Dearborn Muslims Plan Protest of Terrorism

Protest planned to tell world: Islam is peaceful

BY ERIC D. LAWRENCE
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

The organizers of a Dearborn-area group on Facebook are calling for Muslims to protest against the actions of a Nigerian man accused of trying to attack a Northwest Airlines flight en route to Detroit Metro Airport on Friday.

Majed Moughni, a Dearborn attorney, said Sunday afternoon that Muslims need to let the world know that those who would commit terrorism do not represent Islam.

"It's very frustrating to know that these guys are using Islam and committing terror," he said. "Islam stands for peace."

His Facebook group, Dearborn Area Community Members, is calling for local Muslims to hold a protest during the scheduled Jan. 8 hearing in U.S. District Court in Detroit for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. The 23-year-old was charged Saturday with trying to detonate an explosive device on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Friday. He told federal authorities he was acting on orders from Al Qaeda.

Information about the protest is being posted on the group's Facebook page: "Please bring your signs, and American flags: theme: 'NOT IN THE NAME OF ISLAM,' " according to one post.

Fatme Nemer, 24, a Dearborn resident and member of the Facebook group, agreed that the time had come to protest against terrorism.

She said that the group wants to use the international attention to send a message that metro Detroit's Muslim community is opposed to terrorism.

"This is not something that we condone," she said.

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It will take some doing to persuade many of us that Islamist terrorists don’t represent Islam.

For a long time we’ve complained that the Dearborn Muslim community has reacted to countless instances of their religion being “hijacked” either with silence or prickly charges that they’re being persecuted.

I wish the best of success to these protesters.