The Exception to the Rule?

Many critics of the Islamic religion cite (spuriously) its violent, autocratic, totalitarian nature. Far from being a scholar of religion, my presumption is that many world religions can be accused (rightly) of the same things – Christianity is certainly not exempt, attested to by its numerous, failed attempts at establishing Christian hegemony.

In any regard, the “exception” to the rule escaped me, despite being literally in my own back yard. The eurocentric, right-wing, Brussels Journal reports that Dearborn, MI is the quintissential melting pot for the Islamic creed and American style democracy. Dearborn boasts the second largest Arab population in the United States, and I believe, the largest concentration of Arabs outside of the middle-east.

Yet, it is not subject to the violent rallies that plague Europe and the Middle-East with great frequency. On the contrary, Arab scholars in Dearborn and the surrounding neighborhoods often rail against the violent extremism characteristic of the uber-segregated European banlieus, and the hyper-radical middle-east. They routinely convene with Rabbis from nearby Southfield, Farmington Hills, and Catholic representatives from the Detroit Archdiocese, to address current world politics.

Segregation aside, Dearborn is an integrated, and integral part of Michigan’s economy. The citizens thereof are largely the “moderate” muslims and arabs for which the world is clamoring.