Dearborn, Michigan – Hizbullah's Stronghold In The U.S.: Commemorations At Mosques And Islamic Centers, Rallies, And Vigils For Hizbullah's Leader, Designated Terrorist Hassan Nasrallah, And For Other Top Commanders And Fighters

Introduction

The local community in Dearborn, Michigan shows visible support for the U.S. government-designated terrorist Iranian proxy in Lebanon, Hizbullah, regularly mourning its slain fighters and referring to them as "martyrs." Memorials and commemorations for slain Hizbullah fighters, and other Hizbullah-related events, are often held locally, including at the Bint Jebail Cultural Center in the city, named for the Bint Jbeil area, one of Hizbullah's strongholds in Southern Lebanon[1] where members of the community have family ties.[2] These very public memorials and commemorations are regularly covered by a local news outlet which publishes articles photos, graphics, and videos about funerals for these "martyrs" in southern Lebanon and about memorial services that are held for them in Dearborn.[3] Other Hizbullah fighters' funerals are extensively covered by local news outlets unaffiliated with major media, with videos and photos, while others' deaths are announced, accompanied by photos. 

Coverage by Dearborn media of a Hizbullah funeral in Lebanon

These Dearborn outlets, and an Arabic-language local outlet, BintJbeil.org,[4] regularly provide their readers and viewers with statements by and news of Hizbullah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, and closely follows news about Hizbullah, the Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), and the Iranian proxy and Palestinian designated terrorist organization Hamas, all part of the so-called "resistance axis and its war against the Israeli enemy." Both these outlets appear to work in close cooperation with the Bint Jebail Cultural Center in Dearborn, and both cover events held there. One publishes its coverage of funerals and memorials for slain Hizbullah fighters in its "Community Events" section.[5]

Local And Michigan Politicians Are Downplaying – Or Concealing – Dearborn's Support For Jihad

Even though these public commemorations of Hizbullah fighters are held regularly, they are not reported on by outlets affiliated with major news agencies. No mainstream media coverage[6] of any of them was found in researching this report – except for one tweet of the announcement of a commemoration held in Dearborn for a Hizbullah fighter, by an individual who is a staff writer for the Detroit Free Press. The same writer covered the September 18-19, 2024 exploding pager and communication devices attack in Lebanon and its impact on the Dearborn relatives of those killed – but omitted the fact that the devices had been issued by Hizbullah to its members and fighters and had been connected to Hizbullah's own communications network.[7]

It should be noted that Osama Siblani, who regularly praises Hizbullah,[8] is publisher of The Arab American News, which bills itself as "the most widely circulated Arab American publication in the U.S."[9] and is often the main speaker at pro-Palestinian events in the city. He is frequently interviewed,[10] including as representing the city in mainstream media interviews.[11]

As of this writing, there has been no condemnation of the pro-terrorist sentiment in Dearborn and its environs from local or state officials, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer, as well as Members of Congress from Michigan such as Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters or Reps. Elissa Slotkin, and Debbie Dingell. This is even after Dearborn was exposed again for jihadi activity – in this case, for links to Hizbullah.

In addition to the support for Hizbullah seen in the many memorials for its fighters held in the city, there are ongoing terrorism cases, investigations, and criminal trials. Most recently, on September 20, 2024, Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi – named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2018 – pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn federal court to conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions by funneling to Hizbullah funds from a Michigan restaurant chain headquartered in Dearborn that he secretly co-owned.[12]

Hizbullah Is Not Just Anti-Israel – It Is Also Anti-U.S.

The support in Dearborn for Hizbullah should be of major concern, particularly since U.S. intelligence officials have been warning since January about the risk of Hizbullah attacks in the U.S. In January, officials said that organization has greater capability to strike inside the U.S. than even ISIS.[13] Most worrying about this support for Hizbullah in the U.S. heartland is the terror organization's recent statements on its war with the U.S. and its ongoing threats to U.S. interests.

For example, on June 17, Khalil Rizk, the chief of Hizbullah's foreign relations department, underlined in an interview on Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV that Hizbullah's real war is with the U.S. He said: "Let me... ask you a question. Is this war now with Israel? My answer is that this is not a war with Israel. Israel is merely a tool. The main war, the real war, is with America."

To view this clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below:

At an October 2, 2024 rally in Dearborn titled "Stand with Lebanon," held in front of the Dearborn police department, a protester carried a placard showing Nasrallah's hand and the words "You will be return horizontaly [sic]."[14] The placard refers to Nasrallah's mocking speech in Lebanon in 2020 in which he made a distinctive hand gesture and stated that "American soldiers and officers" in the Middle East would return home "in a horizonal position" and in "coffins."

Among the microphones of media outlets on the podium at the Dearborn rally, and used in interviewing members of the crowd, was one with the orange logo of the Iran-aligned Hizbullah-affiliated Lebanese outlet Al-Mayadeen News. The outlet has been said to employ "terrorist representatives posing as journalists." This should be investigated for any terrorism ties in Dearborn.

Hizbullah Leader Hassan Nasrallah Mourned, Memorialized Across Dearborn

Since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, there have been numerous memorial services for Hizbullah fighters held in Dearborn – including for Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.

Following the September 28 killing of Nasrallah, memorials for him took place at Islamic centers in the city, and eulogies for him were posted. Memorials were held at the Islamic House of Wisdom, the Islamic Institute of Knowledge, the Islamic Institute of America, and the Hadi Youth Community Center. While most were careful not to mention Nasrallah by name, the connection was clear from the timing and the graphics. The following are some announcements on social media of these memorials at Islamic centers in Dearborn.

At the Hadi Youth Community Center memorial on September 28, Imam Usama Abdulghani stated: "The only way [of death] that was worthy of someone like him was this kind of martyrdom at the hands of the wickedest and most evil of Allah's creations. We know that he is happy now. He made it. This is his reward from Allah for all of his jihad." Activist and teacher Tarek Bazzi praised Nasrallah, calling him "his eminence, Master of the Mujahideen, Master of the Resistance" and adding, "Condolences to you believers, to the entire Muslim nation, [and] to the guardian of the Muslim nation, [Iranian Supreme Leader] Imam Khamenei." He also called Nasrallah "a human being so complete, so perfect, and so immaculate." Local Shi'ite pro-jihad activist and lawyer Hassan Salamey said of Khamenei, "our greatest Leader," that he "is hiding in plain sight, who cannot be blinded by your pagers, who cannot be hit by your bunker-buster bombs, who cannot be defeated, for the Lord of the Heavens will not allow you to reach him. Your victory can never be achieved, for our greatest Leader may be right behind you at this very moment, with Ali's Zulfiqar [sword] on your throats in Tel Aviv."[15]

To view this clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below:

Antisemitic Chant At Dearborn Vigil For Nasrallah: "Khaybar Khaybar, Oh Jews, The Army Of Muhammad Will Return!"

The following day, September 29, 2024, participants in a vigil in the city chanted "Khaybar Khaybar, oh Jews, the army of Muhammad will return!" – a reference to the 628 CE Battle of Khaybar and a known antisemitic call[16] that throughout history has preceded Muslim massacres of Jews[17] – as well as "Death to Israel!" "We heed your call, oh Nasrallah!" and "Oh beloved Nasrallah, strike and blow up Tel Aviv!" Hizbullah has branded its retaliatory strikes and related actions in revenge for Nasrallah’s killing "Operation Khaybar."[18]

To view this clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below:

Memorials And Commemorations For Hizbullah Martyrs Held In Dearborn

Memorial and commemoration services are often held for slain Hizbullah fighters in cultural centers in Dearborn. Below is a sampling of some of these recent events, held at the Islamic Institute of Knowledge, Islamic Center of America, and Bint Jebeil Cultural Center in the city. In recent years, MEMRI has also exposed pro-Iran and pro-Hizbullah sermons and speeches at these and other centers in the city.[19]

The following are some of the memorial and commemorative events held in Dearborn for "martyrs" killed in Lebanon, including for Ali Bazzi, Fadel Abbas Bazzi, Hussein Kassem Hmayed, Hussein Al-Hourani, Mohamad Ali Dabaja, and Mohammad Hasan Tarraf. It should be noted that often in coverage and announcements of these events, the word "martyr" is intentionally misspelled or has a period or other punctuation inserted, so that it cannot be found in a search.

Ali Bazzi – Commemorated In Dearborn, Along With His Brother And Sister-In-Law – "Who Had Died Unjustly As Martyrs"

Of the three people who, according to Lebanese media, were killed in a December 26, 2023 airstrike on Bint Jbeil attributed to Israel,[20] one, Ali Bazzi, was identified by Hizbullah two days later as a "jihad fighter" and "a martyr [who fell] on the way to Jerusalem." The Islamic Center of America in Dearborn announced on December 28 that it would hold, on December 30, a memorial service for all three – Bazzi, his brother Ibrahim Bazzi, and Ibrahim's wife Shorouq Hamoud – who had "died unjustly as martyrs in an attack by the Zionist army." The announcement did not mention that Ali Bazzi was a Hizbullah operative, according to Hizbullah itself.[21]

Fadel Abbas Bazzi – Commemorated In Dearborn; Condolences And Commemoration Announced By Dearborn.Org Outlet, Which Also Shared Video And Photos Of His Ceremonial Hizbullah Funeral In Lebanon  

On September 18, it was announced in Dearborn that a commemoration service would be held on September 22 at the Islamic Institute of Knowledge in Dearborn for "the Martyr Fadel Abbas Bazzi" of Bint Jbeil.[22] The event was cancelled following media attention. A notice of his death published by Dearborn.org was headlined "Fadel Abbas Bazzi a Martyer [sic] from Bintjbeil."[23]

The announcement of the commemoration for Bazzi was published on the Facebook page of the Islamic Institute of Knowledge,[24] also on September 18, as was an announcement of condolences and commemoration for Bazzi on the Dearbornmedia.org Facebook page.

A video of Bazzi's ceremonial Hizbullah funeral in Lebanon was posted on the Dearbornmedia.org Facebook page.[25]

It is notable that after the Islamic Institute of Knowledge commemoration for Fadel Abbas Bazzi was announced and was reported by some media, the event was moved to the Dearborn home of Bazzi's uncle, where it was covered by local media. Dearborn.org published dozens of photos of this event.[26] 

One of those attending the event was Dearborn activist and teacher Tarek Bazzi, who was documented by MEMRI as leading the rally where participants chanted "Death to America" and said that "we live in one of the rottenest countries that has ever existed an this earth,"[27] and who also said that "blood must be spilled, martyrdom must be sought after" for the "absolute annihilation" of Israel.[28]  

Hussein Al-Hourani – Commemorated In Dearborn At His Uncle's Home, Memorial Service Held At Islamic Institute Of Knowledge, Covered By Dearborn.org: "Bint Jbeil Marries Her Son Hussein Al-Hourani As A Martyr"  

Slain Hizbullah fighter Hussein Al-Hourani was commemorated at his uncle's home in Dearborn, where acceptance of condolences for his death was announced as taking place June 7 through 8. It was also announced that a memorial service would be held at the Islamic Institute of Knowledge in Dearborn on June 9. The events were extensively covered on the "Community Events" page of Dearborn.org.[32]

A report titled "Bint Jbeil marries her son Hussein Al-Hourani as a martyr"[33] – that is, to the 72 black-eyed virgins in Paradise, the divine reward for those who die waging jihad[34] – was posted on June 6. Over the next couple of days, four articles on his martyrdom were posted.[35] Additionally, photos and video of the funeral in Lebanon were posted on Dearborn.org's "Community Events" page.

Also covered was Al-Hourani's funeral in Bint Jbeil, Lebanon, including dozens of photos and a video of the funeral procession,[36] featuring Hizbullah flags, with photos and video, on Dearborn.org's "Community Events" page.[37]

One photo featured a flyer distributed in Bint Jbeil that referred to him as "The Happy Martyr, the Mujahid on the road to Jerusalem"; the flyer was originally shared by Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV.[38]

 

To request a copy of the full report, write to media@memri.org with the report title in the subject line.

 

* Steven Stalinsky, Ph.D., is Executive Director of MEMRI; Emmanuel Cadieux is a Research Fellow at MEMRI.