What started as a regularly scheduled town hall in Dearborn, Michigan, erupted into a flashpoint over the influence of Muslim culture in American civic life on Tuesday as the pastor of a local church accused the town of operating under Sharia law."America, we have lost this city.This is a city that is no longer up under American laws; we are up under Sharia law.
We will not have it anymore," Lorenzo Sewell, the pastor of 180 Church, said."Enough is enough."The outburst, which came amid a series of other anti-Islam protests in Dearborn, vocalizes fears that Muslim populations in Michigan are working to bring their communities more in line with their religious worldview — views Sewell believes are at odds with the vast majority of the country.EL-SAYED'S AGENDA PUTS ‘PERMANENTLY’ CHANGED AMERICA ON THE LINE IN MICHIGAN SENATE RACE, GOP FIREBRAND WARNSPastor Lorenzo Sewell speaks on Day 4 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., July 18, 2024.(REUTERS/Brian Snyder)"You are only 1% of this nation.
We are not a nation of Muslims," Sewell said.Sewell’s references to an implementation of Sharia law don’t refer to actual legislation looking to codify Muslim religious practices.Instead, they’re based on what he sees as a form of favoritism that’s being applied unevenly to Muslims in the name of religious freedom.In particular, Sewell and other Dearborn critics have pointed to a case where Muslim counterprotesters, in his view, suffered inadequate consequences for assaulting Jake Lang, a local political activist."You are not up under American law.
You are up under Sharia law.That is the reason why you have made no arrests," Sewell said, referring to the incident.Lang, the activist, is no stranger to brushes with the Muslim community in Dearborn.He frames himself as a faith-based champion of American culture.
In one video posted to X, Lang is seen conducting baptisms while wearing military-style garb and a...