WASHINGTON: The United States government has been “infiltrated” by the Muslim Brotherhood, US Representative Michele Bachmann has argued. Her comments have sparked an outcry among the Muslim-American community, calling the Minnesota representative an “Islamophobe.” She accused the White House and President Barack Obama of allowing the Brotherhood to make policy on the US government's foreign relations, although she gave no supporting evidence beyond speculation. “It appears that there has been deep penetration in the halls of our United States government by the Muslim Brotherhood," Bachmann said. “It appears that there are individuals who are associated with the Muslim Brotherhood who have positions, very sensitive positions, in our Department of Justice, our Department of Homeland Security, potentially even in the National Intelligence Agency." When asked to explain Bachmann's concerns, her spokesman, Dan Kotman, said he had nothing to add to what's in the letters to federal agencies. Meanwhile, Representative Keith Ellison, a Muslim-American and also Minnesotan, said in a statement that he was bewildered by Bachmann's comments. Ellison, the first Muslim-American elected to the US Congress, said he doesn't understand why Bachmann would make such accusations through the press if she has information that's as sensitive as she claims. “If she has sources for this type of information, she owes it to the country to reveal them to the proper authorities, but definitely not this way," Ellison said. “If she doesn't have this type of information, she should not be whipping up fear and hysteria about a very important matter." The issue of Islamophobia has been rising in the US in recent months, after Senate hearings on the “radicalization” of Muslims in the country sparked a nerve with the minority religious group. A number of local sheikhs and Muslim leaders in the Washington DC area have told Bikyamasr.com that they “fear the rising of this kind of discussion will lead to the disenfranchisement of the Muslim community in America.”
