The Hill News

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) plans to hold hearings on protecting American Muslims' civil rights, his office announced Tuesday night.

The hearings come a few weeks after Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) held controversial hearings on the radicalization of American Muslims.

But an official with knowledge of the hearings said that the Durbin hearing is not meant as a counter to those hearings. Instead, it is "in response to the spike in anti-Muslim bigotry in the last year including Quran burnings, restrictions on mosque construction, hate crimes, hate speech, and other forms of discrimination" according to a statement announcing the hearings.

“Our Constitution protects the free exercise of religion for all Americans,” Durbin said in the statement. “During the course of our history, many religions have faced intolerance. It is important for our generation to renew our founding charter’s commitment to religious diversity and to p! rotect the liberties guaranteed by our Bill of Rights.”

The hearings, set to begin March 29, will be held by the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Right and Human Rights, which Durbin chairs.

Civil rights officials from the Bush and Obama administration as well as  Muslim civil rights leader Farhana Khera are scheduled to testify.

Earlier this month King held hearings investigating the radicalization of Muslim Americans. Those hearings were widely criticized by Democrats who worried that it unfairly singled out Muslim Americans.