Adam,
Sir Dweezle from Detroit giving you a boots on
the ground report concerning Dearborn Michigan and current plight of
Sharia law. If Sharia law encompasses the opening of hookah bars and
driving like absolute shit then there definitely is a problem. All that
said, there is more of a history than just the past 20 years of "muslims
in Dearborn."
For reference my grandparents
had lived in Dearborn since the 40's, my mother currently lives in
Dearborn and between 2010 and 2015 I myself lived in Dearborn. There has
been a definite dividing line being the Southfield Freeway that has
separated East and West Dearborn for years, The Arab population mainly
resided on the east side but as the population has expanded it has moved
into the west side and the city next door which happens to be Dearborn
Heights. So on par with any population. You land, you grow, you spread
out.
Arab immigration, mostly christian,
started in the nineteen teens with the auto industry taking off in the
area. The muslim population started arriving from southern Lebanon in
the 1920's. Ford Motor Company is headquartered in Dearborn and one of
their largest facilities is due south in River Rouge. During that time
people from the Middle East, Europe and the American South moved into
the area around those facilities. Each bringing their unique customs and
quirks of their cultures and of course self segregated to their own
neighborhoods. For instance Henry Ford was involved in funding projects
for his workers for housing improvements and businesses in the city of
Inkster which is located next door to Dearborn and predominantly black.
The lure of high paying, stable jobs brought in everyone.
I
was a fourth generation Ford worker until I wised up and got out in the
90's. My father worked as a supervisor and there were never racial
boundaries within the plant or outside of it. I would accompany him to
Inkster, Dearborn and downriver to events and there was always a
cohesion and comradity between all races and cultures.
What
really put Dearborn on the map was of course 9/11. I had arabic buddies
putting American flag stickers on their cars to let people know that
they were one of the "good arabs," and I guess that stigma has never
really gone away. A shame for some 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation Arab
families who have been living in the area for almost a hundred years
now.
BREAKING NEWS! Church bells still ring in
Dearborn. Is there a call for prayer? Yes. But the call for prayer has
been going on in a town by the name of Hamtramck (Ham-Tram-ick) 10 miles
away for the past 20 years and you don't hear a thing about that. A
town that has a pretty good sized Polish and middle eastern population.
Shit, they even have a Pope John Paul II statue in a park and it has not
been torn down at the behest of the majority middle eastern city
council.
Is Dearborn perfect? No, not by any
means. You have one outspoken political official but you have that
everywhere nowadays. These people just want to live, get ahead and be
left alone like many of us, with the exception that they seemingly have
not let go of the importance of the family unit and having children. The
influx of immigration into this area at the turn of the last century
produced a very unique environment in this neck of the woods. To
Dearbron with the Arabs, to Inkster and Detroit with the blacks and to
downriver (Taylor/Southgate) with the hillbillies. All equally facing
their own societal problems but nevertheless getting by in this day and
age.
There is always the boogeyman theory that
there could be a sleeper cell there though due to our 30 years of shit
foreign policy. Most of my Arabic friends who are there know that the
hammer would come down in that area if anything were to happen so they
police their own. That compounded by the fact they are surrounded by so
many rednecks it would not be wise. Let rational logic prevail!
I
am also glad that I had the chance to write. It gives me the chance to
ask, "What does John C Dvorak look for in a rye whiskey?"
TYFYC and Happy Holidays!
Regards,
Sir Dweezle of Detroit