Church Cancels ‘Anti-Muslim’ Event Scheduled for 9/11 After Intense Backlash
A local church in Michigan canceled an “anti-Muslim” event scheduled for Sept. 11 after facing intense backlash.
During the two-day “9/11 forgotten? Is Michigan surrendering to Islam?” event, Pastor Shahram Hadian—a former Muslim—was supposed to share his testimony at Bloomfield Hills Baptist Church.
Bloomfield Hill Baptist Church Pastor Donald McKay told Fox 2 News last week that he proudly owns the label “Islamophobe” and hopes that the church’s event would open people’s eyes to the truth about Islam.
But the Truth in Love Project’s website yesterday showed that the event had been canceled. Instead, the organization hosted a live webinar last night from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Pacific Time.
Hadian announced the new webinar yesterday on Facebook and blamed the event’s cancellation on CAIR’s (Council on American-Islamic Relations) and the media’s involvement.
“A BRAVE Pastor planned an event to educate his congregants and the community on the threats of Islam,” Hadian posted. “The event was a 2 day with 2 excellent speakers on the subject. The event was finalized and planned until the media and CAIR got involved. We all know what happens next. The church froze, the Elders submitted and demanded the event be cancelled out of fear. Out of fear of safety for the church, its attendees and speakers. FEAR cancelled the event, instead of digging in and connecting every law enforcement agency to protect them! Once again, a church caved to worldly reason and did not take a Godly stand against the attack!”
According to Hadian, he and the other speaker, Jim Simpson, were banned from the event and from the church because “Socialist/Marxist/Islamists gathered together to shut it down!”
Before the event had been canceled, state Reps. Abdullah Hammoud, D-Dearborn, and Mari Manoogian, D-Birmingham, released a statement denouncing the event.
“Our communities should be outraged by these scheduled toxic and bigoted events,” they said. “With the rise of mass shootings by white domestic terrorists targeting those they deem ‘other,’ we are deeply disturbed that a place of worship would host an event that continues to fan the flames of hate and intolerance.
“Religious institutions should strive to be welcoming centers for all. We strongly encourage Bloomfield Hills Baptist Church to reconsider hosting these events and instead seek opportunities to foster a positive dialogue within the community.”
Hadian was supposed to speak on “How the Interfaith Movement Is Sabotaging America and the Church,” while Simpson planned to teach on “How Islam Is Destroying America.”