It’s interesting and also can be frightening how myths persist in the face of facts but they do.
With the recent incident at the Garland Cullwell Center, once again I hear people talking about how “Sharia law is already implemented in the City of Dearborn, Michigan and it’s only a matter of time before it’s all over the USA.” That false story is used time and again to raise fear and paranoia among people in communities.
Sharia Law is NOT in effect in the city of Dearborn Michigan.
I wonder how many people who go around telling people that Sharia law is already in effect in Dearborn Michigan have actually gone to that city’s website and looked at all the various city departments and its government?
My guess is that not a single one of them has bothered to check out the facts. If they did, they would learn that the Mayor of that city is John B O’Reilly, Jr.—an Irish American. They would also learn the majority of Dearborn’s City Council are Christians as are most cities in the USA. Although there are four Arab Americans on their city council, only two of them are Muslim. The other two are Christian. Not all Arab Americans are Muslims--another fact often overlooked by many Americans.
The population of Dearborn is 30% Arab American. Out of its 10 private schools, two are Muslim.
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Yesterday (May 5, 2015) they voted down a state initiative to raise sales taxes. It appears their voter turnout of about 20% is about typical—except for some cities like Garland where it is much lower.
PRECINCTS COUNTED (OF 50) . . . . . 50 100.00
REGISTERED VOTERS - TOTAL . . . . . 59,043
BALLOTS CAST - TOTAL. . . . . . . 11,569 8,548 3,021
VOTER TURNOUT - TOTAL . . . . . . 19.59
STATE PROPOSAL 15-1
Vote for 1
YES . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,428 21.04 1,640 788
NO. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,110 78.96 6,902 2,208
Most of the same laws that govern municipalities all over the USA are also in place at Dearborn. There is no Sharia Law. If you look at the minutes from their most recent city council meeting you will see that it opened with a prayer from a local Christian minister and was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
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ORIGINAL SOURCE FOR STORY ON SHARIA LAW IN DEARBORN: THE NATIONAL REPORT
Who is “The National Report? Here is their own disclaimer for ANY story they write. Don’t take my word for it. Go to their website and see for yourself. Encourage others to stop passing around this ridiculous lie about Sharia Law.
National Report Disclaimer
National Report is a news and political satire web publication, which may or may not use real names, often in semi-real or mostly fictitious ways. All news articles contained within National Report are fiction, and presumably fake news. Any resemblance to the truth is purely coincidental. Advice given is NOT to be construed as professional. If you are in need of professional help, please consult a professional. National Report is not intended for children under the age of 18.
[Accessed May 6, 2015 http://www.donotlink.com/framed?608857 ]
Below is the story as it appeared in their publication of fake news from 2013:
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In a surprise weekend vote, the city council of Dearborn, Michigan voted 4-3 to became the first US city to officially implement all aspects of Sharia Law. The tough new law, slated to go into effect January 1st, addresses secular law including crime, politics and economics as well as personal matters such as . . . .
- See the entire joke at: http://www.donotlink.com/framed?615278
But after you’ve read all their nonsense, be sure to also look at their disclaimer. None of what they write is true and they admit it.
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Perhaps another part of this equation is understanding why there even is such a site as "National Report": It's all about money, folks.
According to Wiki, stories from the National Report have been taken seriously by third parties such as Fox News Channel and the site drew criticism in October 2015 for running a series of fake stories about Ebola outbreaks in the USA, including the false report that the town of Purdon Texas had been quarantined after an outbreak. The story led to a traffic spike of two million unique visiitors, and although the story was debunked by other websites, the original National Report story received six times as many "shares" on social media sites as the debunking stories did. [See what I mean about folks and their love of myth? Lies seem to sell better than the facts.]