A local Fox affiliate reported on the "unexpected alliance" between conservatives and Arab Americans in standing up to public school boards in Michigan that are stocking "explicit" LGBTQ books in school libraries.
The report detailed the attendance of concerned conservative and Arab American parents at a Dearborn, Michigan public school board meeting Thursday night to protest "having LGBTQ+ books on the library’s rolls saying they’re sexually explicit."
Fox 2 said, "Their presence was a nod to the unexpected alliance of sorts between conservatives and many in the Arab American community as their interests overlap on this issue."
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Republican Michigan attorney general candidate Matthew Deperno, in attendance that evening, commented on this united front. He said, "I think you’ll find these are people with deeply held religious beliefs. We have to stand up for the First Amendment and people's religious beliefs and I think you’re probably seeing a shift in the Republican Party."
The outlet described the attendance at this meeting, stating that "high profile Republicans sat front and center," while the majority of "those who attended Thursday night’s school board meeting were Arabic."
In addition to slamming the local school board, attendees tore into left-wing Democratic congresswoman, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. One parent guest speaker stated, "The only person that’s behind this is Rashida Tlaib. Do not vote for Rashida Tlaib!"
A White Dearborn mother was cheered on by the majority Arab American crowd for blasting Tlaib as well.
Another person in attendance praised the GOP for supporting parents on the issue, and urged Democrats to do the same. He said, "What the Republican Party has done, is they stood on this issue firmly and they stood with parents firmly. We’re waiting for Democrats counterparts to also stand with us on this issue."
Though some critics characterized this "unexpected alliance" as a cynical ploy on the part of Republicans who are down in the polls.
Osama Sibliani, founder and editor of the Arab American News, said "They’re doing this because we have an election season and the Republicans are lagging behind in polls, so they’re finding anything to grab on in order to get votes."
Others, like Oakland University political science professor and Director of Civic Engagement David Dulio, claimed this unity would not last, considering both groups’ divergence on other issues. The report said the professor "thinks this union might be short-lived considering it was conservatives, by and large, that supported former President Donald Trump's Muslim ban and stoked fears of Sharia Law becoming the law of the land years before that."
Dulio added, "Politics can make strange bedfellows, and this wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen this. I could definitely see this issue and this alliance pushing Arab American turnout up simply because that community is now energized."
Regardless of how long this alliance lasts, it has prompted some Dearborn schools to take the "explicit" books "off the shelves at the library" for a "review process." Fox 2 noted, "The district is also making it easier for parents to limit what their kids have access to in the library."
