All the culture and food in Dearborn aside, reducing a city heavily populated by Arab Americans as a “Jihad capital” is dehumanizing, racist and unacceptable.

An Islamophobic op-ed called Dearborn “America’s Jihad Capital.” This rhetoric is dangerous and unacceptable.

There are so many wonderful things to celebrate about Dearborn, but instead Stalinsky decides to paint a picture of protestors “with kaffiyehs covering their faces” and Muslim leaders giving “anti-Semitic sermons.” The kaffiyeh (also keffiyeh) is a traditional scarf originally worn for protection against the sun in Arab countries that later became a political symbol and is now seen as a symbol for Palestinian solidarity. Many in the Arab diaspora say the kaffiyeh’s patterns symbolize aspects of Palestinian culture, like the curvy lines representing olive trees or fishnet pattern resembling the Mediterranean sea.

The description of protesters wearing this garment, as if this imagery is somehow frightening or threatening, is a racist dog whistle.

The Wall Street Journal column’s spewing of racist tropes and ideas is dangerous. Words have the power to unite or divide and when Islamophobia is parroted on national platforms, it emboldens bigots to incite violence and further hatred.

In response, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud announced an increased presence of Dearborn police at all places of worship and major infrastructure points over the weekend due to an increase in hate speech surrounding the city.

“This is a direct result of the garbage [Wall Street Journal] opinion piece that has led to an alarming increase in bigoted and Islamophobic rhetoric online targeting the city of Dearborn,” Hammoud wrote on the platform formerly known as Twitter, now X.

Governor Whitmer took to X to defend Dearborn on Sunday, writing, “Dearborn is a vibrant community full of Michiganders who contribute day in and day out to our state. Islamophobia and all forms of hate have no place in Michigan, or anywhere, period.”

Even President Biden, who has drawn disapproval from Dearborn residents for his support of Israel in its war on Gaza, criticized the op-ed.

“Americans know that blaming a group of people based on the words of a small few is wrong,” Biden wrote on X. “That’s exactly what can lead to Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate, and it shouldn’t happen to the residents of Dearborn — or any American town.”

Stalinsky’s column isn’t an isolated incident of the WSJ pushing racist garbage on its opinion page about Arab people or the Israeli occupation of Gaza. On January 31, it published a piece penned by its own editorial board with the headline “Chicago votes for Hamas” after the Chicago City Council passed a ceasefire resolution, becoming the largest U.S. city to do so.

It is ridiculous to equate a call for an end to the killing of thousands of innocent people and children in Gaza with support for Hamas. The Chicago resolution, much like the ceasefire resolution passed by the Detroit City Council, also includes a call for the release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

The WSJ column also suggests that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson should instead support a ceasefire of gun violence on Chicago’s West Side. This is another common racist trope, reducing cities whose populations are majority people of color to violent crime.

We’ve seen this before, in the continued misinformed commentary about Detroit, a majority Black city. It reeks of mainstream media spreading false narratives about Detroit being a desolate, abandoned city full of “thugs” and “criminals” that ignores the culture the city holds. The same is true of Dearborn, a mecca of Arab culture — but we wouldn’t expect a racist columnist who’s probably never been here to appreciate how special it is.

– This opinion piece was published by the Detroit Metro Times on February 5. It has been edited for style.