Amid anti-Islam Dearborn protests, mayor stresses unity, tells residents 'You belong here'

DEARBORN, Mich. (FOX 2) - An extremist protest in Dearborn brought arrests and clashes outside the Henry Ford Centennial Library Tuesday night.

Local perspective:

Inside the scheduled city council meeting, Mayor Abdullah Hamoud spoke about the fear and apprehension that had gripped parts of the city. 

Alt-right provocateur Jake Lang brought his crusader march to Dearborn and counter protests.

Hamoud said that fear has consequences and that the impact of the crusader march was felt much deeper than typical political theater. 

"I want to speak to every resident of Dearborn who has felt that fear," he said. "I want to boldly say that you belong here, that you belong here as much as anyone else."

Jake Lang protest

Dig deeper:

Lang and Detroit pastor Lorenzo Sewell hatched the so-called Crusader March as a gathering of anti-Muslim protesters, saying America is a Christian country.

Despite urging from Dearborn police, counter-protesters showed up to offer pushback figuratively and at times, literally. 

Dearborn police, SWAT and Michigan State Police handled crowd control outside and navigated heated demonstrations, pushing and shoving and isolated physical confrontations.

Minor injuries were witnessed by reporters on the ground, with some arrests made and no major incidents reported.

'Crusader March' impact

Why you should care:

Mayor Hammoud said that the community braced for the march, with some businesses closing and children's sports practices rescheduled.

He added that even daycare for his own daughter was canceled in anticipation of the demonstration.

He recalled the story of a little boy yesterday who asked the mayor if the outside crusaders were going to kill him.

"We cannot surrender our everyday lives to outside hatred," he said. "One of the greatest antidotes of fear is simply knowing one another. 

"We can allow fear to make our lives smaller, or we can allow community to make us stronger."

Anti-Muslim messaging

The other side:

During public comment, Lang and Detroit Pastor Lorenzo Sewell both spoke divisively about Dearborn and racist claims of a Muslim invasion.

Sewell pastor of 180 Church, claimed Arab-American prosperity had come at the expense of the Black community.

"The spirit of (former Mayor Orville) Hubbard is still in the city," he said. "The spirit of racism still dwells in this city. This is a city that has prospered with your mosque and your call to prayer. But yet it's on the back of my people."

Lang, an outside provocateur and January 6th rioter, spoke about being assaulted the last time he was in Dearborn.

"These people are looking to destroy us, these people want to outbreed us. The Muslims have not come here to assimilate," he said. "Muslims go home before we send you home."

The majority of public comment however, preached Dearborn standing together against the outside messages of hate.  

Some also spoke about bad actors on both sides – looking to provoke violence and said no matter how much they stand against Lang, he should not be physically harmed.

Dearborn response

Big picture view:

Hammoud said as a way of rejecting outside noise – literally and figuratively as demonstrators could at time be heard – had to do with ignoring the attempts to divide the city.

"We can allow fear to make our lives smaller, and we can allow the community to make us smaller," he said. "They are attacking the idea that all of us can belong to America. At the same time."

Hammoud said Dearborn is home to 30 churches and about a dozen mosques. 

On Wednesday, clergy leaders from different faiths stood together to decry the planned extremist protest. 

"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 it."