Detroit pastor’s Dearborn outburst puts anti-Muslim rhetoric back in the spotlight

Lorenzo Sewell speaks during a Dearborn City Council meeting that drew national attention amid anti-Islam protests and rhetoric. Screenshot: City of Dearborn/YouTube

DEARBORN, Mich. (ABNN) - The Detroit pastor who delivered the benediction at President Donald Trump’s second inauguration is back in the headlines after accusing Dearborn leaders of operating under Sharia law during a City Council meeting that followed days of concern over anti-Islam protests.

Lorenzo Sewell, a Detroit native and senior pastor of 180 Church, made the comments Tuesday during an impassioned outburst that has gone viral on social media.

"The spirit of racism still dwells in this city. This is a city that has prospered with your mosques and your call to prayer," Sewell said.

"But yet it’s on the back of my people, it’s on the back of Black people that we have funded everything you do. You look down on us," he continued.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zm9dutnVvU

Then Sewell claimed city leaders were not operating under American law.

"You are not up under American law, you are up under Sharia law," he claimed.

"We are not a nation of Muslims, we are a nation of Christians, we are one nation under God, indivisible, the God of the Bible" Sewell said.

Pastor Lorenzo Sewell speaks during a U.S. Department of Agriculture event commemorating Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. Photo by Brooke DeCubellis/USDA.

The outburst comes amid growing anti-Muslim rhetoric across the country and rising concern in Dearborn, a city that has often been targeted by outside agitators because of its large Arab American and Muslim communities.

Dearborn is widely described as the first Arab-majority city in U.S. history. Census Bureau data showed 54.5% of Dearborn residents reported Middle Eastern or North African ancestry in the 2020 census.

The city has become a frequent target in national political and cultural fights over Islam, immigration, war in the Middle East and what it means to belong in America.

Before the meeting, Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin urged residents not to confront protesters, warning that the groups were coming to provoke a reaction and generate attention.

The warning came as local officials prepared for demonstrations connected to anti-Islam messaging.

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