FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2025
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Dearborn, MI | Over four days (Sept. 25–28), more than 1,500 people gathered in Dearborn — and thousands more tuned in to the online livestreams — for ADC’s ArabCon 2025, the nation’s largest gathering of Arab Americans and allies. With headliners Bassem Youssef, Mehdi Hasan, Rep. Ro Khanna, Rep. Alabas Farhat, Cenk Uygur, Linda Sarsour, Sim Kern, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, Medea Benjamin, Khaled Beydoub, Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi, Dr. Mohammed Tahir, Mahmoud Khalil, and many more, the convention sent one clear message: defending free speech, strengthening democratic participation, and asserting U.S. independence from foreign influence are essential American values. The atmosphere was warm and connective—thought leaders, elected officials, students, activists, labor organizers, educators, healthcare professionals, faith leaders, journalists, lawyers, and artists came together to strategize and build.
This convening arrived at a critical moment—amid intensified attacks on Arab Americans, Muslims, immigrants, and others, and a torrent of online smears from right-wing extremists designed to silence dissent and intimidate our resilient community. But as the theme of this year’s conference reminded attendees: “we’ve been here before.” ArabCon countered that climate with unity and resolve, creating space for principled debate and practical action: protecting free speech, pushing back on unconstitutional repression, challenging foreign interference in U.S. institutions, and channeling broad, multiracial and multifaith solidarity into policy, legal advocacy, and narrative change.
“ADC’s ArabCon proved, again, that when we defend free speech and show up for each other, we expand what’s possible in American democracy. In Dearborn, over 1,500 people chose courage over cynicism, coalition over division, and action over fear. That’s the America we believe in, and that’s the work we’ll keep leading the day after ArabCon,” said Abed Ayoub, National Executive Director of ADC.
“At a moment when many try to silence dissent, ArabCon stood for principle and pluralism. Our community and our allies came together to protect rights that belong to everyone—speech, dignity, and equal justice—and to insist that no foreign government’s interests come before the American people’s values.”
Full Livestream Archives
- Friday, Sept 26 – (BreakThrough News – official livestream partner) → BT News
- Saturday, Sept 27 → BT News
- Sunday, Sept 28 – → BT News
Coverage Highlights
- Al Jazeera English: “US ArabCon 2025 highlights Palestinian liberation amid Gaza crisis”
- News Channel 4 / ClickOnDetroit (WDIV): “Congressman Ro Khanna headlines ArabCon as National Convention comes to Dearborn.”
- Detroit Free Press: “Arab Americans gather for national convention in Dearborn.”
- Michigan Public (NPR affiliate): Arab American Convention (or “ArabCon”) returns to Dearborn
- The Detroit News: U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna speaks at ArabCon in Dearborn
Highlights of Quotes (verbatim as delivered)
Thursday, September 25: The Encampments Screening
“It’s not only us [students]. All over the years, it was you and others here who laid the groundwork to make our jobs easier. These institutions, whether it is ADC, CAIR, and others, are also an important part of the fight. Because again, the fight is not only in the students; the fight is in the legal holes, in the courts, in Congress, on TV. That’s why every single one of us is important to this struggle.” — Mahmoud Khalil
“It’s Gaza that has opened the door for us, and it’s on us to walk through it.” — Hamza Ali
Saturday, September 27: “The Great Political Realignment”
“You can be true and consistent in either standing with people and standing with human rights and convictions, or you can do the bidding of interest groups and people in power.” — Rep. Ro Khanna
Saturday — The Psychological Warfare of Zionism
“It [psychology] is oftentimes dominated by a Western lens despite the fact that all our cultures have their own indigenous and traditional psychologies.” — Dr. Sawssan Ahmed
“When we are taken up with despair, despite the fact that we see that every single day in Gaza, there are people who are still living and making life, every single time we are seduced into writing a history that has yet to happen, that Gaza is done for us, it is not done.” Dr. Lara Sheehi
“As a psychologist, your integrity rests on care. Your integrity rests on justice. And so you can’t be an anti-racist and have a Palestine exception… The love and justice is threatening because it is a powerful vision. The vision of solidarity is a powerful vision.” — Dr. Karen L. Suyemoto
Saturday, September 27 — Bodies on the Line: From Influence to Power
“Palestine no longer became the exception. It became the expectation. It became the expectation that we would show up, that we would protest, that we would resist. And that us putting our bodies on the line wasn’t a question. It was going to be a statement.” — Salma Hamamy
“This repression, and what they’re [Trump admin] attempting to do right now, is not a sign of our futility, but rather a sign of their desperation.” — Salma Hamamy
“The movement does not belong to an individual, it belongs to the people.” — Chris Smalls
“The cause of Gaza, of course, belongs to the people of Falasteen primarily, but it is more than that. It is a cause for all of humanity. It is a cause that differentiates truth from falsehood, right from wrong, justice from oppression.” — Dr. Mohammed Tahir
“The fact that the Trump administration came after students for their speech means that we are winning… Palestinians do not need people’s sympathy, they need actions” — Mahmoud Khalil
Sunday, September 28 — Bearing Witness: A Soldier and a Survivor in Dialogue on Gaza
“The entire foundation of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a war crime in and of itself.” — Anthony Aguilar
For b-roll excerpts, click HERE.
ArabCon full livestream on BT News.
Select photos, click HERE.
Full videos and photos to come in the coming days. For specific requests, contact Valentina pereda at [email protected].