A Detroit-based Islam centre boss was left flustered after GBN America confronted him over his shocking tweets to Democrat politicians.
Muthanna Al-Hanooti, an official at the Islamic Centre of Detroit, tweeted in response to Democrat politicians condemning the October 7 attacks, “bad luck, the Zionists bought it…” and “welcome to the sell-outs club… how about the Israel 75 yr old brutal occupation of Palestine?”.
Steven Edginton spoke to the official as a part of America's Muslim City - an exclusive GBN America documentary.
In the interview, Steven asked him: "Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, the Democratic congresswoman, have condemned the attacks on the Jews on October 7th.
Muthanna Al-Hanooti denied writing the tweets
GBNA
"You wrote 'Bad luck. The Zionists bought it. Welcome to the sellouts club. How about Israel's 75-year-old brutal occupation of Palestine? So do you think that's denying what happened on that on that day, that massacre?"
Muthanna Al-Hanooti responded: "I don't think they are denying it."
"You are denying it though," Edginton responded, "because they were condemning the massacre and you wrote back that they're Zionist sellouts."
The Islam centre boss said: "There is no justification for ending the life of any human being."
Edginton pushed and said that he "just wanted to understand" what he meant by the tweet.
Muthanna Al-Hanooti then denied writing them before the GBNA reporter showed him the tweets on his mobile phone.
GBNA correspondent Steven Edgington pushed for an answer
GBNA
He finally responded: "I corrected that, but not in writing, I remember that actually, I should have."
The new film from GBNA explores how Islam has changed Dearborn and Hamtramck in Michigan.
This includes laws allowing for animal sacrifice in people's back gardens, bans on LGBT flags and the public call to prayer.
He eventually admitted to writing the tweets
GBNA
Dearborn has seen a huge shift in its demographics over the past few years and Abdullah Hammoud became the city’s first Arab American elected mayor in 2021.
In 2023 US Census Bureau data showed for the first time people of Middle Eastern or North African ancestry made up the majority of Dearborn’s population, 54.5 per cent.
The city is also now home to the first and only museum dedicated to the Arab American experience, the Arab American National Museum.