A man featured in the video who complained about the growing Muslim population

HAMTRAMCK — Fox News viewers are calling for bombing Michigan Muslims.

Again.

The cable news channel re-aired a segment about Hamtramck’s Muslim population after the Brussels bombings last week; its right wing audience responded in typical fashion.

Last October, Bill O’Reilly sent Jesse Watters to Dearborn for a report on Arabs in the city. The result was a segment filled with inaccuracies and stereotypes that riled up the Fox News crowd. Calls for violence against Dearborn emerged on social media shortly after the video aired.

Reposting the piece on Hamtramck, which originally aired in February, garnered an even more violent reaction.

“Young Muslims here dress in Western clothing and say they’re assimilated,” a Fox correspondent says at the beginning of the video.

The segment features Muslim students and Councilman Anam Miah, who condemned terrorism and stressed unity.

But it also shows older White residents complaining about the growing Muslim population and a mosque expansion.

The report refers to Mayor Karen Majewski as “a symbol of the once-dominant Polish population.”

Majewski, who has defended the Hamtramck’s Muslims in the past, told Fox News that it is hard for older residents to witness Hamtramck visually changing.

Hamtramck elected a Muslim-Majority council in November. The report portrays the city as filled with tensions.

“Being optimistic, I would like to think that people still can trust others; but being realistic, I know that is not always the case,” a bartender, supposedly in Hamtramck, told Fox News. Her comments followed a comment on religious extremism.

The heavily edited segment does not identify those speaking, nor show what they were asked.

“My personal belief, I don’t think they’re ready to assimilate and I don’t think they’re ready for Western culture, yet,” a Middle Eastern-looking man says. It is not clear whom he is referring to.

Before playing the video, a Fox and Friends host describes Hamtramck as “a city unlike any other.”

Fox News bemoans the changing demographics in the city.

“In 1970, the Polish-Catholic population in Hamtramck was 90 percent, even earning a papal visit from Pope John Paul II himself in the 80’s,” Fox correspondent Pete Hegseth says in the video. “But today, that Polish Catholic population is plummeting, leaving some to wonder, What’s next.”

Back at the studio, Hegseth reiterated his concerns for the Polish (White) people of Hamtramck, saying that some of them are scared.

When asked if the city feels American, Hegseth said, “It certainly feels different — mosques everywhere, calls to prayer. They want to build a mosque right in the centerpiece of town, a big one, new one. There’s a lot of uncertainty.”

“Bomb them”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, dozens of social media comments on the video encouraged violence against Hamtramck.

“Soon we will find it necessary to start dropping bombs in towns like this instead of ones in other countries, because our crappy POTUS couldn’t protect us!!!” commented Facebook user Mauri Howard.

“So we know the coordinates to drop the next a-bomb. What’s the problem? Let all of them assimilate there and we get rid of the problem,” Pete Briant wrote.

“Now we know where to drop the bomb first Detroit is already a shithole,” Michael Meyers said.

“Drop a bomb. Be done with these barbaric savages. Disgusting,” Wolfgang Rolf remarked.

“Put them all in one place like that city and drop a bomb on it,” wrote Douglas Crandell. 

“Carpet bomb this town. Get rid of the Muslim scum,” Gregory James commented.

These are just a portion of the remarks.

“Sad and scary”

Activists condemned Fox News for inciting violence.

Hamtramck Councilman Saad Almasmari said those who expressed fear of Muslims are not representative of the city. He said the Fox News report was deliberately misleading.

“In Hamtramck, we don’t look at each other as Muslims and non-Muslims,” he said. “We are all united and working together to improve our city. Everybody respects everybody.”

Asha Noor, an engagement specialist for the Take on Hate campaign, said the fear shown in the video stems from a perceived loss of power.

Noor added that much of the “concerns” are coded language for racism against Arabs and Muslims.

“The perception of Muslims viewed as a threat stems from ontological insecurity that’s reinforced by images, media, popular culture, polices etc. that paint Arabs and Muslims as inherently violent aggressors — rather than what they are, which is ordinary people who are living peacefully in the community,” she said.

Steve Spreitzer, president of the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion, questioned the timing of re-airing the segment, saying that it is telling of Fox News’ position. 

Spreitzer said Hamtramck’s “wonderful” diversity should be celebrated. He said Fox News’ mis-portrayal of Muslim communities has tangible negative implications. 

“It affects the lives and safety of our Muslims neighbors,” he said. “We know that around 62 percent of Americans haven’t met a Muslim. If they’re getting their information from Fox News —God forbid— then their picture of who Muslims are is not going to be accurate or healthy. Unfortunately that puts people at risk.”

The violent comments sparked by the Fox News report are sad and scary, Spreitzer said. 

A few comments on the video from Fox News’s Facebook page