Muslim Americans rebuke Biden in Detroit, rally against president's 2024 reelection
DETROIT (FOX 2) - A rally held in Detroit Thursday laid criticism toward America's involvement in Israel's campaign into Gaza at President Joe Biden's feet, with Muslim Americans stating he supports genocide.
Mona Mawari, an activist who spoke outside the federal building, said the community was angry and that Biden had neglected the worries and concerns of Muslims at home and abroad.
"You’ve shown complete disregard to Muslim and Arab lives, including in Palestine, and historically in Iraq and Syria and Yemen," she said.
Imam Imran Salha, another activist who spoke on Thursday, put it more bluntly: "Sleepy Joe is a murderer and this is a genocide."
"This is ethnic cleansing and the blood is on his hands," he said.
In calling for the U.S. to condemn Israel's campaign, Salha said whether Hamas's actions should be included in the discussion was irrelevant.
"I condemn pineapple on pizza and I have a crush on Shakira. I was born and raised here in America. This is irrelevant," he said. "Three-hundred Holocaust survivors are condemning what Israel is doing without a mention of Hamas. It’s not a relevant part to the discussion."
So far, an estimated 12,000 Palestinians have died during Israel's invasion of Gaza. It sent soldiers into the region after the extremist group kidnapped and killed hundreds of Israelis. But while the country's military says it is focused on uprooting terrorists, criticism of indiscriminate bombing of civilian centers has grown louder on the national stage.
Israel agrees to 4-hour daily pauses in Gaza fighting to allow civilians to flee, White House says
The U.S. said the first humanitarian pause would be announced Thursday and that the Israelis had committed to announcing each four-hour window at least three hours in advance.
On Thursday, Biden did convince the country to allow a daily four-hour ceasefire in northern Gaza to allow citizens to get humanitarian aid and flee. That wasn't enough for the protesters, however.
"Give the people some bread and a little bit of water and then give the Israelis the green light to kill civilians," said Imam Dawud Walid.
Does not supporting Biden mean that Muslim Americans would vote for Trump instead? Salha didn't say that was necessarily the case. Instead, he would keep that decision to himself.