A certain segment of the American right can’t let go of its fevered fantasies about Dearborn.
On Feb. 2, the once-august opinion page of the Wall Street Journal became the latest to indulge the notion that something is rotten at the core of this Detroit suburb, publishing an op-ed headlined “Welcome to Dearborn, America’s Jihad Capital.” (We won’t link to it here.)
It’s not the first time this metro Detroit community has been the subject of baseless accusations . It probably won’t be the last. Dearborn, of course, draws the ire of the right wing because of its mostly Muslim Arab American population, now comprising about 54% of the city’s residents.
To indict a community of 110,000 Michiganders takes only sweeping disingenuity: To conflate support for Palestinians with support for Hamas, and criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism. To elevate fringe voices, as though they speak for all. To assign a single character to a complex and varied community. And to view it all through the lens of the other: This community is different . Not quite American. Not worthy of trust.