This should be a reminder to all Arab and Muslim Americans that what each member of the community does or says can affect and reflect on all of us.

Whether or not Khalil Abu-Rayyan meant what he said when he told an FBI informant he wanted to “shoot up” a church in Detroit, the comments, which expressed criminal intentions, are inexcusable.

The Arab American News condemns these dangerous remarks in the strongest terms

Abu-Rayyan, of Dearborn Heights, is facing gun and drug charges and a legal complaint against him revealed that he made violent threats and displayed support for ISIS.

A similar case unfolded in 2014, when Mohammad Hamdan, 22, told an FBI informant he is planning on joining Hezbollah in its fight in Syria. It appears that the informants in both cases were acquainted with the suspects, who were speaking to them in confidence. 

Making statements that can be legally construed as illegal is no joking matter, privately or in public. 

Needless to say, both young men are an anomaly among Arab Americans.

However, while there is no noticeable extremism in the Arab American community, this controversy brought to the surface other issues that Arabs in Southeast Michigan must face.

Abu-Rayyan had a drug problem. It is clear that he was also struggling with mental and psychological complications.

In the case of Abu-Rayyan, there were warning signs of his straying away from the community values of hard work and peaceful coexistence. The fact that he reached that point is a signal of society’s shortcomings in addressing such problems.

The mental health and drug abuse stigmas here have cost lives in the forms of overdoses and suicides. Now Abu-Rayyan’s case is unfairly reflecting on the entire community, which is already a target of bigotry.

Meanwhile, the government did not deal with Abu-Rayyan or Hamdan in the best possible way.

Federal officials keep talking about forming partnerships with the Arab and Muslim communities, but little is actually done to engage the community outside formality meetings with local leaders that are proving to be mere photo-ops for law enforcement officials.

When the federal government noticed that Abu-Rayyan was displaying signs of extremism, it should have reached out to community leaders to work with his family and social services groups to provide him the help he needed.

Instead, the FBI sent an informant to record his threats, knowing that when the situation became public, it would contribute to the rise of Islamophobia in the region, which is currently at an alarming level.

But that is a deep rooted-problem with law enforcement agencies in America.

Cops linger inconspicuously in zones where the traffic is normally faster than the speed limit, so they can hand out tickets to folks going about their day. Law enforcement should prevent crime in coordination with the community, not prey on citizens to incriminate people. This “Chris Hansen justice” is injustice.

However, the fault — first and foremost — lies with Abu-Rayyan and Hamdan themselves.

Both cases should serve as a reminder to all Arab and Muslim Americans that what each member of the community does or says can affect and reflect on all of us.