Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud says city belongs to everyone

Assistant AG on the Division of Justice asks right-wing activist for details about alleged hate crimes through the Dearborn protest.

• Elected officers and non secular leaders gathered at a mosque in Dearborn to name for unity and denounce hate.
• Assistant Lawyer Common Harmeet Dhillon requested a right-wing activist protesting in Dearborn for details about an alleged hate crime.

After a contentious previous few months in Dearborn amid debates over religion, Mayor Abdullah Hammoud joined different elected officers and non secular leaders in calling for unity and declaring the town open to all.

On Friday, Nov. 21, Hammoud spoke in entrance of one in all Michigan’s largest mosques at a city-hosted occasion about Dearborn’s historical past of immigrant communities and vowed to proceed welcoming variety. Hammoud’s speech got here three days after controversial protests and an tried Quran burning in Dearborn precipitated division, and two weeks after he was re-elected with 71% of the vote. Throughout the intensive marketing campaign, Hammoud was criticized for insulting a Christian preacher who spoke at a council assembly.

“Let me say it clearly, with out hesitation or reservation: Dearborn’s doorways are open to everybody,” Hammoud mentioned Friday afternoon within the car parking zone of the Islamic Heart of America, the place he attends and the place one in all his uncles is imam. “Whether or not you might be Muslim, whether or not you might be Christian, whether or not you might be Jewish, individuals of any religion or no religion in any respect, you might be welcome right here. We is not going to attempt to burn your holy books, however fairly we are going to create a secure place so that you can worship.”

Hammoud’s feedback got here the day after Assistant Lawyer Common Harmeet Dhillon, accountable for civil rights on the Justice Division, requested a right-wing activist who gathered in Dearborn on Tuesday and appeared to have taken a blow to contact her workplace. “the information necessary to initiate an investigation” into alleged hate crimes towards him.

Hammoud mentioned the town will defend the rights of everybody, no matter religion and background. Some Christian residents have expressed concern lately that some mosques are extensively performing the Islamic name to prayer, which they are saying is an infringement on their peace and rights.

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“So immediately we reaffirm one thing easy and highly effective: Dearborn belongs to everybody, each religion, each background, each life journey,” Hammoud mentioned as the gang applauded. ‘You will have a home right here. You will have a spot right here. You will have rights right here. And we are going to defend that proudly and with out exception.”

Hammoud was joined on the assembly by Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox Christian, Shia Muslim and Sunni Muslim leaders who stood subsequent to him. Additionally talking have been Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist; Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson; U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, whose district contains Dearborn; Council President Michael Sareini; This contains state Rep. Alabas Farhat, D-Dearborn, and Wayne County Commissioner Sam Baydoun, D-Dearborn. The Islamic Heart of America, the place the occasion was held, is positioned subsequent to 2 church buildings on Altar Street, a reputation that displays its historical past of being residence to church buildings. Metropolis officers invited media to the occasion. Speeches have been delivered at a podium bearing the Dearborn seal, which reads: “Residence of Henry Ford.”

The protesters who gathered in Dearborn on Tuesday, November 18, claimed that the town is ruled by Sharia, Islamic regulation, a declare debunked by Baydoun. The commissioner famous that Dearborn has strip golf equipment, liquor shops and Christian nativity scenes.

“On Tuesday, a gaggle of right-wing extremists claiming to be combating towards Sharia regulation in Dearborn descended on this nice, various American metropolis, some in navy fashion, prepared for a conflict that solely exists inside… their slender minds,” Baydoun mentioned. “They walked previous a nativity scene on Michigan Avenue that has been a part of Dearborn’s Christmas traditions for many years. They walked previous… one in all Dearborn’s two gents’s golf equipment to protest a regulation that does not exist.”

Baydoun additionally famous the contributions of Arab Individuals, who’ve been a part of the town’s historical past courting again 100 years for generations, noting their navy service and contributions within the fields of drugs and regulation enforcement.

“Dearborn produces expertise, not extremists,” Baydoun mentioned.

The latest tensions started on September 9 after Hammoud’s outburst towards Ted Barham, a Protestant minister. Hammoud then tried to make clear his opinion, saying two weeks later that Dearborn is welcome to everybody. There have additionally been tensions lately over the outside broadcast of the Islamic name to prayer, which started on the Islamic Institute of Data in 2023 and performed at another mosques. Forty residents ask the town to decrease the quantity.

Anthony Hudson of Grand Blanc, a Republican candidate for governor, then known as for a rally in Dearborn on November 18 to cease Sharia regulation and defend the rights of Christians. However after spending 4 days in Dearborn and visiting mosques, his opinion modified. On November 18, he nonetheless met, however in a extra respectful tone. However a few of his followers defected to a different group of right-wing activists led by Florida’s Jake Lang, who was pardoned by President Donald Trump of prices stemming from the Jan. 6 riots within the nation’s capital.

Lang made hateful feedback about Muslims, minorities and immigrants at his Nov. 18 rally and at a council assembly that night, describing America as a rustic meant just for white Christians. About 55% of Dearborn residents are of Arab descent, the very best share of Arab Individuals of any metropolis within the US.

Lang and different right-wing influencers have accused Hammoud, who’s Muslim, and Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin, the primary Muslim police chief in Dearborn historical past, of not tolerating the free speech rights of anti-Muslim activists. However below Hammoud’s rule, the town has not restricted anti-Islamic speech and Quran burnings. Final yr, Dearborn police allowed an Oregon girl to burn a Koran in entrance of a mosque within the metropolis. Underneath the earlier administration, when the mayor and police chief have been Christian, the town typically cracked down on conservative Christians who have been anti-Muslim, leading to lawsuits and authorized settlements. On November 18, Dearborn police didn’t block Lang or intervene when he tried to burn and desecrate the Quran.

Some right-wing influencers and journalists protecting Tuesday’s protests declare they have been attacked through the demonstrations. However Dearborn police mentioned constitutional rights have been protected.

On Tuesday, “officers made three arrests from totally different teams after observing disorderly conduct all through the night,” mentioned Cpl. Dan Bartok informed the Free Press in an announcement. Bartok didn’t say who has been arrested or what particular crimes they could have dedicated.

Along with the 2 gatherings of conservatives, there was a rally led by liberal teams in help of Muslims.

“On Tuesday, November 18, protesters from a number of organized teams converged on the realm of ​​Michigan Ave and Schaefer Rd,” Bartok mentioned in an announcement. “Though the splintering of the teams was unplanned, officers responded shortly and successfully managed the state of affairs whereas defending members, residents, motorists, property and everybody’s constitutional rights.”

Shahin mentioned of his police division, “I’m happy with the disciplined and measured response our officers demonstrated through the November 18 demonstrations. Their actions mirrored our division’s core values ​​and our dedication to defending everybody in our metropolis.”

Bartok urged residents to not have interaction with protesters.

“We urge the neighborhood by no means to instantly take part in such demonstrations to make sure the protection of all concerned,” he mentioned.

Following Tuesday’s protests, a number of Democratic politicians in Michigan, together with U.S. Senator Gary Peters, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, issued statements condemning the right-wing protests. In earlier years when anti-Islam activists got here to Dearborn, interfaith conferences and statements have been distributed earlier than the occasion, however this time no assembly befell till afterward.

Group advocates observe that one other instance of Dearborn’s respect for Christians was seen Thursday night time annual Christmas tree lighting with a go to from Santa Claus and reindeer. Underneath the earlier mayor, the late John O’Reilly Jr., who was Catholic, there have been complaints from residents a couple of smaller tree and lowered festivities. After Hammoud was elected, the town revived the tree ceremony by introducing a a lot bigger tree and an elaborate occasion.

“We are going to construct bridges,” Hammoud mentioned on Friday. “That’s the better of our custom and our promise. And as mayor, I’ll defend that promise with all the things I’ve. … Dearborn’s future is not going to be written by outsiders carrying torches of concern. It is going to be written by the individuals of this metropolis, by all of us, standing right here collectively, working collectively, residing collectively and transferring ahead collectively.”

Lang mentioned on social media that he now plans to carry the same anti-Islam rally at a deliberate Muslim residence development in Texas called EPIC City.

Additionally this week, the Imams Council of Michigan launched an announcement asking individuals to “search data fairly than settle for politically motivated narratives rooted in concern.” The council’s two co-chairs, Imam Mohammed Elahi of the Islamic Home of Knowledge in Dearborn Heights and Imam Mustapha Elturk of the Islamic Group of North America, a Warren mosque, attended Friday’s occasion with Hammoud.

“Some individuals with political ambitions brainwash the general public and exploit ignorance about Islam for their very own pursuits,” Elahi mentioned. “They’re harmful to the protection and safety of our communities.”

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com, X @nwarikoo or Facebook @nwarikoo