U.S. Muslim mayor to Christian citizen: You are not welcome here. Move away
Elected official stuns with vitriol against man who objected to promoting violence
A Muslim mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, has stunned with his vitriol against a Christian resident of his city who simply objected to promoting violence.
Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud scolded resident Edward “Ted” Barham, a Christian, “Although you live here, you are not welcome here.”
Barham had objected to renaming some intersections in Dearborn after Osama Siblani, Arab American News publisher who has promoted Hezbollah and Hamas, both Middle East organizations that have inflicted death, destruction and terror on Americans.
Hammoud issued a dangerous suggestion for Barham to not see the signs.
“The best suggestion I have for you is to not drive on Warren Avenue or close your eyes while you’re doing it. His name is up there and I spoke at a ceremony celebrating it because he’s done a lot for his community,” Hammoud claimed.
He then turned to a personal attack on his city’s resident, accusing Barham of being “a bigot, and you are racist, and you’re an Islamophobe. Although you live here, I want you to know as mayor, you are not welcome here. And the day you move out of the city will be the day that I launch a parade celebrating the fact that you moved out of this city.”
Barham had explained Siblani is “a promoter of Hezbollah and Hamas. … He talks about how the blood of the martyrs irrigates the land of Palestine … whether we are in Michigan and whether we are in Yemen. Believe me, everyone should fight within his means. They will fight with stones, others will fight with guns, others fight with planes, drones, and rockets.”
Fox News reported the signs actually were approved by the Wayne County commission, as the road is a county road, but the signs are inside Dearborn.
Barham compared the signs to naming a road “Hezbollah Street or Hamas Street,” and said the “honor” for Siblani was “provocative.”
He explained as a Christian, he promoted peace.
Fox explained, “Dearborn, the city with America’s highest-percentage Muslim population, has long navigated debate over cultural and political identity. For many average residents, the moment captured in City Hall begged the question of whether elected officials are willing to listen to all voices or only those they choose to celebrate.”
