Despite what’s happening on the presidential campaign trail, tolerance is still strong in Ann Arbor: in mid-April, religious groups ordered another 500 yard signs announcing, “One Human Family: We support refugees and our Muslim neighbors.”
The Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice and the Interfaith Roundtable received the first batch in March–just in time to respond to the “Stop Islam” message chalked on the U-M Diag.
The signs are available at the Interfaith Council office and from volunteers at the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti farmers markets (a $5-$10 donation is requested). Council director (and Ann Arbor city councilmember) Chuck Warpehoski says he’s also “had calls from Detroit, Troy, and other communities.” Ten local congregations, from Zion Lutheran to Temple Beth Emeth, posted large banners with the same message.
It’s estimated that 1,500 Muslims live in Ann Arbor and about 3,000 more in the rest of the county. And Jewish Family Services, which works with the State Department on resettlement, says they’ve been assisting eighty to ninety refugees a year from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran. With Syria now joining the mix, “we’re expecting to resettle 150 people this year,” says executive director Anya Abramson.
Beyond the public statements of support, “my hope is that congregations and individuals will find ways to learn about Islam and the refugee situation … and find ways to speak out against the anti-Muslim and anti-refugee rhetoric,” Warpehoski writes. “Too often the voices of intolerance use a bullhorn while the voices of inclusion whisper. It is time to speak up.”