Rep. King Defends Radical Islam Hearings: I’m Not Caving to Political Correctness

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) won't be bullied or swayed by celebrities or rallies. That's the message he sent during an appearance on "Fox & Friends" Monday morning while discussing plans to hold hearings on radical Islam in America.

King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, didn't mince words while sticking to his position that radical Islam is, and should be, a concern in the United States.

"I'm going ahead with the hearings," King said, while reminding the audience that even Obama administration officials have worried about young, radicalized Muslims as well as home-grown terrorists.

"They can yell in Times Square and they can get all these celebrities out they want attacking me. I'm not gonna stop," he reiterated. "I'm not gonna give in to political correctness:"

Rally in Times Square they did. On Sunday, some 300 people rallied in the heart of Manhattan to speak out against King's planned congressional hearing on Muslim terrorism, criticizing it as xenophobic and accusing the Rep. of singling out Muslims rather than extremists.

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and the imam who had led an effort to build an Islamic center near the World Trade Center site were among those who addressed the crowd.

"Our real enemy is not Islam or Muslims," said the imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf. "The enemy is extremism and radicalism and radical ideology."

In response, King on Monday made clear he wasn't indicting the entire Muslim community, but rather calling on moderate Muslims to "push aside" radical groups and individuals.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.