. But it's still okay to express open prejudice towards gays and lesbians, Latino immigrants (legal or illegal) and, above all, Muslims and Arabs. [From Jeff Goldberg Defends Marty Peretz — But Not That Bigot, Helen Thomas] islamophobia, anti-Muslim