Last week, The Intercept, an online news source, leaked a federal document that alleges Dearborn has the second highest number of “known or suspected terrorists” in the country. Within hours, it made headlines across the country and front page news in local media.

The report was not only inaccurate, it was an insult to the city and the communities that make Dearborn their home. 

It was dangerous. 

But the reaction to it did not live up to its significance. 

While civil rights organizations and a few officials have denounced the report, the city of Dearborn did not even comment on it in its official capacity with the exception of media remarks by Police Chief Ronald Haddad.

The report targets the entire city. It hurts all Dearborn residents— their businesses, their schools, their families, their safety. Mayor Jack O’Reilly should have launched a media campaign to defend his constituents. His silence only helps perpetuate the flawed perception of Dearborn as a city of terrorists. 

The document, which is stamped with the seal of the National Counterterrorism Center, is authentic. If it were not, officials in Washington would have denied it. But they have not. As a matter of fact, they tipped the Associated Press about it after they learned that the Intercept had obtained it. 

Let us not blame the media. The problem is not that the media reported on the document. The problem is that such a document exists, that the federal government classifies Dearborn residents as terrorist suspects. The problem is that one can end up on a watch list for going to a mosque or liking a Facebook status, according to our national intelligence agencies’ draconian guidelines.

Even in the Arab American community, the response fell short, given the impact of the leaked report. Furthermore, some individuals in our own community took to social media, using a sectarian rationale, to justify the report. 

Some Arab Americans who oppose Hizbullah stated that the report is true because many Dearborn residents support the Lebanese militant group. Supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad argued that Dearborn is a nest for terrorists because it is home to many people who back the Syrian rebels. 

The truth is that it does not matter where we stand on the conflicts in the Middle East. Our opinions are protected by the First Amendment. If members of the community violate the law, they should be formally charged with a crime. The federal government has branded an entire city— one much smaller in population than either New York or Houston, the first and third cities on the list, respectively— as suspected terrorists because of the opinions and faiths of many of its residents. 

If we see each other in such a negative light, how do we expect our image to be viewed in the eyes of those who hate us?

However, despite the pain this report brought to our community, and despite the shortcomings of some politicians and residents, many officials honorably lived up to their duties as public servants and were outspoken in their defense of Dearborn and Arab Americans.

We thank everybody who took the side of our city against this inaccurate report.

We single out Barbara McQuade, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, with our gratitude for standing up for Dearborn. She refuted the findings of the document and spoke highly of our community. Her testament as a federal official eases some of the fear that the report sparked in our households and businesses. 

Congressman John Dingell, who is no stranger to defending Dearborn, also took our side. He attended a meeting of community leaders and civil rights organizations and promised to follow through on learning more about the report. Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Chairperson Lon Johnson was present at the same meeting and pledged to support the state’s Arab Americans through these hard times.