Dearborn Situation Becomes Divisive

ICC Note

“We were unlawfully imprisoned; our property, our cameras were unlawfully seized. All of this was a violation of our rights. The guards there were obviously targeting Christians.”

06/24/2010 United States (MNN)-For the past few days, Mission Network News has been following the story of four believers who were arrested in Dearborn , Michigan , allegedly for sharing their faith at the Arab International Festival. Many onlookers are outraged at what appears to be injustice, while others claim that the arrests were deserved.

The four Christians were from the ministry Acts 17 Apologetics, a group comprised of former atheist David Wood and former Muslim Dr. Nabeel Qureshi. Wood and Qureshi were two of those arrested.

Wood says they are being represented by the Thomas Moore Law Center . Legal counsel agreed that Dearborn police violated the civil and first amendment rights of the quartet. “We were unlawfully imprisoned; our property, our cameras were unlawfully seized. All of this was a violation of our rights. The guards there were obviously targeting Christians.”

Wood, Qureshi, and the two others (Paul Rezkalla and Nageen, a young woman) were arrested on Friday, June 18, under charges of “disorderly conduct.”

Wood claims the police had it in for them from the start. “A pastor said that he was standing talking to one of the police officers earlier in the day, and when we arrived, he heard over the policeman’s walkie-talkie, ‘Hey, those guys are here again. Get them out.'”

Acts 17 is no stranger to conflict at the Festival. Last year, Wood contends that festival security framed them by sending a young Muslim to snatch a pamphlet out of Qureshi’s hands and reported that Qureshi had given it to him. The distribution of pamphlets is banned.

Even as the story of the arrests went public, reaction has been mixed. While many are astounded at what happened, many others said the arrests occurred because Acts 17 was being confrontational. Wood disagrees. He says he and his group were simply engaging in conversation.

“Nabeel and I aren’t just talking to Muslims to preach the Gospel. Whether a Muslim converts to Christianity or not, we also believe it’s important to address Muslim beliefs. So whether a Muslim converts to Christianity or not, it’s still important that that Muslim believe in teachings of the Qur’an such as Surah 9:29 which commands him to subjugate unbelievers. So many Christians will just go there and preach the Gospel.”

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Abi-Haydar says when Wood was arrested, he was challenging a young Muslim man. The young man was screaming at him. Police asked Woods and his group to disburse. But Abi-Haydar says they didn’t. “I know for one fact: if I was the police, I am responsible for the security of the community there and for the security [of Acts 17 Apologetics]. For their own security, I would have forced them to leave the area. And if they would have rejected it, I would have arrested them myself.”