Right Wing Myth-Busting

Try telling a Citizen of Dearborn that they're living under Sharia law and they'll either laugh in your face or tell you you're being a dupe for believing such a lie. Here's the background on this right-wing myth:

In October of 2013, the website "the National Report" published a story saying that, by a vote of 4-3, the Dearborn City Council instituted all aspects of Sharia Law. Like The Onion, the National Report is not a real news site; it is a humor site that publishes satirical material. The Dearborn City Council did not pass such a measure, it did not vote on such a measure, and we are not aware that anyone in the city is on record as ever having proposed to vote on such a measure.

(Ford Motor Company's World Headquarters - Dearborn, Michigan)

The National Report chose Dearborn as its target for this joke because an estimated 40,000 of the city's 98,000 residents are of Arab ancestry. It is believed that Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit, and the eighth largest city in Michigan, is the American city with the highest percentage of Arab-Americans residents; consequently, it was the best candidate to fool the gullible Islam-haters who fell for this joke. (It also should be noted, though, that many of Dearborn's Arab-Americans are Christians of Lebanese descent.)

If anyone fears that Sharia law might be implemented somewhere in the United States, we would hasten to remind them of the following: Sharia law is based on various interpretations of the Koran, the Islamic holy book, and any such implementation would violate the US Constitution's 1st Amendment separation of church and state. Sharia law can allow for stoning, caning, child marriages, discrimination against women, and other unconstitutional measures that would get struck down by any US court when challenged. If anyone thinks the American Civil Liberties Union wouldn't have filed a lawsuit the day after such a set of laws went on the books anywhere in America, they are incredibly naïve.

Unfortunately, though, a lot of right-wing zealots heard this story and actually believed it, enough so that the mayor of Dearborn, John B. O'Reilly Jr., had to issue the following press release:

"Dearborn has never been, nor ever will be, under sharia law. We are governed by the U.S. Constitution, the Constitution of the State of Michigan and the City of Dearborn Charter.


We are a city named after a Revolutionary War Hero. We have lost loyal Dearborn American military service personnel in every war this country has fought to protect the individual rights we are guaranteed through the U.S. Constitution.


The National Report's misguided attempt at humor furthers the goals of some people who have tried to suggest that the City of Dearborn is anti-American because our population includes residents who are Muslim.


The National Report is not a news site, but is only pretending to be one. Its purpose is entertainment. In this case, its outrageous story, with no basis in fact, has ended up fooling people in part because it mirrors allegations made by others in the past with less than humorous intentions."

(Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village - Dearborn, Michigan)

For those of you unfamiliar with the city of Dearborn, one of our readers who is a resident of Dearborn reminds us that Dearborn is the birthplace of Henry Ford and it continues to be the home of Ford Motor company's world headquarters. One of the country's premier museums of American history, and the largest American indoor-outdoor museum, the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, also is located in Dearborn and is a worthwhile stop for those visiting the Detroit area.

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