Dearborn Heights Mayor Backpedals on Arabic Patch After Alienating Majority

Dearborn Heights’ Arabic-English police patch was supposed to unite the city’s 39% Arab population with its 61% non-MENA majority. Instead, it sparked outrage, and now Mayor Bill Bazzi is scrambling to save face, admitting the patch was “not official” and yanking it after public backlash. If the patch was so inclusive, why disable social media comments to hide the fallout? The 61% non-MENA residents—82% White, 9% Black, 5% Hispanic—feel vindicated but furious, as Bazzi’s backpedal proves the city misjudged its majority.

Dearborn Heights backpeddles on their Arabic Language police patch

The Backpedal Exposed

Bazzi’s 10:32 AM CDT statement admits the patch, unveiled in 2025 by Officer Emily Murdoch, was an unvetted idea pushed prematurely. “This patch addition remains an idea and should NOT have been presented as an official prototype,” he wrote, promising stakeholder input. But the damage is done—the 61% non-MENA residents felt sidelined by the Arabic script, especially after 2024’s “Death to America” chants in Dearborn and Anthony Young’s arrest for a social media post. Disabling comments on the police’s Facebook post, per the screenshot, was a cowardly dodge, now exposed by Bazzi’s reversal.

Why It Backfired

The 61%—White, Black, Hispanic, Asian—saw the patch as favoring the 39% Arab minority. Social Media was a buzz as many users raged about a “double standard” where provocative chants go unpunished while non-MENA voices are stifled. Bazzi’s call for “larger conversation” feels like too little, too late after silencing feedback, proving the city knew it would alienate but barreled ahead anyway.

Bazzi’s backpedal confirms Dearborn Heights botched the patch, alienating its 61% non-MENA majority. Open forums and diverse symbols are needed, not half-baked ideas and muted dissent. This flop is a lesson in listening—or paying the price.