The election of Abdullah Hammoud as Dearborn’s first Muslim mayor two years ago was a watershed moment for the city, an automaking hub and home to the largest number of Arab-Americans in the United States.
But while his initial focus was on upgrading sewer infrastructure and investing in parks, he has now made national headlines for his outspoken criticism of fellow Democrat President Joe Biden’s support for Israel’s military assault on Gaza.
“I would first like to say that we don’t want to see (Donald) Trump re-elected to the White House,” Hammoud told AFP in an interview. “But people are motivated and want to come forward.”
Dearborn, a Detroit suburb known as the birthplace of Henry Ford and the headquarters of the Ford Motor Company, has a population of about 110,000, 55 percent of whom are of Middle Eastern or North African descent.
In 2020, Dearborn voters overwhelmingly supported Biden, and their ballots could tip the scales in Michigan — a crucial swing state that could ultimately decide the winner of the White House in November’s election.
Hammoud’s popularity surged in January, when he declined an invitation to meet with Biden campaign officials to try to woo the Muslim vote.
Since then, he helped spearhead a movement that saw more than 100,000 voters in Michigan’s Democratic primary wear an “uncommitted” sign in protest of Biden’s policy on Israel, and Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein asked him if he would be her running mate.
Humble Roots
Hammoud, who will not meet the constitutional requirement of turning 35 until next March, is too young to accept the post, though he said the offer was “very humbling.”
Besides, he is also unsure about how he will cast his vote.
“I would say no presidential candidate deserves my vote,” the father of two said, urging both parties to pay attention to growing public disapproval of Israel’s actions.
“If you look at all the polling data that’s coming out across the country, from coast to coast, the issues that we’re advocating for, fighting for … are issues that have popular support.”
These demands include a permanent ceasefire to provide safe haven to all hostages and prisoners, unhindered access to humanitarian aid, and an end to the supply of arms to Israel.
The son of Lebanese immigrants, Hammoud grew up in a “working poor” blue-collar family. His father drove trucks while his mother’s father worked on an auto factory assembly line.
He was drawn to the Democratic Party because of its support for the labor movement, and was equally repulsed by Republicans, who he says have a history of “demonicizing Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, and other people of color.”
Hammoud’s first dream was to become a physician, but he was unable to make the grades. Instead he trained as an epidemiologist and began climbing the corporate ladder as a healthcare executive.
But the sudden death of his beloved older brother — Hammoud was the second of five children — forced him to reevaluate his priorities, and in 2016 he won election to the state legislature.
‘What will Biden do?’
Then in 2022, he became the second of a trio of new Muslim mayors in the southeastern Michigan cities of Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Hamtramck.
Hammud immediately began working to correct the historical wrongs.
For decades, the city had a reputation for racism, exemplified by the openly segregationist policies of former Mayor Orville Hubbard.
According to his spokesman, Hammoud was appointed the city’s first Arab-American police chief, resulting in a sharp drop in tickets issued to black drivers within a year.
From Hamas attacks and hostage-taking until the Gaza war that began on October 7, 2023, Hammoud considered Biden a “transformational” president, but now believes “the carnage outweighed the impact of that domestic policy.”
Hammoud dodges a question about whether he might ultimately support Biden under the right circumstances, insisting that no matter what he says, it’s too late for some of his voters who have lost dozens of relatives to Israeli bombs.
He has no doubt that Trump, who imposed a Muslim travel ban during his tenure, would be a disaster — citing the Republican’s efforts to arm Saudi Arabia against Yemen, support Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.
But Hammoud is speaking out against his fellow Democrats, who have expressed disappointment in members of their community for paving the way for Trump’s return by not giving their support to Biden.
Asked how he would respond to this criticism, Hammoud said: “This question must be asked of President Joe Biden – what will he do to prevent Trump from being re-elected this November? What will he do to help prevent the destruction of American democracy and the fabric of our society?”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
