Detroit's Christians, Jews and Muslims Unite Against Trump's Travel Ban
Now that President Donald Trump has breached his first 100 days in office, a community in Detroit recalls a huge rally to protest the administration's travel ban from seven Muslim-majority countries. That single protest started a movement among different religions to fight Trump's extreme vetting against immigrants.
The rally at Detroit Metro Airport in late January was instigated by Fatima Salman, a 39-year-old Muslim social worker who posted her outrage over Trump's travel ban. That simple Facebook post became a springboard to organize a protest 17 hours later, which became the largest of the Michigan protests.
"It was huge," Salman told the Independent. "There were people from all walks of life. There were people carrying signs saying 'We all Muslims' written in Arabic, which they'd printed off Google Translate. Some of them were spelled wrongly, but it was very sweet," she added.
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The movement didn't end there. As Trump went head on with his anti-immigration policy, protesters worked together more to protect those at risk of being deported. Christians, Jews and Muslims held hands in rallies, while parishioners from a Latino Catholic church marched to a mosque to join their Muslim counterparts.
"You have 120 languages in Detroit. In a five mile radius of where you are, there are 70,000 Arab Americans," said Hassen Jaber, chief executive of Access, a group that works to help the Arab-American community. "When the travel ban happened, the community mobilized immediately."
As their contribution to the cause, pastor Jill Zundel of Central United Methodist Church offered her church as a sanctuary for migrants facing deportation. They are currently providing a home to an African family that is trying to get to Canada. Eight other churches have followed their example.
Asked if their actions were driven by faith or humanitarian concern, Zundekl replied: "I think it's both. Jesus said 'I was a stranger and you took me in'. When we started doing this, people said, 'You're being brave', but we're being Jesus."
