After receiving residential complaints, the Dearborn City Council has banned the flying of helicopters and manned drones during the annual Ashura procession, a religious march set for June 28 this year that is attended annually by thousands of Shia Muslims.
As the size of the procession along Ford Road has grown, some residents have complained about the blocking of vehicle traffic during the march and the buzzing of a helicopter flying overhead in 2024, a city official said. Two years ago, a helicopter flew over the assembled crowd near Fordson High School, religious flags fluttering from it in a show of support for the religious gathering that remembers a 7th-century battle against an unjust ruler.
“I don’t think helicopters should be flying over these type of situations,” Dearborn City Council President Michael Sareini said at a council meeting. Sareini asked to amend a resolution introduced by two other councilmen to approve the Ashura Project to hold the procession in Dearborn. After Sareini’s suggestions were added, the resolution passed. The resolution also lifts noise ordinance requirements and allows reimbursement by the organizers to the police department for any costs.
The discussion during the May 19th council meeting was the latest example of some tensions over religious activities that some residents complain interfere with their peace and quiet, but others say are an expression of the city’s diversity. About half of Dearborn’s residents are Muslim, and Islamic processions and gatherings have grown in size in recent years.
“My concern is … we have residents that have called about this for years and it continues to grow − which I’m all for; it’s good to have participation — but I want to make sure that I can point to something indicating that if somebody does something (causing a disturbance) and it’s in coordination” with the organizers, “that … I would not support this,” Sareini said.
Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said that “the Ashura Project has nothing to do with any of the air thing that happened two years ago,” referring to the helicopter flying over the procession.
In July 2024, a black helicopter flew over the march with flags flying that read, “Ya Hussain” in Arabic, referring to Imam Hussain, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad who was killed in battle in Karbala, Iraq, videos posted by the Ashura Project and Shia Waves show. Shias remember Imam Hussain’s sacrifices during the first 10 days of the New Year, which ends on the 10th day with a holiday called “Ashura,” which means “tenth.” Ashura is set for June 25th this year and is marked by thousands of Shia Muslims in metro Detroit in Islamic centers.
The Ashura processions, which started in Dearborn in 2013, are organized by the Ashura Project, which is part of the Taha Foundation, a nonprofit based in Dearborn Heights that also does other programs, such as the Al-Mustapha Scouts for youth. An official with the foundation said it wasn’t their group that flew the helicopter. The official said he doesn’t know who flew it in 2024.
Hammoud, who has spoken previously at a Taha Foundation event, also said the Ashura Project had “zero” connection to the helicopter.
“That was a single resident that went and chartered a helicopter, got federal approval and brought it close to the procession,” Hammoud said. “This organization just has the march.”
Sareini asked Hammoud: “So your understanding is the organization had no coordination with a helicopter driving by?”
“Zero,” Hammoud replied.
Dearborn Police Commander Vincent Belloli, who leads the patrol division, said at the meeting, “We did have an incident in a previous year where an individual had hired a private helicopter to fly over this march. And once that occurred, some notifications were made, and they were moved away from there.”
Belloli said, “There might have been some enforcement action.”
Belloli did not return a call seeking information on who flew the helicopter or whether any law enforcement action, such as citations, was taken. City officials did not say during the meeting who flew the helicopter. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) generally has to approve the flying of private helicopters. James Carter Fisher, Dearborn’s corporation counsel, said while the city doesn’t regulate federal airspace, the council can add conditions and stipulations, such as not allowing helicopters.
Councilman Mustapha Hammoud expressed concern that banning helicopters could also lead to the banning of drones for photography. In Dearborn, there is an increasing use of drones to film and photograph outdoor events that are then posted on social media. Sareini agreed with Hammoud’s concerns and tweaked his amendment to define the ban as including any airspace unit that is manned.
“Anything manned in the airspace shall not be allowed in collaboration” with the Ashura Project, Sareini said of his amendment to the resolution.
The resolution, as read by City Clerk George Darany, said it is “granting the request of the Ashura Project to conduct their 12th annual March for Justice procession rally on Sunday, June 28th, 2026 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. with assistance from the police department for traffic and safety control for the entire duration of the event subject to reimbursement for city services and facilities in certain stipulations. Also, granting a noise waiver for the duration of the event.”
Sareini said “the 12th annual March for Justice organized by the Ashura Project is a solemn ritual observed globally in (commemoration) of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad during the battle of Karbala.”
Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Helicopters banned from flying in religious procession in Dearborn
Reporting by Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
