By Editor,James Reinl

Copyright dailymail

A Michigan preacher who shot to fame after a fiery confrontation with Dearborn’s mayor has broken his silence. He insists he is no bigot, but a Christian peacemaker determined to call out what he says is the ‘double standards’ of Islam in the West.

Ted Barham became an unlikely viral star this month when he stepped up to the microphone at a Dearborn City Council meeting to oppose naming a street after an Arab activist he described as a supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah.

The move sparked a furious exchange with Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, 35, who cut Barham off, branded him a ‘racist’ and an ‘Islamophobe,’ and told him: ‘You are not welcome here.’ The mayor promised to hold a celebratory parade when Barham leaves the city.

The clip, shared millions of times online, has divided the nation.

Hammoud – the first Arab American to lead the majority Muslim city – was hailed by supporters for defending his constituents, but critics accused him of silencing dissent. A petition demanding his resignation has garnered 7,500 signatures.

Representatives for Hammoud did not immediately responded to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.

Meanwhile, Barham, 48, has been alternately denounced as a provocateur and celebrated as a champion of free speech.

Now, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Barham has set out his side of the story – presenting himself not as a firebrand preacher looking for a fight, but as a father, husband and minister worried about the creeping erosion of religious liberty.

‘I’m not against Muslim people,’ he said. ‘One of my main messages is: Love your Muslim neighbor. But love also means telling the truth as a Christian.’

Barham, who preaches within the evangelical Plymouth Brethren denomination, said his dispute with Hammoud shone a spotlight on a larger, global imbalance.

‘In the West, Muslims can build mosques, spread their religion, even run for office,’ he said.

‘But Christians in Saudi Arabia aren’t even allowed one church, in Pakistan or Bangladesh they are persecuted. It’s a one-way street, and someone has to say it.’

He pointed to Zohran Mamdani, the New York state assemblyman tipped as a potential future mayor of America’s largest city, as proof of how far Muslims have advanced politically in the US.

‘Mamdani can proudly run for office in America as a Muslim,’ Barham said.

‘But could a Christian do that in most Muslim countries? Impossible. We can’t usually even become citizens. That’s the one-way street I’m talking about.’

Barham raised tough questions about how freedom of religion and political participation differ between Western nations and Islamic countries. Though, many of the latter are illiberal or autocratic, making straightforward comparisons difficult.

The minister claimed that America could one day follow a reported trend in Britain and Europe of suppressing Christian voices in the name of tolerance.

‘America is the last safe place where I can speak freely,’ he claimed. ‘In Europe, if you say the wrong thing about Islam, you’re silenced and accused of Islamophobia.’

Barham’s worldview has been shaped by an unusually international upbringing.

He was born in Zambia, holds both Canadian and British passports, and has lived in Lebanon, Israel, Germany and the UK.

He and his wife settled in Dearborn seven years ago, raising two children in a city famous for its Middle Eastern bakeries, markets and mosques.

Barham said he loved the ‘warmth and vibrancy’ of the local Arab-American community, but also discovered how quickly he could be branded a troublemaker.

His attempt to broadcast a Christian call to prayer in Arabic, mirroring the Islamic adhan, has faced opposition.

His proposal for a Christian film festival was met with hostility, while, he claims, larger Muslim events passed without question.

And, he said, his Facebook account was deleted after he posted videos encouraging Muslims to explore Christianity. His ’16 years of Facebook history’ was lost to cyberspace.

Barham said his determination to speak out was fueled in part by regrets from his time in Britain.

While living in Oxford, he recalled, local authorities failed to address a scandal in which gangs of men groomed and abused young girls.

Independent reports had found that hundreds of mostly white British girls were abused by these men, many of whom were British Pakistani, in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Subject experts have said that police, other officials and even newspapers were too afraid to act at the time for fear of being labelled racist.

Eventually, the findings gave way to broader research, which shows that grooming was – and still is – a widespread issue in the UK, with majority of offenders in 2024 being white British men while some (around one in eight, according to the BBC) were British Pakistani.

‘I stayed silent about the grooming gangs in Oxford because I didn’t want to offend Muslims,’ Barham said.

‘Now I refuse to be silent again.’

He now sees echoes of that ‘culture of fear’ in America, where he claims officials are reluctant to criticize Islamic groups for fear of being accused of Islamophobia.

He insisted his decision to oppose the street naming in Dearborn was not an attack on Muslims, but a stand against extremism.

‘I’ll go back to City Council, not with lawsuits, but to say again, “God bless you, mayor,”‘ Barham said. ‘And I’ll remind them – Israel, Hezbollah, everyone – love your haters.’

The Democratic mayor has likewise refused to back down, doubling down with a defiant speech at a September 23 council meeting, pointedly refusing to apologize for the controversy.

Instead, he blasted ‘sensationalized headlines’ that he said had misrepresented Dearborn, and noted the city’s history of Muslim residents being targeted with hate.

‘Across every background, every faith, every identity, we have built a city that is not only strong but truly an example for the rest of this nation,’ Hammoud said.

‘Dearborn is a city that welcomes and embraces everyone. Our unity should be a model for America itself.’

The exchange with Hammoud may have been bruising, but Barham said it has opened a necessary conversation.

He rejected accusations that he seeks confrontation for its own sake, pointing instead to his friendships with Muslim neighbors and the converts he has worked with over the years.

‘I love Dearborn,’ he said. ‘I love Middle Eastern culture. But I will not stay silent about the double standards Christians face.’

Barham insisted his faith makes him a bridge-builder, not an enemy of Muslims.

‘I grieve for every child killed – Palestinian or Israeli,’ he said, speaking about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. ‘I’m not here to take sides. I’m here as a Christian peacemaker.’

But he added that Western naivety about Islam could one day come at a cost – unless Muslim leaders in democracies such as Britain and the US recognize their freedoms, which he said run counter to limitations placed on Christians abroad.

‘Muslim people in the West have reached the age of responsibility… there are so many in powerful positions – with London Mayor Sadiq Khan and possibly New York City soon.’

For Barham, the viral clash with Hammoud is only the beginning. Far from being cowed by the mayor’s public rebuke, he intends to return to the City Council chamber to repeat his message of love – and warning.