Tragedies like the Boston Marathon bombing have a tendency to stir up prejudice, especially if the suspects come from certain racial or religious backgrounds. The attack led New York Rep. Peter King, for example, to call for increased surveillance of the Muslim community during an appearance this week on Fox News Sunday.

King tried to justify his remarks by claiming that when the FBI went after the Mafia, it targeted Italian communities and Irish communities when going after members of the Irish-American gang known as the Westies.

Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim to be elected to Congress, called his Republican colleague's remarks both "wrong" and "ridiculous."

"No one ever said let's surveil a whole ethnic community. They went after people who were criminals and who were exhibiting criminal behavior. Now, the fact that those people happen to be of a particular ethnic origin was not really the causal effect. The issue was what they were doing," he said Monday on MSNBC's News Nation With Tamron Hall. "And so, again, it is just ridiculous, I mean to say that because of the Westies that every Irish person was under suspect, everyone in America knows that's ridiculous. But still he wants to cast a wide net with regard to Muslims."

Ellison also said that in addition to being unfair, targeting an entire community for the actions of one member "wastes valuable resources. We need to channel resources where they are most needed, which is on behavior."

BET Politics - Your source for the latest news, photos and videos illuminating key issues and personalities in African-American political life, plus commentary from some of our liveliest voices. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. 

Get ready for the BET Experience, featuring Beyoncé, Snoop Dogg, R. Kelly, Erykah Badu, Kendrick Lamar and many more. Go here for more details and info on how to buy tickets.

(Photo: News Nation with Tameron Hall via MSN)