Nadine Osman
Dearborn, Michigan, has once again become a target for far-right provocateurs seeking attention and profit by attacking the city’s large Arab American community.
On November 18, white nationalist and far right influencers staged an anti-Islam rally, attempting to burn a Qur’an and displaying a banner reading “Americans Against Islamification.”
Local leaders dismissed the event as a publicity stunt aimed at clicks, donations, and political promotion.
Dearborn, a Detroit suburb of around 110,000 residents, is roughly 55% Arab American, with substantial Yemeni and Lebanese communities. Its demographics have repeatedly attracted far-right agitators, who have previously disrupted Arab American fairs with pig heads and attempted to convert Muslim children at parks and school gates.
Prominent conservative influencers, including Cam Higby, Jake Lang, and members of Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA, participated in the rally. Lang later attended a meeting of
Dearborn’s Arab American-majority city council, live-streaming himself shouting at council members: “Get the fuck out of my country. We don’t want you here.” The day’s activities drew hundreds of thousands of social media views, while Lang promoted his campaign for a US Senate seat in Florida.
“These individuals monetise hate,” said Dawud Walid, Director of CAIR-Michigan. “Anti-Muslim bigotry is the only acceptable form of overt bigotry in America, and it can reward people monetarily. People can monetise anti-Muslim bigotry through clicks and donations, so it’s not just something that is an issue of hate—hating Muslims pays financial dividends.”
The rally followed tensions stemming from comments in September by Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, who told right wing pastor and provocateur Ted Barham that he was not welcome in the city. Barham had criticised the city for honouring a pro-Palestinian activist who founded the Arab American News.
Right wing media amplified the story, framing it as a Muslim telling a Christian he was unwelcome, often omitting Barham’s history of disruptive activity in Dearborn.
Hammoud, who grew up in Dearborn, recalled witnessing anti-Islamic demonstrations dating back to 2010, including an attempt by far-right pastor Terry Jones to burn a Qur’an in 2011 and protests by the Westboro Baptist Church. “People misconstrue my words and my frustration with an individual who is a bad faith actor in our community, and apply it to a whole faith,” Hammoud told the Guardian. “Everyone is welcome in Dearborn—Christian or Jew or whatever your background—but hate is not.”
During the rally, Lang made openly racist remarks, calling people of colour “chimps” and declaring: “Today we mark America a Christian country. Today we mark America a European western civilisation that the Muslims have no part in.” A counter-protester, a teenager, punched Lang, prompting scuffles that far-right figures later used to portray Dearborn as violent and hostile. Lang also appeared to attempt to burn a Qur’an, but an Arab American resident intervened.
Local leaders urged residents to ignore provocateurs. Walid said: “There’s an Arabic proverb that says, ‘The lion doesn’t turn around when the small dog barks.’ Let those guys come and howl at the wind, then go back home to where they live.” He criticised Republicans who have remained silent, describing such inaction as “a silent complicity.”
In the days after the rally, far-right figures including Tommy Robinson, Wall Street Apes, and Sidney Powell continued to claim victimhood, calling for investigations and deportations of
Arab Americans. Lang is planning another rally in Epic City, Texas, a Muslim-majority community.
“What people took out of context,” Hammoud said, “is that hate is not welcome in Dearborn. Although everyone is welcome, we don’t want anyone who hates others for the direction they pray, for their beliefs, for their roots or where their family immigrated from.”
File photo of Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud. He recently told right-wing pastor and provocateur Ted Barham that he was not welcome in the city. Barham had criticised the city for honouring a pro-Palestinian activist who founded the Arab American News. (Credit: Mostafa Bassim/AA)
