DEARBORN – Muslim community leaders stood in solidarity with local Christians outside of the Cherry Hill Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning following a wave of publicity that began with a misleading article published by the Detroit Free Press on Friday.

The free press published an article written by Niraj Warikoo that claimed Muslim parents were upset that the church had been distributing flyers at local Dearborn Public Schools to promote their upcoming Easter egg hunt “Eggstravaganza” on Saturday, April 12.

However, it was only one parent who launched complaints and was in contact with the Detroit Free Press. Local Attorney Majed Moughni, who is also the administrator of the Dearborn Area Community Members Page, claimed that the flyer had bothered his children, arguing that there should be a separation of state and church.

Once the story was published, a storm of backlash ensued over the weekend. Hundreds of local Muslims voiced their opinions on social media, including Moughni’s very own page, denouncing his stance and criticizing the Detroit Free Press for publishing a misleading article.

The article has since been modified to highlight that it was just one parent who had launched complaints. However by Saturday evening, the original version of the story had caught wind of national media outlets, with Fox News and Yahoo! falsely reporting that multiple parents had launched complaints as well.   

Community leaders organized a gathering outside of the church on Sunday morning to show solidarity between local Muslims and Christians. Those in attendance included The Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani, as well as representatives from The Arab Civil Rights League (ACRL) the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC-MI), the Lebanese American Heritage Club (LAHC), the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) local business leaders, religious and political activists and Dearborn Board of Trustees President Hussein Berry, among others.  

Neeta Nichols, Pastor of the Cherry Hill Presbyterian, stood with the community leaders as they condemned Moughni’s stance and called for local Muslims to participate in the church’s “Eggstravaganza” event next week. 

Members of the church told The Arab American News that they were delighted to see an outcry of support from the local Muslim community. A total of $500 was donated to the church by community leaders, which will go towards purchasing more eggs for the event.