Dearborn, Michigan’s mayor announced the increase of police presence around places of worship in wake of the “Islamophobic” op-ed piece published by The Wall Street Journal.
On Friday, the op-ed named Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit with one of the largest Muslim populations in the U.S., as “America’s Jihad Capital.”
The piece continued to say that people in Dearborn “side with Hamas” in the wake of the ongoing war between Israel and the Gaza-based militant group.
Since the war, Dearborn residents have protested Israel and condemned the violent acts against Palestinians. The op-ed described the situation in Dearborn as a potential national scrutiny issue, The Huffington Post reported.
As a result, criticism poured out on social media platforms. Many expressed concerns suggesting that the piece could contribute to prejudice against Muslims in Dearborn.
Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said that the op-ed open doors for “an alarming increase in bigoted and Islamophobic rhetoric online targeting the city of Dearborn.”
Consequently, Mayor Hammond has announced that the city will ramp up police patrol around places of worship, The Hill reported.
On X, Hammoud said “This is a direct result of the inflammatory @WSJ opinion piece that has led to an alarming increase in bigoted and Islamophobic rhetoric online targeting the city of Dearborn.”
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc.
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