Vice President Kamala Harris further enflamed tensions with Muslim Americans after her campaign kicked a prominent doctor and former Democratic congressional candidate out of a Detroit-area event earlier this week.
On Monday afternoon, Dr. Ahmed Ghanim and approximately 200 other guests arrived at a Harris rally held at the Royal Oak Music Theatre in Royal Oak, Michigan, a trendy suburb located about 15 miles north of Detroit.
Ghanim, a 49-year-old native of Egypt who received an invitation to the event, claimed he entered the facility, passed through security, and arrived at his seat without a problem. About 10 minutes later, someone from the venue approached him and asked him to follow her.
“I followed her,” Ghanim told FOX 2. “I thought they are changing my seat or doing something.”
The venue was not changing his seat. Instead, the woman led Ghanim to the theater lobby, where members of the Royal Oak Police Department and U.S. Secret Service were standing. The group of officials then asked him to leave the premises or risk detention in the back of a cop car.
Ghanim filmed his conversation with venue staff and members of law enforcement. According to the footage he captured, one officer said, “I’m not kicking you out. The venue’s kicked you out.”
When Ghanim pressed further, demanding to know why they were removing him, a woman stated, “Unfortunately, this is no longer a conversation.”
“This is my city,” Ghanim explained to WXYZ. “So if this happens to me in my city where I should feel safe … how do you think that is going to make me feel other than being an outcast?”
When FOX 2 asked whether he believed his Muslim faith played a role in the incident, Ghanim replied, “I think so.”
“They kicked me out without providing [a reason],” he told the Detroit News. “I didn’t have anything. There is no provocation. I didn’t even have any, like, a Palestinian kaffiyeh, any signs, or a banner, nothing. None of that is allowed inside.”
A spokesperson from ROPD confirmed to WXYZ that a representative from the theater issued the order to remove Ghanim. Secret Service confirmed to the outlet that none of the attendees, including Ghanim, were considered a security threat.
The Harris campaign, likely recognizing that someone had bungled the situation, immediately issued an apology.
“Our campaign regrets this action and its impact on Dr. Ghanim and the community, and he is welcome at future events,” Naomi Savin, deputy communications director for the Harris team in Michigan, told FOX 2. “We value our relationship with the Muslim American community.”
‘If you were kicked out of her campaign, would you vote for her?’
Thus far, that apology has apparently done little to quell the anger in the Muslim community, which is still frustrated with the response from the Biden-Harris administration to the war in Gaza. Some feel affronted that no one spoke on behalf of Palestinians on the main stage at the Democratic convention in August.
“We have seen this repeated pattern of disregard and disrespect towards Muslim and Arab Americans unfold before,” said Rex Nazarko, of the American Muslim Engagement and Empowerment Network, according to FOX 2.
Basim Elkarra, the director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in another state, called for an investigation into the incident in Royal Oak.
In addition to his work in health care management, Dr. Ghanim also recently attempted to oust Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) in the 2024 Democratic primary. Stevens won overwhelmingly with 74% of the vote.
Ghanim, described by the Detroit News as a Democratic “activist,” now says he will likely not vote for Harris in the 2024 presidential election. “If you were kicked out of her campaign, would you vote for her?” he asked FOX 2 rhetorically.
“I guess that’s how the Democratic Party deals with Muslims. They’re not important to them. … Maybe the Democratic Party doesn’t want people like me and my kind in the party,” he added to the Detroit News.
Amer Ghalib, a fellow Muslim and the Democrat mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, has already endorsed former President Donald Trump, calling him “the right choice for this critical time.”
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Kamala harris, Muslim, Democrats, Muslim americans, Detroit, Royal oak, Ahmed ghanim, Amer ghalib, Hamtramck, Cair, Politics
