Current:Home > BackMichigan city ramps up security after op-ed calls it ‘America’s jihad capital’-InfoLens
Michigan city ramps up security after op-ed calls it ‘America’s jihad capital’
View Date:2025-01-11 07:37:35
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Dearborn, Michigan, is ramping up its police presence in response to fallout from an opinion piece that described the city, which has the nation’s highest Muslim population per capita, as “America’s jihad capital.”
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud on Friday tweeted that city police increased security at places of worship and major infrastructure points as a “direct result” of a Wall Street Journal opinion piece titled, “Welcome to Dearborn, America’s Jihad Capital.”
Hammoud posted on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, that the item published Friday “led to an alarming increase in bigoted and Islamophobic rhetoric online targeting the city of Dearborn.”
Steven Stalinsky, executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute, who authored the opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, said in an interview with The Associated Press that he wanted to draw attention to protests in Michigan and elsewhere across the U.S. in which people have expressed support for Hamas since the start of the war with Israel.
More than 27,000 Palestinians, mostly women and minors, have been killed in Gaza since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 more, mostly civilians, in the attack.
“Nothing in my article was written to instigate any sort of hate,” Stalinsky said. “This is a moment for counterterrorism officials to be concerned.”
The Wall Street Journal did not immediately respond Sunday to requests for comment left by The Associated Press via email and voicemail. An email sent to a Dearborn spokeswoman also was not immediately returned Sunday.
In a tweet referencing Dearborn on Saturday, President Joe Biden condemned “hate in all forms.”
“Americans know that blaming a group of people based on the words of a small few is wrong,” Biden’s post read. “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.”
veryGood! (38)
Related
- Black women notch historic Senate wins in an election year defined by potential firsts
- Dog reunited with family after life with coyotes, fat cat's adoption: Top animal stories of 2023
- Carrie Bernans, stuntwoman in 'The Color Purple,' hospitalized after NYC hit-and-run
- 4 ways AI can help with climate change, from detecting methane to preventing fires
- Suspected shooter and four others are found dead in three Kansas homes, police say
- Why isn't Jayden Daniels playing in ReliaQuest Bowl? LSU QB's status vs. Wisconsin
- Ringing in 2024: New Year's Eve photos from around the world
- Anderson Cooper's Giggle Fit Steals the Show After Andy Cohen's Sex Confession on New Year's Eve
- Pennsylvania House Republicans pick new floor leader after failing to regain majority
- Owen the Owl was stranded in the middle the road. A Georgia police officer rescued him.
Ranking
- Today's Craig Melvin Replacing Hoda Kotb: Everything to Know About the Beloved Anchor
- Doing the Dry January challenge? This sober life coach has tips for how to succeed.
- Sophia Bush Says 2023 “Humbled” and “Broke” Her Amid New Personal Chapter
- Jennifer Love Hewitt Says She Experienced Hardship “No One Knew About”
- What Happened to Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone Character? John Dutton’s Fate Revealed
- 2 men arrested in connection with Ugandan Olympic runner’s killing in Kenya, police say
- Why isn't Jayden Daniels playing in ReliaQuest Bowl? LSU QB's status vs. Wisconsin
- Israel’s Supreme Court overturns a key component of Netanyahu’s polarizing judicial overhaul
Recommendation
-
Women’s baseball players could soon have a league of their own again
-
Low-Effort Products To Try if Your 2024 New Year’s Resolution Is to Work Out, but You Hate Exercise
-
Ian Ziering details 'unsettling confrontation' with bikers on New Year's Eve that led to attack
-
Man surfing off Maui dies after shark encounter, Hawaii officials say
-
Louisiana House greenlights Gov. Jeff Landry’s tax cuts
-
Rohingya refugees in Sri Lanka protest planned closure of U.N. office, fearing abandonment
-
16-year-old boy fatally stabbed on a hill overlooking London during New Year’s Eve
-
Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi is declared winner of election that opposition wants redone