Dearborn, MI: Town council meetings are held in communities across America to give residents a chance to voice concerns, ask questions, and challenge local officials about what is happening in their town.
But sometimes those meetings become especially heated when residents believe something much larger is at stake.
That's exactly what happened in Dearborn, Michigan, when Pastor Lorenzo Sewell took to the microphone during a City Council meeting and delivered a fiery address accusing city leaders of allowing what he characterized as Sharia law to take precedence over American law.
“America, we have lost this city. This is a city that is no longer up and under American laws. We are up under Sharia law. We will not have it anymore,” Sewell said.
Sewell, pastor of 180 Church in Detroit, was direct at the meeting.
“Enough is enough,” he said.
Speaking passionately and pointing toward members of the City Council, Sewell demanded accountability from local leaders while arguing that the city's growing Muslim influence has resulted in unequal treatment.
“You are only one percent of this nation. We are not a nation of Muslims,” Sewell said.
Despite Sewell's repeated references to Sharia law, his argument was not centered around any specific legislation imposing Islamic religious law in Dearborn.
Instead, Sewell appeared to be arguing that city officials have demonstrated favoritism toward members of the Muslim community “in the name of religious freedom,” resulting in what he believes is unequal enforcement of American laws.
As an example, Sewell pointed to a recent confrontation involving political activist Jake Lang during Dearborn's annual Arbaeen religious procession. Video from the incident appeared to show Lang being struck from behind and subsequently pursued by counter-protesters after arriving at the event carrying a sign reading, “DEPORT 100 MILLION. SAVE AMERICA.”
“You are not up under American law. You are up under Sharia law. That is the reason why you have made no arrests,” Sewell told council members while referring to the incident.
However, Dearborn authorities later announced that three men were charged in connection with the confrontation, and Police Chief Issa Shahin disputed allegations that police failed to respond appropriately.
For Sewell, however, the incident represented something larger than a single confrontation.
His message to the council was that he believes Dearborn officials are allowing religious and political considerations to influence how laws are enforced — an accusation city officials strongly dispute.
But the mayor responded at the meeting.
"When people portray Dearborn as some place that has been overtaken by Muslims, they aren’t simply attacking our Muslim and Arab communities. They’re also trying to erase our Christian brothers and sisters who have contributed immeasurably to the city and folks of other faiths," Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said at the city council meeting Tuesday.
But regardless of whether city leaders agree with his assessment, Sewell made one thing unmistakably clear during his fiery appearance before the council, and that is “enough is enough.”
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Writer and author Eddie Molina has over 25 years of combined LEO and military service. Learn more about his interview articles at www.eddiemolina.com.
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