“Terrorist.” “Trojan horse.” “Terrorist sympathizer.”

These are the words top Republican officials have used to describe Muslim Americans in public office since Dr. Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary two weeks ago. That’s following specific instructions from President Donald Trump about what Republicans should say to win the midterms.

In the days after El-Sayed’s win, anti-Muslim hate targeting him online rose twenty-fold. That’s according to the Center for the Study of Organized Hate. Researchers who track this say the language itself has shifted: from calling Muslims a terror threat to calling them a threat to civilization. 

Last night, that rhetoric arrived in Dearborn. Self-described anti-Islamic activist Jake Lang and Detroit pastor Lorenzo Sewell came to the city with a promised pig roast, timed to the city council meeting — which had been moved to the Henry Ford Centennial Library over safety concerns. Police made 22 arrests.

Photos by Isaiah Lopez, WDET

Jake Lang’s demonstration comes a week after an Alaska man was federally charged for threatening to kill Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud.

The mayor has been answering this with something other than anger. Host Robyn Vincent spoke with Hammoud about what that message is, and how he’s working to keep Dearborn residents safe.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and stream on-demand.

Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

In Huntington Woods, a battle has ensued over what you are allowed to say at the city’s Fourth of July parade. 

New rules would strip protest signs down to nothing but a group’s name and logo. A University of Michigan law clinic has told the city that those rules are unconstitutional and demanded their repeal.

In a June 12 letter, the University of Michigan’s Civil Rights Litigation Initiative — the clinic representing the Peace Group — says City Manager Andrew Pazuchowski told members the new rules were prompted by complaints about the group’s signs calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, along with a general concern about public safety. The clinic argues the rules were written to suppress a disfavored viewpoint and says that, to the group’s knowledge, there has never been a safety incident at the parade.

The Metro contacted the City of Huntington Woods for comment but did not receive a response.

Suhair Ghannam, a Huntington Woods resident and member of the Huntington Woods Peace Group, is in the middle of it. To understand why this cuts so deep for her, you have to go back to a dinner table in Nazareth, where a little girl learned not to talk about politics. Because where she grew up, speaking your mind wasn’t safe.

Ghannam joined host Robyn Vincent to discuss coming to the U.S. at 20 years old and finding the thing she says she treasures most about this country: the freedom to speak.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro