Detroit: Saved by Arab-Americans

If you surf through rightwing blogs at all, you probably “know” that Dearborn, Michigan (adjacent to Detroit) is a hotbed of Sharia and Muslim terror plots. The Greater Detroit area has about 200,000 residents of Middle Eastern descent.

If you’d rather see the glass as half full, this means thousands of Arab-Americans are helping to keep Detroit from sliding into the abyss. This article has an interview with an Iraqi immigrant — who came here in 1986 — whose company has twenty-three employees and brings in $20 million a year. He says:

“And 90% of my business is in Detroit. Does that sound like a dying city to you? You want to know if Detroit has a future? Ask us Arabs. We believe in this place.”

There’s an interview with another Iraqi immigrant who just arrived this past summer. He hasn’t found a job yet but he’s optimistic:

“I will save up for a couple of years and open a kebab shop ... then another one, and another one. If McDonald's can have restaurants all over the Arab world, then why can't I have kebab shops all over America?”

Then he points to some shops that are Arab-owned, and says:

“All of them got a chance to start something in this city. My turn is next.”

Bobby Ghosh, the author of the article, says:

“For Detroit, a city in critical condition, this new blood could make a difference. The impact is twofold: a desperately needed infusion of new citizens at a time when an exodus has drained metro Detroit of its middle class, both white and black; and an economic boost from a culture that likes to start new businesses. The Arab-American community in metro Detroit produces as much as $7.7 billion annually in salaries and earnings.”

While Detroit is moving up, some people in Arizona are going in the opposite direction. A dome-like building is going up in Phoenix, and some of the local rednecks are going ballistic. There’ve been complaints and frantic phone calls about this new mosque being built in their neighborhood. Sharia! Suicide Bombers!

Uhh, just one tiny thing — it’s a church.

DUUUHHH!!!