Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal published an inflammatory op-ed under the headline “Welcome to Dearborn, America’s Jihad Capital.” Written by Steven Stalinksy, the article claims that “Imams and politicians in the Michigan city side with Hamas against Israel and Iran against the U.S.”
This disgusting column is not only Islamophobic, it is grossly misinformed. Dearborn is one of the jewels of metro Detroit.
The city is home to one of the largest populations of Arab-Americans in the U.S. and is a hub of cultural diversity with vibrant culture, museums, and history. The city is home to the Arab American National Museum, the first (and so far only) museum dedicated to Arab American culture in the U.S., not to mention the Henry Ford Museum and the historic Greenfield Village. It’s also a foodie’s paradise with a variety of Yemeni and Turkish-style coffee shops, and our favorite Lebanese and Indian restaurants. There’s also the 70-plus-year-old Ford-Wyoming Drive-In, where families enjoy double features in the summertime.
All the culture and food in Dearborn aside, reducing a city heavily populated by Arab Americans as a “Jihad capital” is dehumanizing, racist, and unacceptable.
There are so many wonderful things to celebrate about Dearborn, but instead Stalinksy decides to paint a picture of protestors “with kaffiyehs covering their faces” and Muslim leaders giving “antisemitic sermons.” The kaffiyeh (also keffiyeh) is a traditional scarf originally worn for protection against the sun in Arab countries that later became a political symbol and is now seen as a symbol for Palestinian solidarity. Many in the Arab diaspora say the kaffiyeh’s patterns symbolize aspects of Palestinian culture, like the curvy lines representing olive trees or fishnet pattern resembling the Mediterranean sea.
The description of protestors wearing this garment, as if this imagery is somehow frightening or threatening, is a racist dog whistle.
The Wall Street Journal column’s spewing of racist tropes and ideas is dangerous. Words have the power to unite or divide and when Islamophobia is parroted on national platforms, it emboldens bigots to incite violence and further hatred.
In response, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud announced an increased presence of Dearborn police at all places of worship and major infrastructure points over the weekend due to an increase in hate speech surrounding the city.
“This is a direct result of the garbage [Wall Street Journal] opinion piece that has led to an alarming increase in bigoted and Islamophobc rhetoric online targeting the city of Dearborn,” Hammoud wrote on the platform formerly known as Twitter, now X.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer took to X to defend Dearborn on Sunday, writing, “Dearborn is a vibrant community full of Michiganders who contribute day in and day out to our state. Islamophobia and all forms of hate have no place in Michigan, or anywhere, period.”
Even President Biden, who has drawn disapproval from Dearborn residents for his support of Israel in its war on Gaza, criticized the op-ed.
“Americans know that blaming a group of people based on the words of a small few is wrong,” Biden wrote on X. “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.”
Stalinsky’s column isn’t an isolated incident of WSJ pushing racist garbage on its opinion page about Arab people or the Israeli occupation of Gaza. On January 31, it published a piece penned by its own editorial board with the headline “Chicago votes for Hamas” after Chicago City Council passed a ceasefire resolution, becoming the largest U.S. city to do so.
It is ridiculous to equate a call for an end to the killing of thousands of innocent people and children in Gaza with support for Hamas. The Chicago resolution, much like the ceasefire resolution passed by Detroit City Council, also includes a call for the release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
The WSJ column also suggests that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson should instead support a ceasefire of gun violence on Chicago’s West Side. This is another common racist trope, reducing cities whose populations are majority people of color to violent crime.
We’ve seen this before, in the continued misinformed commentary about Detroit, a majority Black city. It reeks of mainstream media spreading false narratives about Detroit being a desolate, abandoned city full of “thugs” and “criminals” that ignores the culture the city holds. The same is true of Dearborn, a mecca of Arab culture — but we wouldn’t expect a racist columnist who’s probably never been here to appreciate how special it is.
Subscribe to Metro Times newsletters.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
