Prominent Michigan Muslim Ahmed Ghanim wants his followers to know “the Muslim ban is real.”
“It just happened to me at Harris’s rally today in Royal Oak, MI,” Ghanim, a doctor who unsuccessfully challenged Congresswoman Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary for Michigan’s 11th District, wrote in a post to X on Monday.
“They kicked me out without any reason, even after I received confirmation to attend and passed a security clearance at the gate,” he wrote. “After I was seated, they called me and asked me to leave without any explanation.”
The Muslim ban is real, and it just happened to me at Harris's rally today in Royal Oak, MI. They kicked me out without any reason, even after I received confirmation to attend and passed a security clearance at the gate. After I was seated, they called me and asked me to leave… pic.twitter.com/K1CrhbV6g5
— Ahmed A.G. Ghanim (@ag4congress) October 21, 2024
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The post included a screenshot of Ghanim’s conformation to attend the event with Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican turncoat Liz Cheney at the Royal Oak Music Theatre, along with a video of security ushering him out.
“I’m going to leave, but I want to know why you’re kicking me out,” Ghanim said in the video.
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“I’m not kicking you out, the venue is kicking you out,” security replied. “They’ve asked you to leave.”
The Democratic Party took Muslim votes for granted !!! NO MORE!!!!!
My friend Ahmed Ghanem a former congress candidate in the state of MI was kicked out of the Kamala Harris democratic venue just because he is Muslim!!!@SamParkerSenate @VP @KamalaHarris @BarackObama… pic.twitter.com/e8t4nDKZvV
— Mohamed Ismail (@Mohamed71935373) October 22, 2024
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It wasn’t the first time the Harris campaign has been accused of singling out Muslims and removing them from Democratic events, despite claims from the campaign to embrace all.
Nevadans for Palestinian Liberation posted a video of a similar incident in which Democrats booted two Muslim women wearing hijabs from an event in Las Vegas in January.
🧵 On Saturday, January 27th at the @KamalaHarris "Get The Vote Out" event in Las Vegas, two visible members of the Muslim community wearing hijabs were not let in by campaign officials.
The Biden/Harris campaign is clearly fanning the flames of Islamophobia. pic.twitter.com/FOhSyHOm1I
— Nevadans for Palestinian Liberation (@npl_palestine) January 30, 2024
In August, the Harris campaign also removed young Muslim women who protested an event in Detroit, where they changed “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide, we won’t vote for genocide!”
WJBK questioned Ghanim on whether he believes his faith played a role in his removal on Monday.
“I think so,” he said.
The incident sparked an immediate backlash from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, with CAIR officials and other Muslim leaders hosting a press conference on Tuesday to denounce Democrats and demand an apology.
“Today, we call for an investigation and we call for an apology to Dr. Ahmed Ghanim,” said Basim Elkarra, a CAIR chapter director.
“We have seen this repeated pattern of disregard and disrespect towards Muslim and Arab Americans unfold before,” Rex Nazarko, with the American Muslim Engagement and Empowerment Network, added at the press conference.
Democrats blocked efforts from Muslims and Arab Americans to address their concerns about the Biden-Harris administration’s involvement in Hamas’ war against Israel at the party’s nominating convention in August, and have ignored requests to discuss the issue with the VP.
Harris’ spokespeople acknowledged Ghanim’s incident in statements to the media, but did not provide an explanation or apology.
“Our campaign regrets this action and its impact on Dr. Ghanim and the community, and he is welcome at future events,” Harris campaign Michigan senior adviser Chris Wyant told The Detroit News.
“We value our relationship with the Muslim American community and are committed to ensuring all community and political spaces are welcoming and respectful to every American.”
Ghanim, who went to the Harris event undecided on his presidential pick, told The News he’s still waiting for an explanation from the campaign.
“They kicked me out without ― providing zero reasons provided to me. 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,” Ghanim said.
“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.”
Many Muslims and Arab Americans in Michigan and nationwide are coming to the same conclusion, with prominent groups including the Arab American Political Action Committee and leaders of an Uncommitted Movement urging them not to support either of the two major party candidates in 2024.
An Abandon Harris campaign that worked in concert with the Uncommitted Movement to reject President Joe Biden during Michigan’s presidential primary has endorsed Green Party candidate Jill Stein, while Amer Ghalib, mayor of America’s only Muslim-majority city – Hamtramck, has endorsed former President Donald Trump.
More than 100,000 Democrats voted uncommitted in Michigan’s presidential primary in February to pressure the Biden-Harris administration into calling for a permanent ceasefire and halting all military aid to Israel.
The Uncommitted Movement and aligned Abandon Harris campaign has since garnered support from 700,000 voters nationwide. Both groups are now campaigning against Harris across the country, with Abandon Harris expanding to Wisconsin and Georgia on Friday, and the Uncommitted Movement focused on Minnesota, Hawaii, Washington, Missouri and Wisconsin.