Michigan Man Arrested Over Threats Against Arbaeen Procession
The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) has urged prosecutors to bring hate crime charges against a 27-year-old man from Garden City following his arrest on Saturday.
Authorities said the individual allegedly made violent threats directed at participants of the annual Arbaeen procession in Dearborn and was detained only hours before the gathering began at the Karbala Islamic Educational Center.
Arbaeen marks the 40th day after the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and is one of the largest religious observances for Shia Muslims. While commemorations take place across many cities worldwide, the central procession is held in Karbala, Iraq, where more than 21 million people participated this year.
CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid called on prosecutors to apply Michigan’s Ethnic Intimidation statute in this case. “No group of citizens should be threatened with potential violence or intimidated due to their sincerely held religious beliefs,” he said in a statement.
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Walid also pointed out that the Karbala Islamic Educational Center has previously faced vandalism and threats.
The arrest comes amid heightened concern over Islamophobic incidents in the United States, where Muslim advocacy groups say threats and attacks targeting religious minorities have been on the rise.
Source: Agencies
