Christian Taunts and Violence Mar Arab Festival in Michigan

Flaring tensions led to violence and an arrest in Michigan this weekend as members of Christian missionary groups turned up to protest at the largest public gathering of Arab-Americans in the U.S.

Christian protesters traveled across the country to Dearborn, Mich., where they taunted attendees and even held a severed pig's head for three days at the annual Arab International Festival. The protests turned violent Sunday, and by the end of the day as many as 10 people facing disorderly conduct or assault charges, according to ABC News Detroit affiliate WXYZ.

"You're going to burn in hell," a missionary reportedly yelled at a group of Arab-American boys, while other protesters held anti-Muslim signs that made bigoted remarks about Islam and its prophet Mohammed, including "Islam is a religion of blood and murder" and "Muhammad (Islam's prophet) is a … liar, false prophet, murderer, child molesting pervert."

Young festival attendees later threw soda cans at the protesters and yelled, "Allah-U-Akbar" [God is the greatest], the Detroit Free Press reported.

Violence eventually broke out between festival goers and protesters, prompting Dearborn police to arrest a protest they claim incited the violence. Some protesters say that they were attacked first.

"And they [police] arrest one of our guys. I don't know if they know what they're doing," protest organizer Ruben Israel said. "When we go back and report what happened, next year there could be a hundred of us out here."

Kaseeem Allie with the Islamic Center of America said he thinks it's unfortunate that a festival designed to bring people together saw such chaos.

"I think that our community has done a good job in not reacting in the way that they wanted, outside of a few minor incidents," Allie told WXYZ. "This festival is designed for people to have fun, to celebrate and enjoy their background and cultures. And for someone to come in and make something negative out of it is very unfortunate."

Dearborn has the highest concentration of Arab-Americans in the country, compromising nearly 42 percent of the city's population, according to the 2010 census. This has made the city a flashpoint for conflict amongst Christian grounds and Arab-Americans.

Tensions high as protestors arrive at Dearborn Arab International Festival

Video
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/wayne_county/tensions-high-as-protestors-arrives-at-dearborn-arab-international-festival

As a Christian I am sincerely sorry to any Muslim who was hurt or got the wrong idea. These Christians are a minority much like terrorists are a minority of Muslims. These Christians don't represent the Biblical teachings of Christ. Even if they consider Muslims to be enemies the Bible says "Love your enemies do good to those that hurt you" not grab pitch forks and go down town screaming yelling and being filled with hate.

I am so sad when I hear how the Southern Christian bastardizes our faith. Burning Qurans screaming hate filled statements, yes we don't agree and yes we believe each other are going to hell.

But if anything we should have compassion for those who we view as going to hell?

I mean shouldn't we? If someone is going to burn for eternity is it a nice thing to sit their screaming and yelling at them "Your going to burn" sorry that's horrible and unforgivable!

I personally attend the Canadian Religious Peace Conference, each year I love to talk with the Imams representing the Islamic faith. Why? Because we respect each other and yes I believe he is misled and he believes I am but we respect and love one another.

These hate filled people are destroying the world. Whether its these hate filled Christians or the hate filled Muslims.

Lets stop the endless cycle of hatred shall we. I mean seriously why cant we love each other and respect each others choices? Do we not all have the right to freely choose our beliefs?

Again I am so sorry to anyone who had to put up with this! Its not Christian!

My Pastor preached about this just weeks ago.
The sermon was called "Can a Christian hate" in which he specifically mentioned the pastor in the US who burnt a Quran and a pastor who called for gays to be put in a concentration camp. He said how can they call themselves Christian? A Christian is supposed to love all and hate no one "They will know we are Christians by our love"!!

Also just so you know I am not a supporter of Gay Marriage I'm not a hippy I'm not a United Church member.

I don't condone sin, but I'm not going to persecute those who are stuck in it. I'm not going to inflict pain and hate anyone I view as lost or misguided. Because it is wrong how can I honestly say I love my neighbour as myself and then stand their screaming and yelling and physically attacking him?

So sorry their are good Christians out there too! I hope nobody judges us because a few bad apples do horrific things like this. Much in the same way if your Muslim you don't want others seeing a guy blowing up woman and children representing your faith!

The Islamic Center of America is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, go figure.

Things like this happen when people let themselves be lied to and brainwashed about who they should hate.

People need to think for themselves.

Tell this to your masters:

STOP TELLING ME WHO TO HATE.
STOP TELLING ME WHO IS AT FAULT.
STOP TELLING ME WHO TO KILL.

So you want to have compassion for the religion that encourages the rape and torture of kids and women? The religion that preaches non stop violence against the infadels? The religion that firmly believes all non believers should die by the sword? A religion that preaches terrorism?

You realize this event was put together by the American offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood right? They are a terrorist orginization with strong links to Al Qaeda, The Taliban, TTP, Haqquini Network, EIJ, Hamas, Hezbullah and many other terrorist orginizations who's goal is the complete islamification of the United States of America.

Lpdon

Stop spreading your own prejudices and repeating lies. You have a right to your misguided opinions, but spreading lies or hatred can't help improve the world.



What a crock of B.S.

STOP TELLING ME WHO TO HATE.
STOP TELLING ME WHO IS AT FAULT.
STOP TELLING ME WHO TO KILL.

Good for you. You are a good person.

Al Qaeda is dead. Everyone knows it was invented by the CIA. Stop perpetrating the myth.

Lpdon have you ever read the Quran? I have!!!
Alot of the rhetoric and hate spewed isn't in the Quran itself but other holy texts or so called holy texts. Much like Christianity Islam is not a single belief. Their are several different denominations each with their own prophets and scriptures.

Now I have read several of those other scriptures and they are horrible. But they are not all in the Quran.

Also have you read the Old Testament at all? If you call yourself a Christian then you must have! Now wasn't the Old Testament the word of God? If you say no then you are not a Christian!

But wait why don't we stone Homosexuals in the streets? Because Jesus came and died for our sins he shed his blood for our sins, hence the existence of the Gospels.

But now wait Muslims don't believe Jesus came, they don't believe he died for our sins? They don't believe in the gospels.

So now compare their Quran to our Old Testament!

Now can you honestly tell me that their Quran is worse then our Old Testament?

One last fact Muslims believe in our God. They believe in the God of Abraham they believe in the Bible and old testament. They are misguided of course but they are not evil.

Lastly yes I am very aware that most events like this are being funded and held by the terror groups and their supporters.

Ask yourself why?

Because by holding these events they can manipulate innocent Muslims.

Osama once said President Bush was his hero for bringing America to the Middle East.

Osama and these terror groups want to turn the innocent Islamic believers into terrorists. But in order to do that they need an enemy.

What better way to breed hatred then get a ton of ignorant idiotic Christians to persecute innocent Muslims?

Do you think burning a Quran helped in any way stop hatred? Do you think it did anything to stop the terrorists?

Ask yourself the terrorist groups use the "The crusaders are persecuting and killing our brothers we must slaughter the infidel" now do you think the best way to stop that group is "Lets totally persecute these aholes maybe if we hurt them enough they'll stop".

I know several amazing Muslims.

Story a Canadian Forces unit in Afghanistan got hit by an IED and were strayed they were immobile and taking heavy fire. They had no back up and air support was 15 minutes out. A Muslim farmer came out of his home to the group of Christian and Atheist soldiers and called them into his house to shelter them and give them a chance to fight back. He then gave them food and shelter for the day as they fought for their lives. The man asked our soldiers to remember that the Taliban are not Muslims and always remember him when they got back.

It was because of that brave man and his family who selflessly sheltered a group of Christian and Atheist soldiers that our brave men and women came home.

He saved their lives if he hadn't offered them shelter they would have all been killed. Some were injured I believe one came home without his legs. But that brave Muslim man put his own life and that of his family in danger to help a group of Canadian soldiers.

So when you stereotype all Muslims as terrorists and their whole faith as evil terrorist faith. Maybe you should just shut up, you spreading hate like that is what the terrorist groups want!

Also read the Quran and study Islamic theology a bit before opening your mouth about it.
Jihad is intended to defend your faith not to persecute others, study Islamic history a bit too. In the early Church Christians and Muslims were both being persecuted and Christians helped Muslims and Muslims helped Christians.

We lived side by side in peace!

So please learn a bit about the Islamic faith before opening your mouth and spewing hatred. Also a good knowledge of the Old Testament could benefit you as well.

Al Qaeda may or may not be dead.

Muslims are still killing christians.

"Islam is a religion of blood and murder" and "Muhammad (Islam's prophet) is a … liar, false prophet, murderer, child molesting pervert." What's not true?

I don't advocate violence unless it's in self defense.

When Muslims start wanting blood here, I suggest cutting off the head, literally, of their leader. Without the head, the body dies or tries to grow a new one.

Well Jeanie sorry there I have to disagree. I have in the past personally ministered to Al-Qaeda members and as a journalist I did talk with them online. They are very much real and they are in no way a fabrication of the Government.

Sorry its not that the US hasn't covered some stuff up in the past. As has every Government but Al-Qaeda is very much real as are many of the terrorist groups!

I will ask a couple simple and short questions.
Is the Christian church actively pushing for and living by the old Testament ideas? Or, did the creation of the New Testament make for new rules?

Do Muslims force their (old world) ideals on people of today? As in, do they stone for sport or Law?

Willing traditional war fare that is the case. But you aren't fighting a nation led by a leader you aren't fighting a unified military organization. You are fighting a group of extremists that actually believe it is the will of God to kill innocent men and women.

You kill their leader he is a martyr and thousands join up to support his memory. You kill the next guy and a dozen rise up to replace him. Kill them and another thousand pop up to replace him.

You cannot fight an extremist group that has no fear of death and no respect for human life by killing them!

As Christians that is why the Bible says love your enemies.

Yes if a guy is coming with a bomb on his chest to blow up a school shoot his butt. If a group is shooting up a church or genocidal ly attacking a town. Defend them!

But what the US has realized by now we cannot win a war against terrorism solely by military means. We need to win hearts and minds!

Which is exactly what the Bible preaches, using love compassion and forgiveness to win over our enemies. Using military force only as a last resort and in defence of those around us.

The best way aid describe Al-Qaeda its a Medusa. You cut off one head another two grow in its place within seconds. The only way to kill it is to kill the body!

Willing you appear to have a fairly narrow view. Your questions are Christian church, which Christian church? The United Church that preaches God is love and the Bible is only a guideline? Are you talking the Catholic church?

Then you ask Muslims, as if all of Islam is a single entity!
Some Muslims are horrible people stoning others for fun and to spread fear, they are tyrants.
But others who stone are doing so because they are following a text identical to our own!
Then their are other Muslims more liberal ones that have a different understanding of what the Quran is preaching!

You cant narrowly group all of them together and ask a question like that!

Its like if I said are all Black people not criminals?

Wait what?

That's not acceptable because its ignorant and uneducated, in the same way you can't group all believers of any faith together!

The Quran itself doesn't promote killing people for sport and the fun of it if that's what you wanted to know.

And our Christian faith is the entire Bible not part of it. If you aren't reading the entire thing and taking in its whole message it is easy to be manipulated!

I also am appalled by this absurd and intolerant display.
Our country was founded on the respect for individual
liberties - especially freedom of religion and freedom of
assembly and freedom of speech.

If anyone wishes to express condemnation of Islamic
terrorists and dissatisfaction with policies of American
Islamic institutions they should do so with respectful
and intelligent engagement and dialogue not with violent
protests and more bigoted incitement.

I also apologize as an American for this reprehensible
behavior and hope that the American Arab and Islamic
community will easily transcend such childish slights and insults.

A quick question for all you that are trying to understand this!

The US according to the last census is over 70% Christian, is that true? Are they all Christian? Now if you don't think that 70% of all the US KS Christian why do you assume all who claim to be Muslim are?

If you do think anyone who says their Christian is! What about the guy who ate gay people drinking their blood and eating their flesh? Now he's a Christian? Is a leader in Africa who killed thousands is he a Christian?

Is that sick freak pastor in the Southern states who sleeps with a women who was trafficked to the country who is a slave. Is that pastor who raped that poor innocent woman and did nothing to help her, is he a Christian?

If we start judging everyone who claims tl be Muslim as representing Islam you better be prepared to defend those who do horrific things and call themselves Christian.

Guess what the prostitutes in your city, half of them were kidnapped and forced into the trade.

I have a friend who heads up Not for Sale. Guess who rapes and victimizes more women then anywhere in North America? The Bible Belt!

A sex trafficking ring was busted in the south and it came out that several pastors a judge and police were actively raping those poor women.

Guess what this was occurring in a city that was considered a Bible church strong city.

In fact a women tried running but the churches turned her away because she was a prostitute. They called her horrible names and she was sent back to be raped again and again.

Now let me ask is that Christian?
If you think that's Christian it is sad!! That you would support raping an innocent woman constantly and then throwing her out of a church because you think your better then her.

Another fact the Bible Belt is the largest consumers of Pornography in the world, gun violence is extremely high in the Bible Belt.

In Africa pastors are sending missionaries to the Bible belt!
That's right missionaries are coming to the Bible belt!

In fact my church sent a team to the Bible belt tl reach out to the false Christians a while back too.
Why do you think we are sending missionaries to your Bible Belt?

There are individuals who claim to be "Al Qaeda" members but there is no way you could ever know who they really are. The idea that they are a huge global terrorist network just is not true. They were originally a creation of the CIA and the myth grew. Now everyone wants to claim that they are Al Qaeda.

Its a buzz word for anyone who wears a dark hood who is a radical American hating Muslim. Just government sponsored actors.

The real "terrorists" are the Satan worshiping Cabal, the brotherhood of the snake, the global Banksters who incite and fund all the wars.

The Rothchilds and the Rockefellers and the other rich and "royal" bloodlines who run this world....this is your enemy. These are the terrorists.

Hey you get no argument from me. I am against all of the Abrahamic religions. They are all blood cults as far as I am concerned.

People need to step away from their masters and feel the compassion in their hearts and do what is right instead of listening to their masters telling them who to hate.