No evidence of sectarian violence or vandalism among Muslims in Metro Detroit

Michigan Muslim leaders sign pact

By: Tarek M. Baydoun / The Arab American News

2007-05-12

DEARBORN - Over two dozen local Muslim leaders met in Dearborn Heights this week to sign the "Muslim Code of Honor," widely touted as an unprecedented proactive statement of unity between American Shi’a and Sunni Muslims. The signing and press conference were organized by the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan (CIOM) and hosted at the Islamic House of Wisdom by . A similar event was recently held by California’s American Muslim population and similar signings are planned across the country.

The signing built upon recent efforts in the community after tragic events in the Middle East were perceived to have strained relationships between local American Muslims. After the bombing of the Askari mosque in Samaraa last February, several local Sunni and Shi’a imams issued a unified condemnation of the sectarian violence and a press conference was held at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn. After the execution of Saddam Hussein in January of this year, several acts of vandalism occurred to Shi’a owned centers and businesses on Warren Avenue in Dearborn.

It was widely reported that this was likely a reaction by some Sunnis to the festivities in the local Shi’a community celebrated the execution. According to Dawud Walid of the Council on American Islamic Relations, Michigan (CAIR-MI) law enforcement agencies have not identified the perpetrators and there is no proof that the vandals had a sectarian motive.(MORE)