Hammoud describes impact of anti-Muslim rhetoric in Dearborn, urges winners to deliver

Dearborn, Michigan, Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said anti-Muslim rhetoric had directly affected some residents, despite record turnout that helped elect Abdul El-Sayed to the US Senate.

In an NPR interview published November 6, Hammoud recounted an eight- or nine-year-old boy asking whether people taking part in an action targeting the city would kill him because he was Muslim. He said the mother of a man in his 20s with special needs had sought his help after her son stopped leaving home, believing every Christian wanted to kill him.

Hammoud said he brought together local interfaith leaders to meet the young man and his family. Christian leaders reassured him that they would protect him as they would their own family members, he said.

Hammoud attributed turnout to candidates who put working families at the center of their campaigns. He said election winners were responsible for using the power temporarily entrusted to them to improve constituents' lives. It was too early to know how deep or lasting the electoral shift would be, he said.

NPR, Leila Fadel interview with Abdullah Hammoud, November 6, 2026. Original interview