Dearborn's Muslim mayor refuses meeting with Trump during campaign visit in Michigan

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud publicly rejected an invitation to meet with former President Donald Trump during his recent campaign visit to Dearborn, Michigan, calling out Trump’s "Muslim ban" while also accusing the Democrats of creating the space for Trump.

Hammoud, Dearborn’s first Muslim mayor, voiced his opposition to Trump’s visit and reminded the public of the former president's “Muslim Ban,” an executive order that imposed travel restrictions on individuals from several majority-Muslim countries, including Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen, as well as North Korea and Venezuela.

"The architect of the Muslim Ban is making a campaign stop in Dearborn. People in this community know what Trump stands for - we suffered through it for years," he wrote on X.

"I’ve refused a sit down with him although the requests keep pouring in. Trump will never be my president," he added.

Hammoud also directed criticism at Democratic leaders, saying that their "unwillingness to stop funding and enabling a genocide" created the space for Trump to infiltrate Muslim communities.

In the run-up to the election, the Trump and Harris campaigns have each ramped up outreach to Arab and Muslim Americans, especially in battleground state Michigan, where the community’s votes could prove decisive.

Trump on Friday visited a halal cafe in Dearborn, home to many Arab and Muslim Americans and known as "Arab capital of America".

The visit came after a group of Muslim leaders last week joined Trump on stage at a rally in Michigan to announce their support for the Republican candidate in the Nov. 5 presidential election.

The leaders cited the former president’s commitment to ending wars.

Trump, in turn, emphasized that Muslim and Arab voters in Michigan and across the country want a "stop to the endless wars and a return to peace in the Middle East."

He also highlighted Vice President Kamala Harris’ association with former Republican representative from the state of Wyoming, Liz Cheney, known for her father's role in promoting the US invasion of Iraq in 2001 and the ensuing wars.

Meanwhile, Trump previously stated that he would allow Israel to “finish the problem” in its fight against Hamas.

Traditionally supportive of Democrats, Michigan’s Muslim community has increasingly turned against the Biden administration because of its unconditional backing of Israel, despite a rising civilian death toll in Gaza.

In February, more than 100,000 Democratic voters chose "uncommitted" in the state's presidential primary election after the Uncommitted campaign urged voters to protest President Joe Biden's Gaza policy as he sought reelection.

The Democratic Party further strained relations when it declined the Uncommitted movement’s request to include a Palestinian American speaker at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago in August, where Kamala Harris was announced as the Democratic nominee.

More than 300,000 individuals of Middle Eastern and North African descent reside in Michigan, accounting for 3% of the state's population.

Biden defeated Trump in Michigan in the 2020 presidential race, by a margin of just over 150,000 votes, a significant contrast to 2016, when Trump won by less than 11,000 votes against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.