The far-right anti-Muslim activist Jake Lang drew hundreds to a Dearborn City Council meeting Tuesday in what he billed as a "Christian Crusade."
As those who heeded his call gripped rifles, chanted “U.S.A.” and argued with many local residents, Lang addressed the council and said Muslims “are looking to destroy us.”
“The Muslims have not come here to assimilate,” he continued. “They have come here to steal the wealth of this land to rape our women.”
“The crusade has begun,” he said, and then, addressing Muslims – who make up a majority of the City Council, he added, “Your time in this country is running short.”
Dearborn is an Arab-majority city, and is likely to also be Muslim majority, although the U.S. census doesn’t track religious demographics.
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, the first Muslim and Arab to head the city, delivered an impassioned response. Speaking after a public comment period during the city council meeting, he said that he was out on one of his community walks when a young boy asked him if the self-proclaimed "crusaders" were there to kill him – and Hammoud was too taken aback to reply.
"So tonight,” Hammoud said, “I want to speak directly to him and I want to speak to every resident of Dearborn. And I want to boldly say that you belong here as much as anyone, and generations of people who built this city prove it."
He talked about the contributions of Arab and Muslim residents in the auto industry, and how they opened small businesses and built a community of people from different backgrounds. Hammoud noted that the city has far more churches than mosques – though many of them can be found on the same streets and serve people who live in the same neighborhoods.
“They may pray differently,” he said, “but they pray for many of the same things: for their children to be safe, for their families to be healthy, for peace, for justice, for dignity, for the strength to leave this world a little better than they inherited.”
Following Hammoud’s speech, the city council returned quickly to its regular business. Members voted on a slate of agenda items, including issuing permits for the annual Jingle Bell Bash and a UAW-sponsored classic car show, as well as funding for a transportation service for seniors.
Out-of-state attendees cited social media calls to action for their travel. Bonnie Hampton, who came from Florida with her husband, said they were responding to posts on X, formerly Twitter. "We are here to protest, I guess, the Islamification of America and to support Christianity and to do it peacefully," Hampton said.
Mayor Hammoud rejected the marchers' claims of “Islamification” alongside other local religious leaders the day before the demonstration, pointing to the city’s deep multi-faith history.
"When people portray Dearborn as some place that has been overtaken by Muslims, they're erasing the Christians who have contributed to this city."
Counter-protesters expressed frustration over the rhetoric targeted at their community.
"I feel like a lot of people are misinformed about Islam," said resident Raj Abdul. "A lot of these people that are anti-Islam and saying this is a Muslim takeover, they should do more homework before speaking on things."
Bystanders also met the confrontation with frustration.
"It's a whole circus," observed Dwuan Freeman, a Detroit resident watching the crowd. "Like, you got Americans chanting 'USA, USA' to Americans. It's a clown show."
