Retraction – Dearborn :: By Donna Wasson

I must correct a grievous wrong. I give due diligence to researching a subject before I put pen to paper and most of the time, I get it right. Well, not this time. I bombed and wrote an article with incomplete facts, when I didn’t know the real truth.

I’m talking about the story all over YouTube about a small group of Christian men who were stoned and cursed when they attended an Arab Festival in Dearborn, Michigan recently. I watched the video these guys took of what happened to them; however, they conveniently failed to show why the Muslim crowd was so outraged.

In the video I watched, this group of men were standing peacefully in a small group, holding signs stating things like, “Jesus loves you” and “Proud to be an infidel” and other assorted messages. The clip showed these men surrounded by a very hostile crowd who were throwing water bottles, plastic chairs, crates, eggs, etc…

These men, women and children, some as young as 9, were yelling vile obscenities at them, telling them to ‘go to hell’, and that they had no business being there. This video shows the police of Dearborn, including Chief Deputy Jarraf, pulling the men aside, telling them they needed to leave the area; that what they were doing was obviously outraging the Muslims.

It documents the police did nothing to protect these men from the crowd even though, as they pointed out to the authorities, they had every right to be there, peacefully demonstrating due to their 1st Amendment rights. The Chief Deputy agreed, but told them to leave or they would be ticketed because they were inciting a riot and someone was going to get hurt.

I was stunned! These guys were quietly standing with their signs, wearing their ‘I love Jesus’ T-shirts, but the crowd was about ready to tear them apart. What a complete overreaction, right? Wrong. A reader kindly sent me another clip of this incident which clearly tells the other side of the story.

Apparently, these Christian men show up at the Arab Festival every year to protest Islam. How do they do this? Well, not all of their signs were nice. Many were blaspheming Mohammad, calling him a murderer, thief, liar and a pedophile, and that allah was a moon god. Now, any historian who is honest and worth his salt would tell you this is true BUT, gentlemen, did you really think it appropriate to hold up signs saying these things?

The most shameful thing they were displaying to the crowd was a severed pig’s head on a short pole! A real pig’s head. Everyone knows Muslims are horrified and insulted at the sight of pigs because they are considered unclean. So instead of being the innocent little Christians, attending a Muslim festival trying to introduce these people to Jesus, they were inflaming the crowd for the purpose of asserting their rights and to insult Islam.

Fasten your seat belts people, ‘cause I’m about to let loose on these ‘Christians!’

Gentlemen, (and I use the term in jest): Where, in the Bible does it instruct us to be as offensive and contemptible as humanly possible to people of other religions? Where, hmmm? Can you give me chapter and verse? Of course you can’t because that is NOT how we are to act towards the lost of this world!

How DARE you, by your actions, sully and misrepresent the precious name of Jesus to those people! How DARE you insinuate your busy body selves into their festival for the express purpose of insulting and upsetting their hearts! Are you truly so insipidly ignorant of how we are to act when we bear the name of and represent our Savior? Were you born in a barn??

You should be ashamed of yourselves! I was angry when I thought the crowd was acting overly sensitive and hostile towards Christian brothers of mine, and I strongly defended you in my previous article, but now I’m so outraged at your conduct I can barely keep tears back!

What if there had been even one person in that crowd who wanted to know more about Jesus and what His death means to us? Did it even occur to you that might be the case, you myopic morons??

Do you think that individual will now go out of their way to seek more information? NO! If there were such a person, know that because of your jerky conduct, that person’s blood is now on your hands! What are you going to tell the Jesus you serve?

Now, heaven knows I have no problem insulting Islam. It is a religion born from the bowels of hell that causes its adherents to live miserable lives filled with oppression, useless rituals and the constant fear that allah will not find them worthy of heaven when they die. But you don’t insult their religion to their face! DUH!

That is not the way to draw them to Christ and you know it. Or you should know it. You’re no better than the Westboro ‘Baptist’ freaks that picket funerals and spew hatred everywhere they go. Thanks SO much for confirming in their minds that Christians are bigoted, ignorant, big mouthed jerks! Thanks SO much for making the rest of us look like rear ends!

Jesus told us to love God with all our hearts and minds and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Do you parade around your living room with severed animal heads on sticks? I thought not. Tell you what…next year, do the entire Christian community a favor and stay home! Or better yet, call for a church wide day of prayer for these people who are lost and deceived. I can guarantee that strategy would be much more effective at winning their hearts to God than acting like imbeciles.

To the Muslim population of Dearborn: It’s widely known you’ve practically taken over that city; intimidating the other citizens and even law enforcement with your growing numbers. While this is true, the men who caused such uproar at your festival were NOT a true representation of Christianity. They were insulting and obnoxious and they were wrong to act as they did. Hopefully they will grow up and refrain from showing up next year.

Author: bensmomi99@gmail.com