(RepublicanPress.org) – Arabs and Muslims celebrate International Quds Day on the last Friday of Ramadan as a show of solidarity with Palestine and opposition to Zionism and Israeli influence. Initiated by Imam Khomeini in 1979, shortly after the Iranian Revolution, the Islamic holiday gets its name from Jerusalem’s Arabic name, al-Quds. Stunningly, an April 5th gathering observing Quds Day erupted in anti-American chants in a typically patriotic Michigan city and across the US.
Michigan Crowd Celebrating Islamic Holiday Chant “Death to America”
On April 8, The Detroit News published a disturbing article discussing a since-deleted viral video that showed some attendees of a rally in Dearborn getting riled up while celebrating Quds Day. The clip panned a large crowd milling around in front of the Henry Ford Centennial Library on Michigan Avenue, due west of Detroit.
The video shows several people waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Death to Israel” and “Death to America.” They also held yellow signs bearing messages supporting Palestine and calling for an end to Israel’s occupation of Gaza.
Palestinians and supporters of the Middle Eastern nation frequently use yellow signs and banners to show their support for Hezbollah, a Lebanese-based Shiite militant group and political organization closely allied with its Palestinian counterparts, including Hamas. Hezbollah’s flag has a yellow background decorated with a stylized representation of the Arabic word for Hezbollah, which means “Party of God” in English.
The Man Behind Michigan’s Anti-American Display
Local activist Tarek Bazzi organized the rally. He is a familiar figure in Greater Detroit, known for his involvement in pro-Palestinian events. His rhetoric often includes criticisms of US policy and reportedly invokes controversial American figures like Malcolm X.
The viral clip showed Bezzi quoting the slain African-American civil rights leader as saying, “We live in one of the [worst] countries” that ever existed on Planet Earth. He also explained that he decided to shift the focus of the Quds Day rally from a pro-Palestine event to one invoking anti-American sentiment to push back on the Biden administration’s efforts to provide funding to Israel to wage war against Hamas and innocent civilians in Gaza.
Michigan’s Congressional Delegation Responds
On April 15, US Representative John Moolenaar and four of his GOP colleagues from the Michigan delegation sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland asking him to launch an investigation into “recent rallies held across the US, where [attendees] chanted ‘Death to America.'” However, they didn’t cite any specific cities.
The lawmakers reminded Garland that the Constitution’s free speech protections don’t include “anti-Semitic calls for inciting violence.” They also warned that the calls for death to Americans presented a “serious threat to public safety” along with America’s commitment to the “values of freedom and democracy.”
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