The Wall Street Journal is facing outrage on social media over “Islamophobic” rhetoric in an opinion piece about a Michigan city.
The Friday op-ed referred to Dearborn — a suburb of Detroit with the largest Muslim population per capita in the U.S. — as “America’s Jihad Capital,” saying that people there “side with Hamas” amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Gaza-based militant group.
Since the war broke out last year, people in Dearborn have gathered to protest Israel and condemn the violence against Palestinians, calling for their liberation. An Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas killed around 1,200 people, according to the country, while Israel’s retaliation in Gaza has killed more than 27,000 Palestinians and wounded 66,000, per the territory’s Health Ministry.
The op-ed described the city’s protests as “in support of Hamas” and its allies, and framed the sentiment there as a potential national security issue.
Criticism quickly emerged from countless users on X (formerly Twitter) following the article’s publication, with many suggesting that the op-ed engaged in fearmongering and could perpetuate prejudice against Muslims in Dearborn.
The mayor of the city, Abdullah Hammoud, said that the “inflammatory” op-ed led to “an alarming increase in bigoted and Islamophobic rhetoric online targeting the city of Dearborn.”
“It’s 2024 and the @WSJ still pushes out this type of garbage,” Hammoud wrote on X, using the Wall Street Journal’s handle on the platform. “Reckless. Bigoted. Islamophobic.”
Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator, also weighed in.
“This is blatant Islamophobia,” she wrote on X.
Mehdi Hasan, a outspoken journalist who has been lauded for his unapologetic coverage of Gaza and critiques of the Israeli government, condemned the op-ed as “horrific” and “racist.”
“How are journalists at the Journal ok with this?” he wrote on X.
The Wall Street Journal did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.