❓WHAT HAPPENED: A heated exchange erupted at a Dearborn City Council meeting after Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud told a Christian resident he was “not welcome” in the city for opposing street signs honoring an Arab publisher accused of supporting terror.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud, Christian resident Edward “Ted” Barham, and Arab publisher Osama Siblani.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Last week at a Dearborn City Council meeting in Dearborn, Michigan.
💬KEY QUOTE: “You are 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.” – Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud
🎯IMPACT: The incident has sparked controversy, with concerns raised over free speech, social cohesion, and the growth of parallel societies in America.
A contentious Dearborn City Council meeting last week saw Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud tell a Christian resident he was “not welcome” in the city. The controversy began when longtime resident Edward “Ted” Barham objected during the public comment period to new street signs on Warren Avenue honoring Osama Siblani, an Arab American publisher who has openly praised groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.
“He’s a promoter of Hezbollah and Hamas,” Barham said, referencing past remarks by Siblani in which he glorified violent resistance. “He talks about how the blood of the martyrs irrigates the land of Palestine… others will fight with planes, drones, and rockets.” Comparing the honor of naming a road “Hezbollah Street or Hamas Street,” Barham called the move provocative and emphasized his Christian commitment to peace, quoting scripture: “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
Mayor Hammoud responded aggressively, saying, “The best suggestion I have for you is to not drive on Warren Avenue or to 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 this community,” the mayor said, before launching into a torrent of insults: “You are 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.”
Dearborn’s mayor has previously stoked controversy in 2023 when two Palestinian flags were posted at the city’s welcome sign following the Hamas massacre of over a thousand people on October 7 of that year.
Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse, warned that Dearborn was at risk of devolving into a parallel society, similar to many Islamic enclaves in Europe, in his 2017 book No Go Zones.
WATCH:
Dearborn has fallen
A Dearborn, Michigan resident was testifying against naming a street after pro-Hezbollah radical Osama Siblani.
Mayor Abdullah Hammoud responded: “You do not belong in this city, Islamophobe! Get out!, you are not welcomed here”pic.twitter.com/j9v4BoNFNU
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) September 17, 2025
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