DEARBORN — The allegations against Khalil Abu-Rayyan, the 21-year-old Dearborn Heights resident who was accused of supporting ISIS by the FBI, came as no surprise to those who knew him or had been following him on social media.

Court documents revealed that Abu-Rayyan had used Twitter to re-tweet, like and comment on ISIS propaganda content since 2014. He even posted videos of ISIS murdering and torturing people, along with photos of himself firing an AK-47 rifle.

In what perhaps was his most blatant move, In one photo he is seen raising his index finger in the air, a gesture that is widely regarding as an ISIS symbol.

Yet despite all of these red flags being displayed by Abu-Rayyan on his social media accounts, none of his friends or followers questioned his behavior or spoke out against it. 

Perhaps that was because he was a needle in a haystack of social media users who display outrageous and questionable behavior.

Whether it be racist remarks, derogatory photos involving drug use or nudity, information on recreational activities or, in Abu-Rayyan’s case, sympathizing with a terrorist organization, teens and young adults are now using social media in a dangerously unfiltered manner. 

Suehaila Amen, a recruiting coordinator at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and treasurer of the Lebanese American Heritage Club (LAHC), told The Arab American News that she is disturbed by the content being posted by community members on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 “I think people have failed to remember that anything that’s posted online is now in cyberspace and these types of negative displays of behavior or commentary can follow you later in life,” Amen said. 

Anything from a short Snapchat video to a Twitter comment can go viral and have a negative impact on the community if it sticks out. 

Amen recently traveled to both Toronto and Washington D.C. and was asked about a viral video involving two Dearborn Muslim women in hijabs. In the video, the women can be seen making sexual gestures on camera.

“People were telling me ‘these girls are from Dearborn, right?’,” Amen said. “It’s become the norm to show negativity, to show inappropriate behavior on social media. We don’t even question when we see something inappropriate, because it’s become the social norm. When girls post photos of themselves in their bras, no one thinks twice about it.”

Amen said the LAHC has taken measures to reach out to youth regarding their social media behavior. In the organization’s Youth Leadership and Diversity Education program, seminars are given to high school students on how to project positive images of the community online. 

However, she said greater efforts need to be taken and called for collaborative measures between community leaders and law enforcement agencies to educate both parents and their children about the dangers of the Internet. 

Amen noted that it’s troubling to see this type of behavior prevailing online during a time when the Arab and Muslim communities are being placed under a microscope.

“We are a community that has faced so much disrespect and outright maliciousness,” Amen added. “People have to understand that we have an obligation as a minority community and community of faith to show others that there is a side they are not seeing; and it gives us an opportunity to share our own stories. Social media is such a powerful tool and we don’t comprehend how vast and expansive it truly is.”

Nuha Suleiman, a Dearborn resident who runs the social media account beautybitexo, said she has used the internet to project a positive image of herself and shred stereotypes often painted on Muslim women in the U.S. 

Suleiman said that from early on, she learned how to reap the benefits of social media — so much that she was able to turn it into a business venture. 

She is now an ambassador for Memebox, an international cosmetic company. But on her YouTube, Instagram and Facebook accounts, where she promotes Memebox’s products to her thousands of followers, she is also an ambassador for positivity. 

“People don’t realize that you can use your social media in so many positive ways,” Suleiman said. “You can use it in a professional manner and be an ambassador, rather than use it to draw negativity. Once you put it on the Internet, there’s no control over it and you don’t know what’s going to happen or who is going to see it. You have to be very careful about what you post.”

Suleiman closely monitors her page to suppress any type of bullying or negativity, which she said has become standard behavior online.

“They think because they are behind a computer, that their words don’t affect people,” Suleiman said. “If someone said something negative to me online and then I saw them on the street, I bet they wouldn’t say the same thing to me in person. Social media is just an easy outlet to let that negativity out. You can attack somebody and not feel bad about it.” 

She said she has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from her social media pages, but there is always going to be a few sour apples who project negativity. 

She noted that with the Arab and Muslim communities, many residents go to social media to express their dismay about the current political climate and, in turn, end up attacking others as well.

 “Two wrongs don’t make a right,” Suleiman said. “Our community is under attack and we should know better. I feel like people who are experiencing racism the most are now going online to inflict the pain back on others and that’s not okay. Right now, more than ever, we need to unite as a community and use social media to better ourselves and watch out for our neighbors. We don’t need to be so disrespectful.”

Westland resident Steve Urenda has blurred the lines between his social media presence and his personal life, due to his positive contributions online. Urenda has used social media as a platform to build personal connections with interfaith groups on his Facebook page, The Bridge: A Jewish, Christian and Muslim Alliance. 

For Urenda, the Facebook page spawned off a real life group of friends from all walks of life, who now routinely meet for social gatherings. 

Urenda said turning social media into a positive venture was an obstacle for him at first. There were a lot of mechanics that needed to be ironed out, but ultimately consistency is what made the Facebook page a success.

“When we first got started, we settled on a handful of basic ideas to share,” Urenda said. “Over time, people saw that I was trying to hold on to those ideologies of understanding and listening to each other. An element of trust was built, which turned into, ‘hey let’s go get coffee or go out to dinner.’ There was a lot of instinctive steps to this process.” 

Urenda said that community members’ thoughts are often misconstrued because outsiders can’t relate to the pain and struggle of the minority group. 

At one point, he shared a misconstrued perception about the Muslim community as well, until he began paying closer attention to their stories and struggles. Now, Urenda is a Muslim convert himself. 

“The key to using social media is to be able to be a good listener,” Urenda said. “Stop and meditate on what the other person is saying. Try to resonate with it in some way and make them understand that you are listening. A lot of good old fashioned manners should be involved to make it a successful avenue.”