Dozens of Hamtramck Muslims and their supporters held an anti-terrorism rally in front of the city hall there Friday.
They called ISIS a group of “murderers and thugs” who represent “Islam’s biggest enemy.”
The terror group has brutalized and killed far more Muslims than anyone else, said rally co-organizer Ibrahim Aljahim.
Aljahim said it was time for Hamtramck and Detroit Muslims to take a vocal stand against terror, and to make it clear that they consider the ISIS ideology both un-Islamic and un-American.
“Trust me, if I hear of anyone planning an attack, I will attack him first, and turn him into the government,” Aljahim said. “This is ridiculous. We are Americans, and all together as one family.”
The group also condemned growing anti-Muslim rhetoric and “Islamophobia” in the U.S.
Non-Muslims also came out to support their Muslim neighbors.
Bill Meyer runs the group One Hamtramck. “We have a unique situation here,” Meyer said. “We’re going to show the world we can all get along. In all the years I’ve lived here, I’ve never sensed any negativity among my Muslim friends.
“Let it be known that these Muslims, in this city, are positive.”
Hamtramck is a small, historically-Polish enclave within Detroit. But it’s attracted immigrants from Bangaldesh, Yemen, and other parts of the Muslim world in recent years.
