Panelists address anti-refugee sentiment and other issues during the town hall meeting Monday, Nov. 30

DEARBORN — When Mohamed kills, he represents every Muslim and Arab American. When Michael kills, he represents only Michael. 

That is how Walid Saleh Fidama, executive board member of the National Association of Yemeni Americans, described the discrepancy in media portrayals of Arab and Muslim Americans versus White and Christian Americans.

“We are against it,” Fidama said of recent ISIS attacks in Paris and Beirut. “This radical Islam is not Islam.” 

Officials and activists addressed Americans’ responses to the terrorist acts at a town hall meeting Monday, Nov. 30 at the Arab American National Museum. The forum featured Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad, ACCESS Executive Director Hassan Jaber and Take on Hate Campaign Manager Rashida Tlaib.

The speakers discussed the recent shift in political and public opinion regarding refugees and Muslims. Jaber said Gov. Snyder’s call to pause refugee resettlement started a wave of erroneous messages.

“We don’t have a terrorism issue among our refugee population,” Tlaib said. “It’s all made up and it’s completely false.”  

She emphasized that the community can combat anti-refugee sentiment. 

Tlaib said actions individuals can take include contacting senators about the American SAFE Act, which would require extra security checks for individuals from Iraq or Syria applying for U.S. refugee status. The House has passed the bill and the Senate is expected to vote on it this week. 

Pointing to Jews fleeing Nazi Germany and Japanese Americans who were interned during WWII, Tlaib said such legislation, as well as hateful rhetoric from politicians about refugees, follows a historical trend of victimizing groups in turbulent times.

Dearborn community activist Joseph Borrajo said each person can serve as an ambassador for the community and project a positive image to deflect negativity.

Borrajo reminded those at the meeting to stay active in the community and to express their opinions by voting. 

Referring to Borrajo, ACCESS’ Jaber and other local activists, Tlaib said, “They worked way too hard for us to take a backseat and hide in our basements.” 

Recent threats to the city that might have made some residents uneasy also were part of the discussion. 

Haddad said police found Sarah Beebe, a Navy veteran who lives in Fort Gratiot, less than an hour after she threatened Dearborn on Twitter last month. He said the tweet could incite others to take destructive actions, which is a greater threat. 

“My concern was that I don’t know where those tweets went,” he said.

Many misconceptions already surround the community, the chief said, including the idea that he is instituting Sharia law in the city. 

“I got 12,000 emails — kinda hateful — and it’s only because they don’t realize what religion I might be,” Haddad said. 

He urged residents to trust police officers and report any suspicious activity in the city.

“Every one of us here has an obligation to stand up to keep our community strong,” Haddad said. “Every one of us has an obligation to make sure that people don’t misrepresent who we are.”