Dearborn mayor tells resident he's not welcome in city after opposing sign for Arab leader
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The mayor of Dearborn ripped into a resident who objected to the placing of two signs in the city honoring an Arab American leader, telling the resident he's "not welcome here."
In his fiery remarks at Tuesday's council meeting on Sept. 9, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud also told the resident that if he moves out of Dearborn, he will have a parade celebrating it. Speaking during the public comments part of the meeting, a resident, Ted Barham, had objected to signs from Wayne County placed on Warren Avenue named after Osama Siblani, a longtime Arab American leader, because of Siblani's past statements on some Middle Eastern groups. The day before the council meeting, on Sept. 8, the signs were unveiled in a ceremony attended by Hammoud, Siblani and several other officials and Arab American advocates.
"It seems very provocative to have those signs up there," Barham said. "It's almost like ... naming a street, Hezbollah Street or Hamas Street."
Hammoud responded: "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 the city because you are not somebody who believes in coexistence."
Hammoud also told Barham to not drive along Warren Avenue where the signs are placed or close his eyes as he's driving past them. Hammoud then accused Barham of being a bigot based on a video Barham had posted online. It's unclear what remarks Barham allegedly made on the video that Hammoud was referring to; a review of a video by the Free Press that Hammoud may have been referring to did not find racist remarks made by Barham.
Barham started off his remarks by saying of Siblani, the publisher of the Arab American News, a Dearborn-based newspaper: "I'm sure he's done a lot of good things for the community, starting the Arab American News."
More: Wayne County street signs in Dearborn honor Arab American leader Osama SiblaniBut he added that people in Dearborn should be concerned about some of Siblani's previous statements. Barham then quoted from past statements made by Siblani regarding Palestinians in battle and martyrs. The quotes from Siblani that Barham read appear to be taken from the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a pro-Israel group that monitors what it considers to be extremism but has been accused by Arab American advocates for being bigoted. In February 2024, Siblani and others denounced at a press conference an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal written by the executive director of MEMRI that called Dearborn "America's Jihad Capital."
Barham said Siblani has suggested violence in his remarks, but Councilman Robert Abraham responded: "He's not a violent person, and you can interpret his words any way you want, but I will guarantee you he is not intending to incite violence anywhere in the world."
City Council President Michael Sareini, who attended the ceremony for the signs and praised Siblani at it, added that it was Wayne County who put up the signs, not Dearborn, noting that Warren Avenue is a county road.
Siblani told the Free Press on Friday, Sept. 12, that Barham, whom he's not familiar with, "was quoting me in bits and pieces" taken out of context, which he said MEMRI, cofounded by a former Israeli intelligence official, often does to him and other Arab American advocates.
At the same time, Siblani said "everything I said, I stand by. I'm not a person that shies away from what I believe. I don't speak about something that I do not believe what I am saying. I will take responsibility for it."
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Did we lose a war or something? It's okay for a mayor to tell someone they are welcome in a city because they don't think someone who proudly supports terrorist organizations should have a street name after them,
We have been letting problems from other places come here for too long now they are telling citizens they are not welcome where they live.
Extreme political divisiveness (and apparently religious divisiveness) is not exactly a stranger, it appears.