Hundreds Rally in Support of Hamtramck Muslim Community after Quran Burning Threat
The only sign of protest was just after 7 p.m., when men in a U-Haul truck drove past a crowd demonstrators supporting Muslims and shouted at them. Members of the crowd rushed the van and one person hit the vehicle with a large stick, but the driver sped away.
Activist Jake Lang, a member of the anti-Islam group Americans Against Islamification, which had publicized a book burning in Hamtramck on Sunday, appeared in a livestream inside the cab of a U-Haul truck at the time of the demonstration on Facebook and Twitter. During the livestream, he said he was "attacked" in Hamtramck.
Lang and others previously held an anti-Islam protest in November in Dearborn, which resulted in three arrests.
Lang did not immediately respond to requests for comment Sunday.
In the video in the U-Haul, Lang did not appear to burn a Quran, but at one point he showed several copies of the book to his audience along with a package of bacon and shouted at bystanders, "Who wants a Quran sandwich?"
He posted the video on Facebook and Twitter under the title, "LARGEST BOOK BURNING IN AMERICAN HISTORY."
Lang was charged with assaulting a police officer and other crimes connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol, but was pardoned by US President Donald Trump on Trump's first day in office. He is currently running a campaign for US Senate in Florida.
Jackson Robak, 26, of Detroit and one of the organizers of the demonstration against the book-burning, said he was present in November when Lang came to Dearborn.
"Our goal is to drive him out of these communities," Robak said.
“We want to bring together all these different groups to do this. I'm a Muslim myself. People want to come to the largest majority-Muslim city in the country and burn their holy book,” he said. "They don't have a right to do that."
A crowd began to gather outside of the Al-Islah Mosque and Islamic Center in Hamtramck as early as 4 p.m., expecting Lang or other members of Americans Against Islamification to appear at 5 p.m., the time listed in a Facebook post by the group.
Demonstrators included Hamtramck residents, pro-Palestinian activists, socialist groups and several members of the Detroit Black Panther Party. A Christian group initially was mistaken for being anti-Islam. Members said burning a Quran was "a horrible idea."
"Some extremist terrorists don't define Islam," said Byran Smucker, 43. "Extremists shouldn't define Christianity either."
There was a large police presence throughout the afternoon and early evening. In addition to Hamtramck police officers, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office and Michigan State Police were on the scene.
"By and large, the reason why we're out here today is because we saw what they tried to do in Dearborn ... and they wanted to come and do the same thing in Hamtramck," said Jo Pico, 23. "And I won't stand for that."
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Some counter-protesters like 21-year-old Laith Salem had seen the book-burning threats on social media and arrived in front of the mosque to see what would happen.
Salem of Detroit said she worried any confrontation between the anti-Islam group and counter-protesters could turn violent.
“One of them's going to try to start something. That's why the police are here, basically,” he said.
Mohamed Alnaqeb of Hamtramck said: “We want everybody to feel welcome ... We don't want people to feel threatened because they're Muslim or somebody's gonna come hate on them or attack them.”
“Some people feel hurt. Some people are sad right now. It's very frustrating," Alnaqeb said.
Mohammad Alam, 55, described Hamtramck, home to immigrants, including from Yemen and Bangladesh, as a beacon of hope for Muslim residents.
Source: detroitnews.com
