Michigan city ramps up security after op-ed dubs it ‘jihad capital’ of America

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Dearborn, Michigan mayor hits Biden for sending campaign to meet with local Arab-American leaders

Dearborn, Michigan Mayor Abdullah Hammoud told CNN's Dana Bash on Tuesday that it was "dehumanizing" of President Biden to send a member of his campaign staff to speak with Arab-American and Muslim leaders in the state.

The city of Dearborn, Michigan is ramping up security after the publication of a controversial Wall Street Journal op-ed dubbed it the "jihad capital" of America. 

Dearborn is home to the highest concentration of Muslim residents in the United States. 

The piece, authored by Steven Stalinsky, executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute, highlights mass support for Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran among city residents. 

FILE: Rep. Abdullah Hammoud, D-Dearborn, speaks during a campaign rally for presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in Dearborn, Mich., March 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Stalinsky describes protesters in the city shouting "Intifada, intifada," "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," and "America is a terrorist state." 

The piece also alleges that people were "celebrating" Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that left 1,200 dead and hundreds more injured. These celebrations, the author noted, came before Israel retaliated with a ground offensive that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians. 

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Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud on Friday tweeted that city police increased security at places of worship and major infrastructure points as a "direct result" of a WSJ op-ed opinion piece. 

Hammoud posted on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, that the item published Friday "led to an alarming increase in bigoted and Islamophobic rhetoric online targeting the city of Dearborn."

"It’s 2024 and the [Wall Street Journal] still pushes out this type of garbage," Hammoud wrote in another post, calling it "Reckless. Bigoted. Islamophobic." 

"Dearborn is one of the greatest American cities in our nation," he added. 

Stalinsky told The Associated Press that his piece was not intended to "instigate any sort of hate" and that he wanted to draw attention to protests in Michigan and elsewhere across the U.S. in which people have expressed support for Hamas since the start of the war with Israel.

"This is a moment for counterterrorism officials to be concerned," he said. 

Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike at a residential building in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

More than 27,000 Palestinians, mostly women and minors, have been killed in Gaza since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to Hammoud’s office and the Wall Street Journal for comment. 

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In a tweet referencing Dearborn on Saturday, President Joe Biden condemned "hate in all forms."

"Americans know that blaming a group of people based on the words of a small few is wrong," Biden's post read. "That's exactly what can lead to Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate, and it shouldn't happen to the residents of Dearborn – or any American town."