Dearborn, a town in Michigan, U.S., has been forced to beef up security measures after it was labeled "America’s jihad capital" in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
The town, with just over 100,000 residents and the nation’s highest Muslim population per capita, became the target of online hate and misogyny since the publication of the opinion piece.
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud on Friday tweeted that city police increased security at places of worship and major infrastructure points as a "direct result" of the Wall Street Journal piece titled, "Welcome to Dearborn, America’s Jihad Capital."
Hammoud posted on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, that the item published Friday "led to an alarming increase in bigoted and Islamophobic rhetoric online targeting the city of Dearborn."
Steven Stalinsky, executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute, who authored the opinion piece, claimed in an interview with The Associated Press that he wanted to draw attention to pro-Palestinian protests in Michigan and elsewhere across the U.S.
Nearly 27,500 Palestinians, mostly women and minors, have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its war on Oct. 7, according to the Gazan Health Ministry.
"Nothing in my article was written to instigate any sort of hate," Stalinsky claimed. "This is a moment for counterterrorism officials to be concerned."
The Wall Street Journal did not immediately respond Sunday to requests for comment left by The Associated Press via email and voicemail. An email sent to a Dearborn spokeswoman also was not immediately returned Sunday.
In a tweet referencing Dearborn on Saturday, President Joe Biden condemned "hate in all forms."
"Americans know that blaming a group of people based on the words of a small few is wrong," Biden’s post read.
"That’s exactly what can lead to Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate, and it shouldn’t happen to the residents of Dearborn – or any American town."
