A Detroit Free Press article titled “Muslim parents upset over flyer promoting church’s Easter egg hunt” was published on Thursday, April 3. After reading the story, however, one discovers that the “worry” expressed comes from only one Muslim father, Dearborn resident Majed Moughni.

Niraj Warikoo, the article’s author, quoted only one parent, Moughni, but he attributed his opinion to “Muslim parents,” creating drama and conflict to gain readers, because as we all know, religious feuds are always a hot topic. Dearborn Muslim social media users overwhelmingly denied being offended by the flyer, which promotes an event on April 12 at Cherry Hill Presbyterian Church.

Manufacturing a conflict like this in Dearborn interfaith community is irresponsible and dangerous. Harmful comments like, “Muslim plead for understanding and acceptance from Christians…but yet can’t or won’t offer the same in return,” were published on the Free Press’ Facebook page, encouraging negative feelings against the Muslim community, which is already suffering bigotry and discrimination.

Warikoo tried to hide his shortcomings, sensationalism and unprofessionalism by changing one word in the headline from “parents” to “parent” on Friday. However, by then, thousands of people had read the story and were under the impression that most, if not all, Muslims were offended by this flyer, the egg hunt, and, subsequently, other faiths. Many national media outlets picked up the story as well.

Dearborn Patch featured the article and added to its inaccuracy by stating that “[t]he parents said the incident is deepening their concerns churches are using the school district to convert their children to Christianity.”

What parents?

Despite changing the headline, the Free Press published a cartoon on Saturday, claiming again that Muslim parents are angry over the flyers. 

Even on Moughni’s own “Dearborn Area Community Members” Facebook page, the overwhelming majority of comments were about the absurdity of Moughni’s “concern,” after he and Warikoo made it seem like it was an issue for all Muslim parents.

“You are a joke! A disgrace to our community and disgrace to Muslim religion. It’s bad enough others already have this misconception about us and you choose an egg hunt to attempt to prove a point? You do not represent this community whatsoever,” a user stated on the Facebook page. However, this comment and others criticizing Moughni were deleted by Moughni himself soon after they were posted.

Moughni can delete comments, and Warikoo can change his headline. But what was published is unerasable and affects us all.

The truth is that almost all Muslim parents in Dearborn are not offended at all by the flyer. They are concerned about funding for their children’s schools, education standards and class size, just like all parents.

Moughni was seeking attention, and Warikoo rewarded his efforts, without ever reaching out to other parents, religious leaders, or civil rights groups.

Nobody is rioting. Nobody is angry. In a world where real civil rights issues exist for Arab and Muslim Americans, such actions by Moughni and Warikoo should be denounced clearly.

Warikoo’s coverage of Moughni’s complaints is the latest in a series of mistakes he has committed while covering the Arab American and Muslim communities. On Oct. 20, Warikoo commented on the appointment of Jacob Bender as the head of the Philadelphia chapter of the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) by stating on Twitter, “A Jewish-American is new head of Philadelphia chapter of a Muslim American group founded and led by Hamas supporters.” 

CAIR’s leaders and founders are not Hamas supporters.

In 2007, the New York Times reported that “more than one [government official] described the standards used by critics to link CAIR to terrorism as akin to McCarthyism.”

Following Warikoo’s unfounded tweet, leaders of civil rights organizations from different ethnic communities wrote a letter to the publisher of the Free Press Paul Anger informing him of their decision to boycott Worikoo.

“Our concerns about Warikoo’s coverage of our communities and our organizations’ events do not extend across the breadth of his career with the Freep.  However, given his coverage pertaining to a number of issues in the past couple of years, we can no longer grant him interviews pertaining to our events and our organizations until further notice,” read the letter, which was signed by Detroit Branch NAACP Executive Director Donnell White, ACRL Chairman Nabih Ayad and CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, among others.

In August of last year, when Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Jaafari delivered a speech at a dinner in Dearborn, Warikoo made it a point to state in his article that the ambassador did not grant him an interview at the dinner. The truth is that Jaafari had told Warikoo to meet him at his hotel, which was less than five minutes away from the event. The reporter agreed to come but never showed up.

Moughni capitalized on Warikoo’s sensationalism for publicity. And as if the media fiasco he stirred up were not enough, Moughni followed the story to the national stage. He was featured on Fox News’ Sean Hannity show on Tuesday.

Moughni did not say that he represents himself only and viewers were under the impression that he speaks for a number of parents who are angry about the flyer.

Moughni was double-teamed by Hannity and fellow Fox presenter Bob Beckel, who embarked upon on a successful mission to ridicule him.

“…The Muslim community both in the United States and certainly overseas, the presidents of every Muslim nation, the radicals certainly, but the mainstream Muslims, supposedly moderate Muslims, have said nothing when children get bombed at Boston Marathon, when the Cole gets blown up, or the World Trade Center — nothing is ever said,” Becket railed at Moughni.

As ridiculous as it is, this comment was expected from Beckel, who has a history of making bigoted, racist and sexist remarks.

The bewildering part, however, was Moughni’s disastrous response. The Dearborn attorney, who knows our community well, did not call out Beckel on his lies. He did not tell him that the Muslim community, with its imams, leaders and members, stands united against terrorism. He did not tell him that community leaders, religious scholars and elected officials gathered at the Islamic Institute of Knowledge in the wake of the Boston bombing to unequivocally condemn the perpetrators. It was one of countless events where the community has stood up against acts of terror committed by fundamentalists here and abroad.

Instead, Moughni tooted his own horn at the expense of the rest of us. He said he condemns terrorism, as if to portray himself as the “good” American Muslim among the bad bunch, while the truth is the exact opposite.  

Speaking nervously, Moughni added gasoline to Fox News’ flames of hatred against Muslims by saying: “You know, when I stood up in front of the world media and I said, you want to kill Americans, come to us first? Well, guess what I got? I got a phone call the next day from a guy who said — from another Muslim from Ireland– who said he would put a bullet in my head for standing up.”

What Moughi was trying to achieve is beyond us, but what has become clear is that our community stands strongly united against his irresponsibility and Warikoo’s unprofessionalism.