Dearborn prepares for anti-Islam protest
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Detroit (WWJ) — Tuesday’s Dearborn City Council meeting was not business as usual, with anti-Islam protesters gathering before and during the meeting.
Led by conservative activist Jake Lang, protesters gathered for the “Christian Crusader March,” which has gained national attention. Lang and his supporters, including Detroit pastor Lorenzo Sewell, and community members crowded the meeting space at the Henry Ford Centennial Library.
Tuesday night’s meeting was moved from its usual location, the Dearborn Administrative Center, as city leaders and police prepared for protesters. Last week, Police Chief Issa Shahin urged residents not to engage with protesters, saying, “These groups that are coming here are coming for one reason, and that is to provoke a reaction and generate attention.”
Residents in Dearborn and surrounding communities traveled to the library. The crowd tried to rush through the doors ahead of the meeting, with police providing crowd control.
“We are a Christian nation. We love Jesus, and that’s why we’re here to take freedom of speech, and it’s a free country, and that’s why we’re here,” said AnnMarie Clark from Livingston County.
“We stand up for our grandkids and our kids and our country. We believe in USA, and we believe in God,” said Denice Watts from Livingston County.
Meanwhile, Dearborn residents Mohammed Hijazi and Stephanie Butler called for unity and condemned any hate speech.
“I think we should all stand united together as one, you know. And I don’t think there’s room for people like Jake Lang to come cut us up, divide us,” Hijazi said.
“When you come into a city that you don’t live in, and you cause trouble, and you come and to just specifically burn their holy books, and, you know, incite violence by bringing bacon and wanting to do a pig roast and stuff, you are representing the worst of society,” said Butler.
Tensions flared at the council meeting as members opened public comment, allowing people from both sides to speak.
Sewell, the senior pastor of 180 Church in Detroit, accused the city of being “under Sharia Law” and demanded that councilmembers renounce it. The topic has been a hot-button issue in other U.S. states, including Florida and Texas. Sewell previously hosted then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and even spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
“America, we have lost this city. This is a city that is no longer under American laws,” Sewell claimed.
Lang, a former Florida U.S. Senate candidate, criticized the Muslim community, claiming that they are “looking to destroy us” and called for all Muslims to be removed from the country.
“Your time in this country is running short,” Lang said, adding that the “crusade has begun.”
Lang immediately left the meeting after his speech, but not before ripping pages from a book, which some observed as a Quran, and shouting, “Christ is King.” Following his speech, council members struggled to restore order as some of Lang’s supporters began shouting, and one was escorted out by police.
Lang was charged with assaulting an officer, civil disorder and other crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 riot before he was pardoned by President Trump.
Democratic state Rep. Alabas Farhat, who represents Dearborn, called out Lang and urged everyone not to bring hate to the city.
“Dearborn is a shining beacon of unity and co-existence,” Farhat said.
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud spoke of community members, including children, who were afraid of the protesters coming to the city. Hammoud said some business owners did not open for the day, and he did not send his own daughter to day care.
Hammoud also spoke of meeting a boy earlier Tuesday, who asked if the “crusaders” were coming to kill him.
“Children that age should be thinking about what game they’re going to the park to play. They should be thinking about whether they’re going to have another scoop of ice cream at the end of the night. They should be wondering if they’ll get an extra hour of time before bed. They should not be wondering whether someone wants to kill them because of how their family prays,” Hammoud said.
Hammoud had a message for the young boy and other residents: “You belong here as much as anyone.”
“Dearborn was built by people with different names, different accents, different traditions and different ways of worshipping God,” Hammoud added.
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