AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): As tensions from the Gaza war continue to escalate, reports indicate a troubling rise in Islamophobic attacks across the United States. One of the most shocking incidents occurred in Dearborn, Michigan, where a seven-year-old Yemeni-American girl was violently assaulted, allegedly for being Muslim.
According to her mother, Amira Sharhan, what began as an ordinary day in October 2024 turned into a nightmare when her daughter, Saida, came home with a deep wound on her neck. The suspect, 73-year-old Gary Lensky, was later arrested and now faces charges of attempted murder. However, he has not been charged with a hate crime, a decision that has angered Dearborn’s Muslim and Arab-American communities.
The attack comes amid a surge in anti-Muslim bias nationwide. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reported that complaints related to Islamophobia reached a record 8,658 cases last year — the highest number ever recorded.
Meanwhile, the increasingly polarized U.S. political climate appears to be fueling further acts of religiously motivated violence. In recent weeks, several threats have been made against mosques in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, prompting federal authorities to arrest two individuals on terrorism-related charges. Right-wing media networks have also intensified their focus on Dearborn, contributing to a growing wave of hostility toward Muslims.
Despite the climate of fear and outrage, many residents of Dearborn are showing signs of resilience. Last week, dozens of locals marched through the city’s streets to protest Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Yet for the Sharhan family, the trauma remains fresh. Saida has since transferred to another school, but her mother says the child continues to wake up screaming at night, saying “I dream that the park is full of blood, and he tells me, ‘I’m coming back for you.’”
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