Detroit: Saved by Arab-Americans
If you surf through rightwing blogs at all, you probably “know” that Dearborn, Michigan (adjacent to Detroit) is a hotbed of Sharia and Muslim terror plots. The Greater Detroit area has about 200,000 residents of Middle Eastern descent.
If you’d rather see the glass as half full, this means thousands of Arab-Americans are helping to keep Detroit from sliding into the abyss. This article has an interview with an Iraqi immigrant — who came here in 1986 — whose company has twenty-three employees and brings in $20 million a year. He says:
“And 90% of my business is in Detroit. Does that sound like a dying city to you? You want to know if Detroit has a future? Ask us Arabs. We believe in this place.”
There’s an interview with another Iraqi immigrant who just arrived this past summer. He hasn’t found a job yet but he’s optimistic:
“I will save up for a couple of years and open a kebab shop ... then another one, and another one. If McDonald's can have restaurants all over the Arab world, then why can't I have kebab shops all over America?”
Then he points to some shops that are Arab-owned, and says:
“All of them got a chance to start something in this city. My turn is next.”
Bobby Ghosh, the author of the article, says:
“For Detroit, a city in critical condition, this new blood could make a difference. The impact is twofold: a desperately needed infusion of new citizens at a time when an exodus has drained metro Detroit of its middle class, both white and black; and an economic boost from a culture that likes to start new businesses. The Arab-American community in metro Detroit produces as much as $7.7 billion annually in salaries and earnings.”
While Detroit is moving up, some people in Arizona are going in the opposite direction. A dome-like building is going up in Phoenix, and some of the local rednecks are going ballistic. There’ve been complaints and frantic phone calls about this new mosque being built in their neighborhood. Sharia! Suicide Bombers!
Uhh, just one tiny thing — it’s a church.
DUUUHHH!!!
Labels: Dearborn MI, Detroit Arab-American, Phoenix mosque
posted by Tom Harper @ 4:58 PM
14 Comments:
It's funny, a Coptic Christian church was built here in Lynnwood about a mile from my house and it was amazing how many people thought it was a mosque.
So this means the Russian orthodox can't build a church anywhere either.
Very interesting post, Tom. It's good to know somebody's making it in Detroit. That region has been devastated and needs help from any and all directions.
Re: Arizona rednecks, what can you say? The state has for its senators John "Formerly Known as the Maverick" McCain and Jon "Neanderthal" Kyl. Then there's its governor, who spreads lies about headless bodies in the desert for political gain.
I at one time thought I might like to go there for a look around, with idea of maybe moving in some day. Forget that.
It's the dome, the stinkin' dome...and those pointy things. This is the problem. They just don't look 'murican. If it's got a dome and pointy pecker looking things, it's got to be Muzlin.
Arizonastan, you are so fucking funny. Don't ever change.
What's the difference between Obama's cabinet and a penitentiary?
A: One is filled with tax evaders, blackmailers, and threats to society. The other is for housing prisoners.
--David Letterman
Bramante' weeps.
Mmmm...kabobs. Too bad I love that shawarma too. Better enjoy it now; when the next republican president steals the White House we may be accused of funding terrorists when we buy our falafal.
J: Damn, even in the liberal Seattle area.
Demeur: That's right, them commies are no better than turrists.
SW: Yes, it's encouraging about Detroit. I've seen other articles about people moving to Detroit because of the rock-bottom housing prices; median price is around $20,000. Between that and all the Middle Easterners creating jobs there, there's hope yet for Detroit.
I've enjoyed visits to Arizona but I don't think I could ever live there, because of their red hot summers as well as the politics.
jadedj: Damn right, the dome and them pointy thangs. As the saying goes, if it looks like a mosque, walks like a mosque, quacks like a mosque...
Randal: Don't worry, they won't.
Anon. 6:53 a.m.: Nice try, but you got Snopes'd a long time ago. There's a bunch of rightwing one-liners going all over the Internet, supposedly by Letterman, Leno, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart. Trouble is, they never said them.
Anon. 8.24 a.m.: He's turning in his grave.
Dave: Possession of kebab or falafel, ten years. With a special enhancement if pita bread was involved.
Demeur might onto something...it's domes that they fear.
So the crazies out number the sane in Arizona is proven once again.
How much extra time do they tack on for tahini?
Tim: Somebody should put up a bunch of plastic or pre-fab domes overnight in conservative neighborhoods, and see how many wingtards have heart attacks the next morning.
SM: A tahini enhancement will tack on another 15 years.
A domed church = Islam = terrorists. In our fear-addled and fear-driven society this is not surprising!
But J.'s comment and your link show that if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck... it is often a duck, but not always.
I see the fear and 'terra' crowd is at it again. And the Muslims in Dearborn - good for them!
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