Harris enrages Muslim community after campaign boots prominent doctor from Detroit-area event



Vice President Kamala Harris further enflamed tensions with Muslim Americans after her campaign kicked a prominent doctor and former Democratic congressional candidate out of a Detroit-area event earlier this week.

On Monday afternoon, Dr. Ahmed Ghanim and approximately 200 other guests arrived at a Harris rally held at the Royal Oak Music Theatre in Royal Oak, Michigan, a trendy suburb located about 15 miles north of Detroit.

Ghanim, a 49-year-old native of Egypt who received an invitation to the event, claimed he entered the facility, passed through security, and arrived at his seat without a problem. About 10 minutes later, someone from the venue approached him and asked him to follow her.

"I followed her," Ghanim told FOX 2. "I thought they are changing my seat or doing something."

The venue was not changing his seat. Instead, the woman led Ghanim to the theater lobby, where members of the Royal Oak Police Department and U.S. Secret Service were standing. The group of officials then asked him to leave the premises or risk detention in the back of a cop car.

Ghanim filmed his conversation with venue staff and members of law enforcement. According to the footage he captured, one officer said, "I'm not kicking you out. The venue's kicked you out."

When Ghanim pressed further, demanding to know why they were removing him, a woman stated, "Unfortunately, this is no longer a conversation."

"This is my city," Ghanim explained to WXYZ. "So if this happens to me in my city where I should feel safe ... how do you think that is going to make me feel other than being an outcast?"

When FOX 2 asked whether he believed his Muslim faith played a role in the incident, Ghanim replied, "I think so."

"They kicked me out without providing [a reason]," he told the Detroit News. "I didn't have anything. There is no provocation. I didn't even have any, like, a Palestinian kaffiyeh, any signs, or a banner, nothing. None of that is allowed inside."

A spokesperson from ROPD confirmed to WXYZ that a representative from the theater issued the order to remove Ghanim. Secret Service confirmed to the outlet that none of the attendees, including Ghanim, were considered a security threat.

The Harris campaign, likely recognizing that someone had bungled the situation, immediately issued an apology.

"Our campaign regrets this action and its impact on Dr. Ghanim and the community, and he is welcome at future events," Naomi Savin, deputy communications director for the Harris team in Michigan, told FOX 2. "We value our relationship with the Muslim American community."

'If you were kicked out of her campaign, would you vote for her?'

Thus far, that apology has apparently done little to quell the anger in the Muslim community, which is still frustrated with the response from the Biden-Harris administration to the war in Gaza. Some feel affronted that no one spoke on behalf of Palestinians on the main stage at the Democratic convention in August.

"We have seen this repeated pattern of disregard and disrespect towards Muslim and Arab Americans unfold before," said Rex Nazarko, of the American Muslim Engagement and Empowerment Network, according to FOX 2.

Basim Elkarra, the director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in another state, called for an investigation into the incident in Royal Oak.

In addition to his work in health care management, Dr. Ghanim also recently attempted to oust Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) in the 2024 Democratic primary. Stevens won overwhelmingly with 74% of the vote.

Ghanim, described by the Detroit News as a Democratic "activist," now says he will likely not vote for Harris in the 2024 presidential election. "If you were kicked out of her campaign, would you vote for her?" he asked FOX 2 rhetorically.

"I guess that’s how the Democratic Party deals with Muslims. They’re not important to them. ... Maybe the Democratic Party doesn't want people like me and my kind in the party," he added to the Detroit News.

Amer Ghalib, a fellow Muslim and the Democrat mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, has already endorsed former President Donald Trump, calling him "the right choice for this critical time."

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'The right choice': Michigan city's popular Democratic Muslim mayor endorses Trump



The Democratic mayor of the only American city entirely governed by Muslims has endorsed President Donald Trump, signaling possible trouble for Kamala Harris and highlighting the fragility of leftists' supposed intersectional coalition.

Amer Ghalib, the mayor of Hamtramck in the swing state of Michigan, announced Sunday that he is backing the Republican candidate, stating, "I know [Trump] is a man of principles."

"Though it's looking good, he may or may not win the election and be the 47th president of the United States," wrote Ghalib, "but I believe he is the right choice for this critical time. I'll not regret my decision no matter what the outcome would be, and I'm ready to face the consequences."

"Let the Caravan begin its journey. This is just the starting point," added Ghalib.

Days earlier, Ghalib — one of the many religious Americans who have taken issue in recent years with LGBT activists' cultural imperialism — briefly met with Trump in Flint, indicating on Facebook, "It's a new era."

Ghalib, who last year defended banning the display of LGBT flags on public buildings, told the Detroit Free Press, "It was a productive meeting," and indicated Trump had asked for his endorsement.

The Trump campaign appears keen to take advantage of the current administration's alienation of Muslim voters and Arab Americans over its Middle East policies and promotion of LGBT propaganda.

FiveThirtyEight's polling average presently shows Harris leading Trump in Michigan 48.6% to 45.9% — a state Biden allegedly won by 155,000 votes in 2020. According to NPR, there are roughly 240,000 Muslims in Michigan.

According to the Hamtramck Review, 61% of Hamtramck residents voted "uncommitted" in the Democratic primary election. Biden ultimately won with 32% of the vote.

Some Muslim Americans who previously supported Democrats may throw their weight behind Trump, as Ghalib indicated he will. Others may instead support the Green Party's Jill Stein.

Reuters noted that an August poll by the radical group Council on American-Islamic Relations indicated that 40% of Muslim respondents in Michigan signaled support for Stein, 18% for Trump, and 12% for Harris.

The Hamtramck mayor, a native of Yemen who has protested the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and demanded divestment from Israel, said that Trump "knew a lot about me prior to the meeting. We talked about various topics including the debates, the polls updates, the statistics of votes in Michigan and Wayne county, the Arab American concerns and the Yemeni Americans in particular."

Trump has made no secret of his contempt for Hamas, his opposition to radical Islam, and his affinity for Israel — having worked in office to normalize relations between Israel and Arab states as well as formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. However, his criticism of American interventionism and foreign entanglements apparently appeals to some disaffected Democrats.

Trump's criticism of Biden's missile strikes on Yemen earlier this year may, for instance, have resonated with Ghalib and other former Democrats in the Yemeni community.

'A lot of people are shifting to the right.'

In January, Biden ordered military strikes against Houthi militants in Yemen in response to their repeated targeting of Israel-linked ships transiting the Bab al-Mandeb strait. This was something of an about-face granted the Biden-Harris administration previously dropped the Houthis from the list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time of the strikes:

So, let me get this straight. We’re dropping bombs all over the Middle East, AGAIN (where I defeated ISIS!), and our Secretary of Defence, who just went missing for five days, is running the war from his laptop in a hospital room. Remember, this is the same gang that 'surrendered' in Afghanistan, where no one was held accountable or FIRED. It was the most embarrassing 'moment' in the history of the United States. Now we have wars in Ukraine, Israel, and Yemen, but no 'war' on our Southern Border. Oh, that makes a lot of sense. Crooked Joe Biden is the worst President in the history of the United States!

"A lot of people are shifting to the right," Hassan Aoun — a Republican activist in Dearborn, Michigan, another Detroit-area city with a significant Muslim population — told the Free Press, adding that it is understood Trump will not support new wars.

Ghalib also appears to be one of many Muslims out of line with the Democratic Party's thinking on social issues, especially when it comes to the party's support for the mutilation and sterilization of children and its promotion of LGBT pornography in schools.

Last year, Ghalib reportedly hosted Trump's former national security adviser, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, and discussed gender ideology, illegal immigration, critical race theory, and other social issues.

Bernadette Smith, ethnic vice chair of the Michigan GOP, called the meeting "historic."

"We must focus on those things that unite us and rise above those things that divide us," said Smith. "I do believe this is a history maker today. And we're going to give our God all the glory and honor right for this meeting tonight. ... We want to continue to build bridges. ... We don't want to see our children mutilated."

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Mayor fights back after LGBT advocates complain about rule banning pride flag displays on public property



The mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, is refusing to back down in the face of criticism from LGBT advocates who are angry that his city banned the display of pride flags on public buildings.

What is the background?

In June, the Hamtramck city council — believed to the first all-Muslim city council in the country — unanimously voted to prohibit the display of "religious, ethnic, racial, political or sexual orientation group flags" on public property, leading to criticism from LGBT advocates.

Over the weekend, the Washington Post gave that criticism new life. The newspaper published a story airing the grievances of LGBT advocates who claim the city council passed the rule to target them specifically.

"The sole purpose was absolutely to go after the gay pride flag," said one local LGBT advocate. Another told the Post the flag rule "has always been about being anti-queer."

What did the mayor say?

Mayor Amer Ghalib (D) says those critics are far from the truth.

"The city council decided to stay neutral on such controversial issues. Public spaces and city properties are shared spaces among all residents and should not be used by special interest groups to promote their agenda," Ghalib told Fox News. "We just specified which flags to be allowed to fly on city properties: U.S. flag, state, city, and POW flags are allowed. Everything else is not.

"No other group complained except the LGBT, because everyone believes it's fair and just decision," he explained. "The city treats and serves everyone equally, no discrimination or preferential treatment."

Not only did Ghalib defend the city council's decision, but he went on the offense. He said LGBT advocates are "acting as victims" because Hamtramck's leaders are Muslim.

"I, as a mayor, as well as the city council don't represent all American Muslims, we just act on the best interest of our city and our residents," he said. "Muslims are diverse and hold different views about these issues, so why generalizing! I disagree with some Muslim elected officials in the same district or in neighboring cities.

"Acting as victims of American Muslims is an exaggerating response," he continued. "We feel that we are being disrespected in the only Muslim-majority city, where some political groups try to enforce their values on us and are not willing to compromise."

Glaib said the rule is also about "trying to close the door for other groups that could be extremist or racist." He called the rule "legal and constitutional" and clarified that the "vast majority" of Hamtramck's residents approve of it.

"Showing support using city resources and properties to one group and ignoring the rest of the community is just going to create more problems to our city government," he said.

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