On Tuesday, Dearborn witnessed limited scuffles between anti-Muslim demonstrators and some local residents during a march called for by Republican gubernatorial candidate Anthony Hudson, even after he walked back his earlier negative remarks about the city, which he had accused of enforcing Islamic Sharia law, citing stereotypical images promoted by the media.

Despite Hudson’s shift in tone toward the local community following visits to three mosques in the Dearborn area and a shawarma stop at one of its restaurants, a group of hardline demonstrators who had come from outside Michigan insisted on continuing their protest against what they called the “Islamization of America.” They threatened to burn copies of the Holy Qur’an in condemnation of Hudson’s retreat from his promise to carry out a “crusade against Islamic Sharia”, while dozens of Dearborn residents organized a counter-demonstration rejecting what they described as hate campaigns and attempts to distort the image of Arabs and Muslims in the United States.

The scene began when a large bus arrived at the intersection of Schaefer Road and Michigan Avenue. At first glance, it appeared to be part of Hudson’s campaign, but one of the White young men on board quickly stepped off wearing a military-style vest and spray-painted the word “cuck” on its side in a showy gesture, implying that the Republican candidate had “sold out to the Muslims” after his sudden shift in tone and his praise of the coexistence between Muslims and Christians in Dearborn.

While Hudson and a small group of his supporters remained calm at one corner of the intersection, a group led by far-right activist Jake Lang, who presents himself as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from Florida, planted wooden crosses and chanted slogans warning of “Islamization” and the “attempt to wipe out the White Christian nation.” They called on Arabs and Muslims in Dearborn, and across the United States, to “go back to their home countries.”

On the opposite side of the street, local residents and pro-Palestine activists gathered in a counter-protest, voicing their rejection of Islamophobic messages and the repeated claims that Dearborn is governed by Sharia law.

In a clear attempt to provoke the peaceful local demonstrators, Lang hurled insulting slurs at the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), then placed a copy of the Holy Qur’an under his foot in preparation to burn it. Local activist Abbas Aboukhodr wrested it away from him after a brief physical altercation, followed by a heated verbal exchange with the angry crowd, who managed a second time to seize the Qur’an from Lang as he slapped it with strips of pork.

Lang, who described himself as a “political prisoner” over his role in the January 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol, called on President Trump to increase U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Dearborn to arrest and deport Arabs and Muslims on the pretext of visa violations, as he claimed.

After several tense minutes of shouting, insults and limited shoving, police officers intervened to separate the opposing groups and end the chaos.

Later, the demonstrators marched on foot to Dearborn City Hall, where the regular City Council meeting was underway. Police set up barricades to separate the protesters, many of whom gave remarks during the public comment period, which lasted more than an hour and a half.

Before the City Council

In his remarks before the Council, Lang repeated familiar stereotypes about Muslims, accusing them of seeking to “Islamize America” through polygamy and high birth rates “like they did in Europe” and calling on them to “go back” to Muslim-majority countries.

“The Islamization of Europe is aimed at destroying Christianity, and it has the same goal here in America,” Lang said during the public comment period, where he was given his full speaking time under the Dearborn City Council’s public comment rules.

He added that Muslims were now “on the verge of taking over the United States without firing a single shot.”

“We don’t want you here,” he told the Council, which includes three Muslim members. “Get out of our country. You don’t live the way we live, and you don’t eat what we eat.”

He again urged President Trump to send more ICE patrols to Dearborn to deport its Arab and Muslim residents.

For his part, Hudson told the Council that he came to Dearborn to “build a bridge between hate and happiness”, noting that he had spent the previous four days in the city and had “discovered something he had never seen in his life”, a reference to the diversity and coexistence he said he found among residents. He stressed that the extremist group led by Lang had come “to sabotage” his peaceful march.

“Under the U.S. Constitution, it doesn’t matter where you came from, we are all equal,” Hudson said. “You have freedom in this city, just as I have freedom in Grand Blanc. I don’t impose anything on you and you don’t impose anything on me.”

He then addressed Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud.

“As an elected official, you must treat everyone with respect and dignity. And if I become governor of Michigan and you have not apologized to an American citizen, I will declare you persona non grata in this state.”

His statement referenced Christian evangelist Ted Barham, whom Hammoud had sharply rebuked during a previous City Council meeting, telling him he would “throw a parade” when he leaves the city.

One young woman said she felt fearful because of the extremists who continue to target the Dearborn community.

“I’m still 18-years-old and I feel extremely unsafe in my own city because of these people who know nothing about Islam and the shared life we have here,” she said as she held back tears.

Former Dearborn City Council candidate Othman Alaansi urged Arab American youth to ignore the extremists and not engage or respond to their claims, in order to deny them the attention they seek.

Local activist Mike Hashim described Lang’s group as “not real Americans because they deny American principles and values.” He noted his major role in Trump’s presidential campaign, which ultimately resulted in Trump gaining some of Arab and Muslim votes in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights.

Background to the march

Days before the march, Hudson had called for a rally under the banner of an “American Crusade” to ban what he called “Islamic Sharia law” and “protect Christians in Dearborn.” His announcement came as part of an effort to draw attention to his gubernatorial campaign in Michigan by riding a wave of ongoing incitement against the predominantly Arab and Muslim city.

Hudson, a truck driver who presents himself as a pro-Trump Republican candidate, first directed his rhetoric at Dearborn during a televised debate in late October, accusing his Republican rivals of being indifferent to what he described as “the application of Islamic Sharia” in the city. He pledged to deploy the National Guard “to protect residents from Sharia law and all the nonsense going on there.”

These claims were not based on any facts. There is no law or city ordinance in Dearborn that is based on Islamic Sharia, and the city contains numerous bars, nightclubs, and liquor stores, as well as a large number of churches that far outnumber its mosques.

Nonetheless, Hudson continued to promote the march, stating in a November 2 statement that it would be peaceful and aimed at “protecting religious freedoms.” He said he would come with his “patriot friends, pastors and freedom fighters” to Dearborn to tell the mayor that if he became governor he would stop any supposed “implementation of Sharia”, ban the dawn call to prayer and prevent any Christian preacher from being reprimanded again as happened between Hammoud and Barham in September.

After Hudson softened his stance toward Dearborn’s Muslims just days before the planned march, Lang stepped in, announcing that he would lead a protest in Dearborn “to expose the truth” and declaring his intention to burn the Qur’an.

Ultimately, the demonstration did not result in any injuries among protesters. But it did highlight the challenges facing Muslim communities in the United States amid a rise in Islamophobic rhetoric, attempts at provocation and demonization and in particular the pressure on Dearborn’s residents despite the city being a living example of cultural diversity and coexistence.

Local activist Abbas Aboukhodr grabs the Qur’an from Lang’s hand as he attempts to burn it in an Islamophobic act of intimidation.– Videograb

Reactions

In response to the ongoing smear campaign against the city, the Dearborn city government has scheduled a press conference for 3 p.m. on Friday (as this issue goes to print), with the participation of many federal and local leaders to reaffirm peaceful solidarity and interfaith coexistence in the city.

In addition to Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, the event will include U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, along with numerous faith leaders. The goal is to send a unified and strong message against hate and against efforts to divide Dearborn’s united, diverse community.

Separately, Detroit’s Mayor Mike Duggan issued a press statement expressing his deep concern over the wave of incitement targeting Dearborn and its residents.

“There is no place for bigotry and extremism in Michigan,” Duggan said. “I was deeply moved by the people of Dearborn, whose true character shone through when they confronted outside agitators trying to spread fear and lies, and instead chose to greet them with kindness.

“The truth is that Michigan is a place for all faiths, and it stands united against hate,” he added.

The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) also issued a statement describing the anti-Muslim march in Dearborn as “a failed attempt to divide Michigan communities”, stressing that attempts to burn the Qur’an would not succeed in intimidating Muslim communities.

Michigan State Representative Alabas Farhat, who represents Dearborn, called on top leaders at the state and federal levels to take a clear public stand after the anti-Islam rally. He urged an official condemnation of what he described as “acts of hate targeting the local community.”

“I look forward to hearing a clear position from our state leaders, from members of Congress and from our elected officials condemning these hate-driven actions,” Farhat wrote in a strongly worded statement.

“Our community has just witnessed disgusting behavior from local terrorists among the White nationalists, the same people who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. They do not believe in free elections or the peaceful transfer of power, and they came here to lecture us on what it means to be American.”

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel also condemned the attempted burning of the Qur’an, calling it “an unacceptable act of hate,” and affirming that Dearborn is “a city whose identity is love and multiculturalism.”