US Muslims Plan Rally Against Rising Islamophobia

The Michigan-based chapter of American Arab Anti-discrimination will hold a press conference Thursday to denounce religious intolerance and Muslims in Greater Detroit will hold a rally next Saturday to protest rising religious hatred and Islamophobia, The Arab Daily News reported.

The events are part of growing pushback by American Muslims who reject extremism and violence and believe that the violence has triggered growing anti-Muslim religious racism among some extremist American activists and political leaders like Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson.

The organizers of one event include the Islamic Center of America and activists using the Twitter Hashtag #DearbornStrong, reflecting the same pride that residents of Boston displayed following the bombing on April 15, 2013 at the Boston Marathon, promoting themselves as “BostonStrong” on Twitter and on social media.

The Boston Marathon bombings accelerated a growing anti-Muslim sentiment among mainstream American Christians and political leaders who blamed all Muslims for the killings.

Since then, several attacks happened against Muslims, such as the murder on February 10, 2015 of 3 Muslim students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammed Abu-Salha, and Razan Mohammed Abu-Salha. The 3, a husband and wife, and sister-in-law, were killed by a attacker, Craig Stephen Hicks, who investigators said was provoked by a dispute over a parking space but that also included his hatred of Muslims.

During the past year, another activist, Robert Lewis Dear, Jr., killed a police officer and two civilians at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado on November 27, 2015. Five other police officers and four civilians were injured in the shooting rampage.

Muslims across American have been targeted in reprisal attacks and several Mosques have been burned.

The Islamic Center of America based in Dearborn announced that it will organize a rally of Muslims and Americans against hatred on Saturday.

ADC Michigan officials said they will hold a press conference

We are gathering a press conference this Thursday at 11 am at the Charles Wright Museum. The goal is to have a strong voice against Islamophobia, said ADC Michigan Director Fatina Abdrabuh.

Leaders of the Islamic Center of America said their rally on Saturday is “In response to the recent political and civil turmoil caused by recent attacks around the world we call the community to action.

“The very foundations of our country have been shaken, and most effected is the Muslim American community. We can no longer be silent. The call today is for all people of conscience regardless of faith, race, and ethnicity to take a stand. Join us in our upcoming anti-­hate, anti-­terror rally at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan.”

Muslim leaders added, “As home to the one of the largest Muslim communities in America, Dearborn is the heart of Muslim America and the embodiment of the American immigrant success story. The city is vibrant, diverse and home to the largest Muslim congregation in North America, served by the Islamic Center of America. Its unique position is highlighted by decades of a rich tradition and religious diversity. Recently, this community and its people have come under fire, as the city has become central in the propaganda war of hate and Islamophobia.”

They said, “Some politicians and their supporters have called for a radical shift in liberties and religious freedoms afforded to Muslims in the wake of recent events. This rhetoric has endangered the delicate fabric that binds all people of faith and color, and has escalated the already tense environment for Muslims living in the West. Today, intimidation, fear-mongering, and hate speech against our community has empowered a new resolve. We will stand in solidarity with people of conscious against bigotry, violence, hate and terror in the name of God or otherwise. We unequivocally call for all people across faith communities in the Detroit metropolitan area, to come together and unite. We will no longer feel marginalized, de-­humanized, or powerless in the face of hate and fear. We are #DearbornStrong.”