Detroit religious leaders discuss threats against Muslims after Michigan man arrested
(CBS DETROIT) - Since the terror attack on Israel last week, Muslim leaders in Metro Detroit said they've seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats towards their community.
"We know that dehumanization leads to violence," said Imam Dawud Walid with the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Muslim leaders held a news conference outside of the Dearborn Police Department to talk about threats of violence and why they believed it was happening.
"It starts with dehumanizing a group of people, and then it opens them up to a mob-like mentality for people to target, such as the 41-year-old in Farmington Hills," Walid said.
Over the weekend, 41-year-old David Mintz was arrested and charged with the threat of terrorism after stating online that he would hunt down and kill Palestinians.
Walid believes that elected officials are partly to blame for the increase in contempt toward the Muslim community.
"If they're going to talk about innocent people being targeted, it can't just be one side," Walid said.
Walid said there is very little attempt to differentiate between Hamas, the terrorist organization that carried out the attack on Israelis in Gaza, and the innocent Palestinians living there.
Imam Imran Salha, with the Islamic Institute of Detroit, agreed.
"I also hold elected officials accountable who are propagating unverified news about beheaded babies and rape, this is ruining the image of innocent people who have nothing to do with this, and this is not true," Salha said.
Salha also pointed out that even President Joe Biden had repeated unverified claims that Israeli children were beheaded and women were raped by Hamas. The White House has since walked back those claims.
Salha believes this rhetoric is, in part, what is leading to hatred and violence toward the Muslim community. He also pointed out that a 6-year-old Palestinian boy and his mother were stabbed by their landlord in Chicago. The mother survived, but the young boy died from his injuries. The Department of Justice is now investigating the murder as a hate crime.
"I would like to say the name of my beloved brother, 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume. Wadea Al-Fayoume, 6-years-old, who was murdered in Chicago, we have to understand that these issues that are overseas are not just overseas, they are very much so issues here," Salha said.
In Michigan, and in light of threats, violence, and the arrest of David Mintz, Walid said elected officials need to do better at acknowledging there are innocent civilians on both sides.
"So we just ask that the rhetoric is toned down and to stop the dehumanization of Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims," Walid said.