Dearborn city council meeting brings heated debate over street renaming

DEARBORN, Mich. (FOX 2) - A journalist in Dearborn was honored with a street sign for his decades of work, but not everyone was applauding.

What they're saying:

It was an intense meeting about this sign on Chase Road and Warren Ave, honoring award-winning journalist Osama Siblani for his career. However, one resident had something to say.

"I feel like having that sign up there is almost like naming a street Hezbollah Street or Hamas Street. Hezbollah bombed the embassy in Beirut, including many Americans. I just feel it’s quite inappropriate," said resident Ted Barham.

"You’re an Islamophobe. And although you live here, I want you to know as mayor you are not welcome here. The day you move out of the city will be the day I launch a parade celebrating the fact that you moved out of the city," said Mayor Abdullah Hammoud.

This occured at Wednesday night's Dearborn City Council meeting. 

Resident Ted Barham criticized the sign, and Mayor Abdullah Hammoud did not hold back, saying Barham had made "cruel" remarks on YouTube about Islam and Muslims. The sign went up on Tuesday, Sept. 9, honoring Osama Siblani for his leadership and over 40 years of work as a journalist.

Dig deeper:

FOX 2 spoke with Siblani, publisher and editor-in-chief, who said he hadn't heard about the exchange. He was at an event when someone pointed it out to him. He said he was honored to be recognized.

"It’s sad that we do not respect each other's differences. This is a great country, a nation of nations," said Siblani. "I am an American from a Lebanese background, an Arab background. I’m very proud of my culture and heritage. But I also love this country and what it has done. Only in the United States can you come in 1976 with no money, a one-way ticket, $185 in your pocket, and 50 years later your name is on a street in America."

During the meeting, a council member said it was Wayne County who approved the sign.