Michigan
Faith over fear: How a Michigan church embraces its Muslim neighbors
DEARBORN, MICH. — An anti-Islam rally promoted as a “Christian…
Inside America’s debate over Muslims
A reporting trip coincides with the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
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DEARBORN, MICH. — On the 25th anniversary of 9/11 last month, I found myself in this Detroit suburb.
I came to work on a story related to America’s ongoing war of words over Muslims and their place in U.S. society.
While coincidental, the timing struck me as ironic.
Three yellow roses rest on a 9/11 memorial plaque in New York City.
That’s because — on the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — I wrote a story for The Oklahoman, where I then served as religion editor, on Muslims’ fears of a backlash:
A distraught Muslim woman called the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City on Tuesday morning as terrorist attacks rocked the nation.
“She’s completely terrified,” said Suhaib Webb, imam of the society’s mosque. “She’s a single woman. She’s like, ‘What if someone tries to kill me?’
“She’s worried that society is going to blame her for this killing.”
American Muslim groups rushed Tuesday to condemn the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They cautioned other Americans not to blame followers of Islam until investigators determine who was responsible.
As we all know now, the Islamic extremist group al-Qaida perpetrated 9/11.
But President George W. Bush refused to cast blame on all Muslims, calling Islam a religion of peace.
Since that time, though, public attitudes toward Muslims have grown even more negative — by some measures — than immediately after 9/11, as the Pew Research Center notes.
Preschool directors Nina Alaouieh, who is Muslim, and Jennifer Danclovic, who is Catholic, discuss their friendship and life in the Dearborn, Mich., area.
