Old and busted: Abdul El-Sayed can’t carry Detroit! New hotness: Will El-Sayed lose Dearborn?
It looks like El-Sayed’s attempt to paint himself in blackface this week hasn’t done much to endear himself to black voters in either city. His win in the Democrats’ Senate primary has unleashed a backlash against the Dearborn political establishment, where Arab-American voters have carved out an enclave that has leaned toward Islam for years. A contentious Dearborn city council meeting this week prompted harsh condemnations of the council’s attempts at back-door shari’a law, including a fiery challenge from a prominent black pastor (via Twitchy):
What started as a regularly scheduled town hall in Dearborn, Michigan, erupted into a flashpoint over the influence of Muslim culture in American civic life Tuesday as the pastor of a local church accused the town of operating under Sharia law.
“America, we have lost this city. This is a city that is no longer up under American laws; we are up under Sharia law. We will not have it anymore,” Lorenzo Sewell, the pastor of 180 Church, said.
“Enough is enough.” …
In particular, Sewell and other Dearborn critics have pointed to a case in which Muslim counterprotesters, in his view, suffered inadequate consequences for assaulting Jake Lang, a local political activist.
“You are not up under American law. You are up under Sharia law. That is the reason why you have made no arrests,” Sewell said, referring to the incident.
Police actually did make one arrest, and the suspect is still in custody. This goes well beyond Lang, however, as another dissident made clear at the same meeting. Lang showed up after the city council began attacking critics who objected to pro-Hezbollah signage going up in the city. Ted Barnham noted more quietly that one council member told him to leave the city and that the council would hold a parade when he did. Barnham does not support Lang, but he’s just as concerned about the intolerance and anti-Semitism rising in Dearborn:
At Dearborn city council just now I said that Jake Lang and his crowd being here started last year when I objected to a pro-Hezbollah street sign and the Mayor responded by telling me I’m not welcome. pic.twitter.com/9Oj3aYNIPn
— Edward (Ted) Barham in Dearborn (@TedBarham) August 19, 2026
The dissenters are starting to organize, largely under the leadership of Sewell and Lang, a provocateur who may have found some real purchase with the rise of El-Sayed in Michigan. The Detroit Free Press reported on a rally held in Dearborn this week, casting it in dire terms of extremism while ignoring the extremism that produced Rashida Tlaib as the city’s congresswoman and El-Sayed:
It was a tense and chaotic day in Dearborn as hundreds of protesters descended on the city for an anti-Muslim demonstration that drew also counterprotesters as police made at least seven arrests. Residents of Dearborn were especially anxious, as some feared violence and others shut down their businesses on Tuesday, Aug. 18, city officials said.
The “Christian Crusader March” on Tuesday was led by right-wing provocateur Jake Lang, with the help of Detroit pastor Lorenzo Sewell, who hosted Lang at his church on Sunday. Lang’s protests are part of a long history of anti-Muslim protests by some Christian extremists targeting the city over the past 20 years. There were heated discussions between Muslims and Christians over religion in the plaza and lawn areas in front of the Henry Ford Centennial Library before Lang appeared at about 6 p.m., shouting on a megaphone about Christianity as he was escorted by Dearborn police to enter the building for a Dearborn council meeting. Dearborn has the highest percentage of Arab American residents among cities in the United States and has become once again a target for extremists worried about the growth of Islam.
The council meeting began with a Christian prayer as hundreds of people continued to protest and counterprotest. At one point, police in body armor came out to push back the crowds as the council meeting took place.
Later in the article, though, the Free Press finally alluded to why Sewell and Lang appealed to a significant part of the community in Dearborn:
Ashley Martinez, 39, of Kalamazoo, drove in Tuesday for what was her first protest ever. With an American flag wrapped around her neck like a cape, she said she came to oppose the city urging people to stay home from Tuesday’s meeting, the mayor telling a resident he’s not welcome after he opposed a street sign honoring an Arab American leader and the assault of Lang at the Arbaeen procession earlier this month, which she equated to a similar type of situation as the killing of right wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
Martinez said she takes issue with Islam, jihad and Sharia law and that, as someone of Mexican heritage, she didn’t understand why people brought flags other than American ones.
“We should all be wrapped in this,” she said, holding a smaller American flag in her hand. “Not trying to invade and take over.”
Clearly, some Michiganders see the issue in Dearborn in those terms, and some of those who do are in the demos that Democrats desperately need to keep within the fold. Black and hispanic voters want their concerns addressed, not that of “Palestine” and Hezbollah. This election cycle may have finally forced them to confront Dearbornistan specifically, and a supine Democrat Party more generally.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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