Screenshot / X, End Wokeness, Cropped by Resist the Mainstream

During an International Al-Quds Day rally held in Dearborn Michigan, Muslim protestors shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” on Sunday afternoon.

In a video from the rally, shared by Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Tarek Bazzi, a Michigan-based activist associated with the Hadi institute said that the reason rallies held on International Al-Quds Day “are so anti-America,” instead of focusing on Israel, is because “it’s the United States government that provides the funds for all of the atrocities,” pointing to Israeli’s continued siege of Gaza as an example.

“This is why Imam Khomeini, who declared the International Day of Quds, this is why he would say to pour all of your chants and all of your shouts upon the head of America,” he said, prompting the crowds to begin chanting “Death to America!” in another language.

Bazzi went on to quote Malcolm X, who said that the U.S. is “one of the rottenest countries that has ever existed on this Earth,” while arguing to eliminate the entire American “system.”

“It’s not just Genocide Joe that has to go,” Bazzi said, referring to President Biden. “It is the entire system that has to go. Any system that would allow such atrocities and such devilry to happen, and would support it – such a system does not deserve to exist on God’s Earth.”

Bazzi then spoke on Israel, telling the audience that when “fools” ask them “if Israel has the right to exist,” that the chant “Death to Israel” is “the most logical chant shouted across the world today.” This prompted chants of “Death to Israel!” from protesters in the crowd. 

International Al-Quds Day is an annual pro-Palestinian event held on the last Friday of Ramadan, and is frequently celebrated in Dearborn, which has the highest proportion of Muslim residents in the country. 

However, celebrations of Al-Quds day have been controversial throughout the world, with German authorities in Berlin banning them several times over the years. 

MEMRI Executive Director Steven Stalinsky told Fox News that rallies celebrating the day have taken place in Dearborn for 20 years, and the town has become a “hotbed of hate for many years.”

“You can see rallies and sermons in support for Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran,” Stalinsky said, noting that the threats from the city have increased since Hamas’ attack on Israel in October. “I am not saying that everyone in Dearborn is a terrorist, but there is a large amount of support for jihadi groups there.” 

State Rep Phil Green (R-MI) told Fox News that he agrees with concerns regarding Dearborn and around the country, adding that he’s saddened to see “the world’s problems coming to our doorstep.”

“This type of extremism, this type of rhetoric, this type of division… threats of violence, was a Middle East thing, it seems like a lot of that was limited to the Middle East, and now it’s come to our doorstep,” Green said.

Green reiterated that most of Dearborn’s citizens are peaceful and don’t promote violence, but admitted that some movements in the town are worth monitoring closely.