[BB] Speaking at the Connect Arab America Empowerment Summit in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Chantilly, Virginia, El-Sayed opened his remarks speaking his name in Arabic fashion and went on to make the claim.
“I’m honored to be the next United States senator from the great state of Michigan, which of course I know we’re here in D.C. which of course is the capital of the United States of America,” he said. “But Michigan is the capital of Arab America.”
The term “Capital of Arab America” has historically been used to describe the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, the city that has the largest Arab population in the United States, many of them descendants of families that came in the early 20th century seeking jobs in Henry Ford’s auto assembly plants. It also has the largest Lebanese-American population in the U.S.
Dearborn aside, statewide, California reportedly has more Arab Americans than Michigan.
Despite El-Sayed’s boast, the Arab American community in Michigan is still predominantly Christian, starting with the Lebanese Maronite Catholics who have been in the Detroit area for 100 years, as well as Chaldeans from Iraq and other Lebanese Christians who have historically been Republican voters.
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The Arab American population in Michigan has grown by more than 87 percent since 2000, expanding from roughly 150,000 to as high as 400,000 currently, according to some reports.
The website Arab America explains:
Because Arab Americans are not officially recognized as a federal minority group, it is hard to determine the exact number of Arab Americans in Michigan. The estimates range from 409,000 to 490,000 based on information from the Michigan Health Department and the Zogby International polls respectively. In the Greater Detroit area, estimates range from 300,000 to 350,000. While the latest Zogby polls rank Michigan’s Arab-American population as second largest in the U.S., after California, Michigan’s Arab-American community in Southeast Michigan still has the greatest local concentration (California’s Arab-American population is much more spread out).
Dearborn and parts of Detroit are also represented by “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) who in 2018 because the first Palestinian American woman to be elected to Congress.
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