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In Letter to Pastor Terry Jones, Dearborn Mayor Says City Not Ruled by Islamic Law
In an open letter Wednesday to Pastor Terry Jones, Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly Jr. blasted claims that his city is under Islamic law, noting it has three strip clubs and a factory that makes pork products sitting across the street from a mosque.
“None of that should be allowed under Shari’a law,” O’Reilly wrote, referring to a set of Islamic rules and customs.
The impassioned letter was the city’s latest attempt to convince the Quran-burning Christian pastor to stop his planned Friday protest outside the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn. And it represents another effort by the city to counter attempts to label it as being under Islamic law because of its sizable Muslim population.
Across the U.S., a growing number of politicians, Christians and bloggers have been claiming that Shari’a dominates Dearborn. But O’Reilly wrote in his letter: “If Dearborn practiced Shari’a law, would we have three adult entertainment bars and more alcohol-licensed bars and restaurants per capita than most other cities?”
O’Reilly noted his city is home to Dearborn Sausage, which makes ham and is next to “the first mosque in Dearborn.”
“No one has ever objected,” he said.
Islamic law accusations set off legislative frenzy
From Newt Gingrich to Mike Huckabee to state legislators, a growing number of officials across the country are proclaiming that Dearborn and metro Detroit are under Shari’a law because of the sizable Muslim population. Urged on by an active network of conservative blogs and groups, they are filing lawsuits and legislation against what they perceive as a threat to the U.S.
It’s all based on a lie, local officials say — but one that continues to stick in some minds because of the growing power of social media. During the past few months, the drumbeat against Dearborn has grown louder as politicians and elected officials increasingly cite the city as an example of how radical Islam has infiltrated the U.S.
Several states are considering — or have passed — bills banning the use of Islamic law. Last year, Louisiana lawmakers passed an anti-Shari’a bill. In recent months, Texas legislators have cited Dearborn in considering a similar bill. Tennessee also is considering an anti-Shari’a bill. And this week, the Missouri House approved a bill that would ban Shari’a.
Last year, Oklahoma voters approved a ballot measure that would have banned Shari’a law, but a judge later ruled it unconstitutional.
Conservatives point to some cases where judges have cited Islamic law in making decisions. That includes a Florida case involving a dispute at a local mosque, where a judge ruled this year that to resolve one crucial issue in the case, he would consult Islamic law.
Activists also are taking legal action. Earlier this year, the Ann Arbor-based Thomas More Law Center filed a lawsuit against Dearborn, claiming that city officials were influenced by Shari’a when police arrested Christian missionaries last year at an Arab festival.
The fear that Shari’a law is creeping across the country is motivating Florida Pastor Terry Jones and his followers to plan a protest Friday outside the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn.
But city officials, Muslim Americans and others see the anti-Shari’a efforts as part of a campaign to whip up hysteria against Muslims and score political points. In Dearborn, officials worry that the power of social media has spread lies about the town that Henry Ford founded.
Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly Jr. frequently has appeared on national TV shows, such as MSNBC’s “Hardball,” in recent months, trying to deflect the notion that his city is under Shari’a.
On Wednesday, he reiterated that in an open letter to Jones, noting that Dearborn has three strip clubs and a factory that makes pork products across the street from a mosque.
“There is no Shari’a law in Dearborn, only constitutional law,” O’Reilly said.
The definition of Shari’a varies greatly, but it generally refers to Islamic laws, rules or customs that might govern a person’s life or society. It could range from personal habits to food to politics and business.
Some have concerns that Shari’a rules in Muslim countries could come to the U.S. But Muslim Americans say they should not be compared to how Muslims live in foreign countries.
They say they’re facing the same accusations that American Catholics faced in the 19th and early 20th centuries when some Protestants feared their influx would lead to Vatican domination.
In Wednesday’s letter, O’Reilly said, “Shari’a law is church or faith-based law that is applicable only to the followers of that faith.”
He compared it to Canon Law in Catholicism or Torah Law in Judaism.
“It can’t be carried out in America,” he said in an interview with the Free Press. “No one is trying to do that. And we wouldn’t let them if they would try.”
Imam Radwan Mardini, head of the American Muslim Center in Dearborn, said Shari’a “is not an issue.”
“There is no Shari’a implemented in the state of Michigan,” Mardini said. “There is no basis for these allegations.”
The idea that Dearborn is under Shari’a grew in popularity after an incident in June 2009 at the Arab International Festival in Dearborn, the largest Arab-American festival in Michigan. At the event, some Christian evangelists yelled at passersby “that they were going to hell because they were Muslim,” according to a Dearborn police report.
But a video recorded by a Christian missionary group called Acts 17 Apologetics showed them being escorted out by security guards during the festival. It has now drawn more than 2 million views on YouTube, making it the most popular video on Dearborn.
Some Christians — including a Marlette man who initially organized Friday’s protest — point to that video as proof that Dearborn is under Shari’a.
Last year at the Arab festival, the same missionaries were arrested on charges of disturbing the peace, leading to another uproar. They were later acquitted by a jury and filed a lawsuit against the city.
Their experiences have been used by conservatives to slam Dearborn. In July, Gingrich, the former House speaker, wrote:
“This is a clear case of freedom of speech and the exercise of religious freedom being sacrificed in deference to Shari’a’s intolerance against the preaching of religions other than Islam.”
Gingrich said the missionaries were handing out copies of Christian literature, which is “of course, forbidden by Shari’a’s rules on proselytizing.”
The mayor, responding to these months of criticism, said in an interview: “These people are trying to suggest that Shari’a has overridden civil law. That doesn’t happen here. We won’t let it happen.”
Niraj Warikoo
Detroit Free Press