by
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud
Calling it irresponsible journalism, and reckless and bigoted, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said Saturday he's increased police patrols following publication Friday of an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal titled, "Welcome to Dearborn, America’s Jihad Capital."
"Effective immediately - Dearborn police will ramp up its presence across all places of worship and major infrastructure points," the mayor posted on X, fomerly Twitter. "This is a direct result of the inflammatory @WSJ opinion piece that has led to an alarming increase in bigoted and Islamophobic rhetoric online targeting the city of Dearborn."
The Wall Street Journal column was written by Steven Stalinsky, executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute, a non-profit press co-founded by Israeli ex-intelligence officer Yigal Carmon and Israeli-American political scientist Meyrav Wurmser in 1997. It describes itself as an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit.
Stalinsky writes:
Thousands march in support of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. Protesters, many with kaffiyehs covering their faces, shout “Intifada, intifada,” “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and “America is a terrorist state.” Local imams give fiery antisemitic sermons. This isn’t the Middle East. It’s the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Mich.
Almost immediately after Oct. 7, and long before Israel began its ground offensive in Gaza, people were celebrating the horrific events of that day in pro-Hamas rallies and marches throughout Dearborn. A local headline describing an Oct. 10 event at the Ford Performing Arts Center read “Michigan rally cheers Hamas attack.” Imam Imran Salha of Dearborn’s Islamic Center of Detroit told the crowd that Israel’s past actions have put “fire in our hearts that will burn that state”—Israel— “until its demise.” In May 2023, Mr. Salha had urged his congregation to say “amen” in agreement with his prayer that Allah “eradicate from existence” the “sick, disgusting Zionist regime.” In October 2022, according to the Washington Free Beacon, his organization received $150,000 in funding from the Homeland Security Department’s nonprofit security grants program.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell weighed in on the WSJ column, posted on X:
Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi also commented on X.Another example of hate directed at a community that is already hurting, resulting in fear, vitriol, and threats of violence. Dearborn was my home for almost 40 years with the man I loved. My neighborhood and friends were supportive, caring, and dedicated. pic.twitter.com/RhHD8iqDmF
— Rep. Debbie Dingell (@RepDebDingell) February 4, 2024
