Armed with Pig鈥檚 Head, Christians Confront Michigan Muslims
Muslims in Dearborn, Mich., were once again targeted for their beliefs on Friday when a group of protesters calling themselves the 鈥淏ible Believers鈥� confronted celebrants at the city鈥檚 annual Arab International Festival with a pig鈥檚 head on a spike and signs decrying Islam as a false religion, the Detroit Free Press .
In addition to the pig鈥檚 head 鈥� presumably intended to offend observant Muslims, who do not eat pork 鈥� Bible Believers reportedly carried signs calling Islam 鈥渁 religion of blood and murder鈥� and describing the Islamic prophet Muhammad as a 鈥渓iar,鈥� 鈥渇alse prophet,鈥� 鈥渕urderer鈥� and 鈥渃hild molesting pervert.鈥�
Dearborn, which has the nation鈥檚 highest concentration of Arab-Americans and whose population is one-third Muslim, has in recent years become a favorite destination for anti-Muslim activists seeking the spotlight. of Stop Islamization of American (SIOA) staged an there in April, and Koran-burning pastor , who runs the anti-gay, anti-Muslim , to tell a few dozen supporters 鈥� and an estimated 600 counter-protestors 鈥� that Islam is 鈥渙f the devil.鈥�
This year marked the Bible Believers鈥� second appearance at Dearborn鈥檚 Arab International Festival. In 2011, several counter-protesters were arrested for throwing water bottles, trash and shoes at the group while its members 鈥� bearing signs calling Islam a 鈥渞eligion of murder鈥� and calling on Muslims to 鈥渞epent鈥� 鈥� stood in the festival鈥檚 free speech zone. No arrests were made this year, the Dearborn Patch , though two festival attendees were detained and cited for disorderly contact.
Bible Believers is headed by Ruben Israel Chavez, a self-described 鈥渟treet preacher鈥� from Los Angeles who runs the website Official Street Preachers, on which he rails against 鈥渉omo sex,鈥� Mormons, 鈥渄runkards,鈥� Mardi Gras, 鈥淧ot Smoking Devils,鈥� Billy Graham, and Oprah Winfrey, among others.
On the site, Chavez describes himself and like-minded preachers as God鈥檚 mouthpieces and 鈥渧essels to the public.鈥� He writes, 鈥淲hen I preach it will offend people and that does not concern me in the lest [sic], for my goal in life, my core reason of why I do what I do, is not to offend a holy God.鈥�
According to his biography, Chavez founded Bible Believers in the 1980s to focus on 鈥渃onfrontational evangelism and home Bible studies.鈥� Today, he says, the group has over 40 chapters nationwide.
