Muslim civil rights group addresses community after Jake Lang's appearance in Dearborn
The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is responding after right-wing activist Jake Lang and his supporters demonstrated on Tuesday in Dearborn and attended a city council meeting, where they criticized the city's Muslim community and called for opposition to the growth of Islam in the United States.
Amy Doukoure, an attorney with CAIR, said Wednesday that the rhetoric displayed during Tuesday night's events went beyond anti-Muslim sentiment and reflected a broader message about race and who belongs in America.
"It's not really just about the Arab and Muslim community," Doukoure said. "Their message is broader than that. Their message is that America is for Whites."
Lang and his supporters came to Dearborn as part of what they described as a "Christian Crusader March." During the protest and later at the city council meeting, Lang and his supporters criticized Muslims and Islam in the United States.
CAIR was also among the organizations targeted by Lang and his supporters.
Doukoure characterized Tuesday's rhetoric as hateful but said CAIR and members of the Muslim community have become accustomed to being targeted because of their advocacy.
"When you're doing good work, and you're making an impact for a marginalized community, you're going to be the target of speech and of slander, and I think that's what we saw out here yesterday," Doukoure said.
Dearborn police made 22 arrests outside City Hall during Tuesday night's demonstrations as supporters and opponents of Lang gathered in the area.
CAIR is urging members of the Muslim community and others targeted by similar rhetoric not to amplify the message by engaging with those attempting to provoke a confrontation.
Doukoure compared the rhetoric to a dying fire that becomes stronger when given additional attention.
"You have a fire that's smoldering, right? If you let it burn itself, it dies. But when you breathe into it, it becomes an inferno," Doukoure said. "So this is a dying fire. This is the last messages of acceptable racism, right? So stop breathing into it."
CAIR is also calling on religious and minority communities to stand together in response to what the organization described as hatred directed not only at Muslims but at other groups that do not fit a White Christian identity.
Doukoure said CAIR believes Tuesday's events demonstrate that the issue extends beyond anti-Islamic sentiment and should concern other religious and minority communities as well.
Lang and his supporters have framed their demonstrations as an effort to oppose what they describe as the growing influence of Islam in the United States. CAIR rejects that characterization and says Muslim Americans are part of the country's religious and cultural fabric.
