Tlaib refuses to back Dearborn Muslim parents outraged over 'sexually explicit' school books

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Dearborn, Michigan school board meeting on books erupts, ends without parent comment

A Dearborn, Michigan school board meeting ended abruptly without comment from parents after outcries from the crowd and after fire marshal said the gathering broke the fire code Monday. (Dearborn Public Schools)

Rep. Rashida Tlaib is opposed to Muslim parents in her new district who, in an alliance with conservatives, are furious about school materials protestors say are sexually explicit.

On Oct. 13, hundreds of people filed into a Dearborn School Board meeting, most to object to some books in schools that parents said contained inappropriate sexual material, according to FOX 2 Detroit. That meeting followed another earlier in the week that was suspended because the sheer number of attendees present broke fire code.

The Democrat, a member of the leftist "Squad" of House lawmakers, did not respond to a request from Fox News Digital asking about the incident and Muslims objecting to various sexual and gender materials in schools. She has previously condemned the protestors.  

Many of the people in the meeting objecting to the books were Arab American Muslims from the heavily Muslim Dearborn community, FOX 2 reported. They formed an alliance in the contentious meeting with high-profile Republicans also opposed to the books. 

Many in the audience also slammed Tlaib herself, according to FOX 2. 

A Dearborn, Michigan school board meeting ended after the fire marshal said the gathering broke the fire code, Monday, Oct. 10, 2022. (Dearborn Public Schools)

MUSLIM-AMERICANS FIND COMMON GROUND WITH CONSERVATIVES OVER POLITICIZATION OF AMERICA'S SCHOOLS

Tlaib previously addressed the school board meeting in a statement to FOX 2 Detroit, in which she attacked those objecting to the books.

"It is unfortunate that extremists on the right have been able to set their ugly, bigoted, and well-funded hate machine on the Dearborn community like they have on many communities across the country," she said, according to the outlet. "They are promoting lies, fear, and outrage while chanting Trump's name."

Tlaib seemingly also responded to the incident in a tweet on Oct. 14, the day after the contentious Dearborn School Board meeting, though the post did not explicitly mention it. 

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., in a statement to FOX 2 Detroit earlier this months slammed those opposing allegedly sexually explicit books in schools as "promoting lies, fear and outrage." (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

LGBTQ BOOKS IN MICHIGAN SCHOOLS FORM ‘UNEXPECTED ALLIANCE’ OF ARAB AMERICANS, GOP

"LGBTQ+ rights are human rights, which is why I am proud to earn a 100% on @HRC’s Congressional Scorecard for the 117th Congress," Tlaib said the morning after the contentious meeting. "Everyone deserves to love who they love and live freely. This is only the beginning of the fight for equality."

Tlaib currently represents a congressional district that closely borders Dearborn. After redistricting, Tlaib is moving to a neighboring district that represents Dearborn itself and where she is now running for another term in the House. 

Michigan is not the only place in the U.S. where Muslims have teamed with Republicans over shared socially conservative views to oppose the inclusion of gender and sexual ideology in schools. 

In Wilmer, Minn., nearly a dozen Somali American parents showed up to protest reports of LGBTQ pride flags in schools. A local school district denied such flags were being flown, but the presence of the parents appeared to show a newly-developing coalition. 

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., is running to represent Dearborn, Mich., the city with the largest per capita Muslim population in the United States. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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"Muslim Americans want the same thing as any parent in this country," Shukri Abdirahman, a Somali American who ran for Congress as a Republican in Minnesota, said. "The right for their children to get a quality education without being indoctrinated. This shouldn't be political, but it seems only like conservatives and Republicans agree." 

In Missouri, meanwhile, Bosnian American Muslims have been vocal in opposing the inclusion of sexually explicit material in school libraries. Muslim parents have also been active in protests in Virginia schools, where the curriculum has been a hot topic issue for more than year. 

Fox News' Angelica Stabile contributed to this report.