From Dearborn to Germany: Religious Tensions and a Mother's Desperate Fight

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Religious tensions and medical miracles take center stage in today's exploration of how faith intersects with public life in America and abroad.

The borders of religious tolerance are being tested in Dearborn, Michigan, where a shocking confrontation unfolded at a city council meeting. When Christian resident Ted Barham raised concerns about street signs honoring a publisher with alleged ties to terrorist organizations, Mayor Abdullah Hamad didn't just disagree—he declared Barham "not welcome" in the city, suggesting he would "celebrate" if the resident moved away. This troubling exchange raises profound questions about religious freedom and civic participation in increasingly diverse American communities.

Across the Atlantic, a similar dynamic emerges in professional sports, where a German soccer player faces scrutiny from his team simply for expressing sympathy after Charlie Kirk's assassination. The young athlete, a devout Christian, found himself defending the basic human act of offering condolences to a grieving family. His thoughtful response—"Having different political views is absolutely okay... but expressing sympathy is human and should not be condemned"—stands as a powerful reminder of how compassion transcends political divisions.

Amid these concerning developments, there's an extraordinary tale of hope and persistence. When six-year-old Witten suddenly lost his ability to walk, talk, and breathe, doctors offered little hope. His mother, refusing to accept this prognosis, turned to Google in desperation and discovered a specialist who could help. Against overwhelming odds, she secured her son's transfer to another facility where surgeons successfully treated his rare brain condition. Within hours of surgery, Witten was breathing and speaking again—a testament to a mother's determination and the power of seeking second opinions when lives hang in the balance. What's your favorite Robert Redford film? Share your thoughts as we remember this iconic actor's legacy.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, good morning, welcome to Wednesday.
All right, I have three storiesfor you from the New York Post.
Well, one of them is actuallyfrom LifeSite News, which is
quite interesting.
The other ones are from the NewYork Post.
Let's hope I can open them upwithout all these pop-up ads.
Dearborn's Muslim mayor tellsChristian he's not welcome in

(00:21):
debate on honoring pro-terrorArab leader.
Man, we have lost Michigan.
Dearborn's Muslim mayor tellsChristian he's not welcome in
debate on honoring pro-terrorArab leader.
Okay, here's how it went down.
At a Dearborn city councilmeeting last week, mayor
Abdullah H Hamald Hamad whatever, told local residents Edward

(00:46):
Ted Barham, a Christian, that hewas not welcome in the city
after Barham raised concernsabout new street signs honoring
the Arab American news publisherOsama Seblani Blani.

(01:10):
So apparently they renamed somestreets there after this dude,
this Muslim, and come to findout he's a promoter of Hezbollah
and Hamas.
So this is what Barham heintroduced himself as Ted Barham
, dearborn resident, andobjected to two intersections
being renamed after Sablani.
He said he's a promoter ofHezbollah and Hamas, before
quoting past remarks fromSablani, including he talks

(01:32):
about how the blood of themartyrs irrigates the land of
Palestine, where we are inMichigan and whether we are in
Yemen.
Believe me, everyone shouldfight within his means.
They will fight with stones.
Believe me, everyone shouldfight within his means.
They will fight with stones.
Others will fight with guns.
Others fight with planes,drones and rockets.

(01:52):
So here this is, this Christianman living in America, in
Michigan, and he's concernedabout these streets being
renamed after this particularHamas supporter Muslim.
I agree, I think we werefounded on a Judeo-Christian
right.
Is that correct?
Okay so, but not anymore.

(02:13):
Not in Dearborn.
I just can't believe this crap.
Barham compared the signs tonaming a road Hezbollah Street
or Hamas Street, calling themprovocative and stressing that,
as a Christian, he wanted toencourage peace.
He closed by quoting Jesusblessed are the peacemakers.

(02:33):
Council members interjected,warning Barham against personal
attacks and reminding him thatthe city had no control over the
county's decision.
One clarified the sign that wasplaced on the Warren Avenue,
which is a county road, and thatwas done by the Wayne County

(02:54):
Executive, but Barham maintainedthat the issue mattered to
Dearborn residents because thesigns stood in their city.
Mayor Hamad responded withremarks that shocked many in
attendance.
The best suggestion I have foryou is to not drive on Warren
Avenue or to close your eyeswhile you're doing it.

(03:15):
His name is up there and Ispoke at a ceremony celebrating
it because he's done a lot forthis community, hamad said.
He went further, accusingBarham of being a bigot and you
are a racist and you're anIslamophobe.
Before declaring although youlive here, I want you to know as

(03:37):
mayor, you are not welcome here, and the day you move out of
this city will be the day Ilaunch a parade celebrating the
fact that you moved out of thiscity.
What the fuck?
I'm sorry Forgive me, lord, formy language.
I mean, what in the hell isgoing on?
People, people, people.

(03:59):
I don't understand what you'redoing there in Michigan.
I don't.
I don't.
Somebody tell me what I mean.
There's nothing I could do.
I live in Huntsville, alabama,but what in the world is going
on with you?
I wish, oh my God, this is notgoing well, and I hope more
people like Mr Barham andChristian stand up up there and

(04:19):
take that city back.
Come on, all right.
The next step here's anotherone.
Here's another thing.
You're ready for this one?
This is from LifeSite NewsYou're going to.
This is incredible, althoughthis is not in America.
This is not an America story,so this is good.

(04:45):
So German soccer team startsinternal process against player
for posting supporting CharlieKirk.
Y'all this is amazing.
This is crazy.
The German soccer team I can'tpronounce it Borussia Dortmund,
bvb has started an internalprocess to look into a player
after he expressed support forCharlie Kirk on social media.

(05:06):
This is insane and crazy.
Wait until you listen to this.
According to German newsoutlets, bvb wants to internally
review a social media post byits player, felix, and seek a
conversation with theprofessional.
And seek a conversation withthe professional.

(05:28):
However, the club will not makeany further public statements
and a penalty for theprofessional is reportedly not
under consideration.
Well, let's hope not.
Felix faced backlash online fromleftist BVB fans after he
expressed his sympathy forCharlie Kirk and his family
after the brutal assassination.

(05:49):
So you know, we have thesecrazies out there celebrating
his death.
But here's the opposite.
Now we have somebody out hereposting things that in support
of Charlie Kirk and his familyand expressing his sympathy, and
now people are coming for him.
This is insane.
The professional athlete hadexpressed his shock at the

(06:10):
murder of Kirk via an Instagramstory.
Rest in peace with God.
Such a sad day, the 24-year-oldmidfielder wrote.
The post was later edited tonow state.
May the Lord be with the Kirkfamily during this time with
special grace.
Jesus is the true path to peaceand love.

(06:30):
Yes, preach it.
In another post, which was sincebeen deleted, felix wrote that
Kirk had peacefully stood up forhis convictions and values.
There's nothing false about anyof this.
This is all truth and it ispeaceful and it is calm and it
is truth-telling.
Okay, nothing is wrong withthis whatsoever.

(06:52):
Celebrating an attack on afather and husband is truly evil
, he wrote.
The soccer professional is knownas a devout christian who has
faced criticism for likingchristian and conservative
content on social media.
He has been accused of sharinghomophobic and anti-LGBT posts.
People, we've got to stop this.

(07:13):
We have got to stop criticizingpeople.
Now I'm going to criticize whathappened in Michigan, because
that's wrong.
See, here's the thing.
I think somebody's already saidthat the right points out the
wrongness and the left we pointout the evilness, and it's just
crazy.
After the backlash, felixfollowed up with another post

(07:35):
explaining his motives.
My idea was to offer mycondolences to the grieving
family and send the message thathatred and violence are never
the answer.
Having different politicalviews and opinions, it's
absolutely okay, he said.
I also disagree with manythings, charlie Cook's, charlie
Kirk for.
But let's remember that a manwas murdered in front of his

(07:55):
wife and two young children.
I believe that expressingsympathy is human and should not
be condemned, he wrote.
According to the Germannewspaper, felix's contract
contains a clause stipulating apenalty if he posts anything
online that contradicts theclub's values.

(08:17):
So let me get this straightthen the club's values are
anti-Christian.
I guess that's what that means,and it's Germany, so of course
that's what that means.
All right, this next story isfreaking amazing to me.
Here you go with some hope andinspiration.
I am just in awe of this mother.
I don't, I'm going to tell youright now, I don't think I would

(08:39):
have had the gumption orforethought or whatever wisdom
to do this and the strength thatthis mother had my god, because
I'm gonna.
It skims over a lot, but allright.
My six-year-old lost hisability to walk, talk and
breathe, but docs couldn't help.
My Google search saved his lifeand it makes it sound like all

(09:01):
she did was do a Google search,found somebody and then
transported his her boy overthere.
Well, let me tell you, ifyou're going to do something
like, do you know how much redtape and paperwork and
bureaucracy crap you probablyhave to go through.
I'm surprised the hospitalreleased him.
I really am.
I'm surprised the hospital lether take her son to a different

(09:21):
facility and I'm sure she had tostand up and fight.
But the article doesn't mentionthat.
But you know it.
You know she had to stand upand fight, but the article
doesn't mention that.
But you know it.
You know she had to have whatstarted as a simple illness
spiraled into a nightmare for aTexas family when their
six-year-old son was leftparalyzed just hours after being
misdiagnosed with the flu.
Desperate and out of options,his terrified mother turned to

(09:45):
Google in the dead of night, andwhat she found ended up saving
his life.
I thought I was going to losehim that day, casey Daniels said
of her son, witten Daniel, inan interview.
The terrifying ordeal unfoldedin April when Witten, who was
six years old, was admitted tothe hospital with dizziness and
a headache.
Doctors initially blamed theflu, but less than 24 hours

(10:07):
after arriving, the young boycouldn't walk, talk or even
breathe on his own.
Then he lost consciousness.
My God, the terror, the terrorthis family and this mother must
have gone through.
Six years old, this little baby.
Oh my God, I could.
I can't imagine I would havebeen a puddle of something on

(10:28):
the floor.
There are no words to describehow horrifying it is to see your
child in that kind of condition.
No kidding, doctors rushed tointubate Witten to keep him
breathing, as they scrambled torun tests, desperate to uncover
the cause of the bafflingsymptoms.
It wasn't the flu.
Instead, they found a rare andpotentially deadly cluster of

(10:51):
blood vessels leaking inside hisbrain stem.
Good heavens, my God.
His condition quickly worsened.
Seizures and strokes ravagedhis small body as he lay in the
hospital bed.
Oh my God.
Doctors warned that if hesurvived he'd likely never walk
again and would need aventilator and feeding tube for

(11:13):
life.
Casey was stunned.
Just two weeks earlier, wittenhad been named MVP of his Little
League team.
Now it was her turn to step upto the plate and she hit a home
run.
Turning to Google, caseyscoured the web until she found
an article by Dr Jock MarkMorkos Now I mean, a
neurosurgeon in UT Health,houston, and who specialized in

(11:36):
her son's condition.
Can you imagine?
Can you imagine?
I mean, this is insane, becauseGoogle is large, right, and to
find somebody like this isamazing.
And she sent him a desperateemail begging for help.
She sent him an email and heanswered it Soon after.

(11:56):
He replied, insisting Whittenbe rushed to his facility where
doctors confirmed he had a lifethreatening cavernous
malformation.
So again, to get the transferof her child to another facility
is amazing.
She sent him a desperate email.

(12:18):
I already read that Roughly 1in 500 people are believed to
have at least one of thesedangerous clusters lurking in
their brain or spine.
According to the Alliance toCure Cavernous Malformation, one
in 500 people.
When symptoms do appear,usually between the ages of 20
and 40, seizures are the mostcommon sign.

(12:38):
So anyway, soon after arrivingat the new hospital, witten was
rushed into emergency surgeryfor four tense hours.
Morcos and pediatricneurosurgeon Manish Shah
performed the risky procedure.
Luckily it was a success.
Within hours Witten was awake,breathing on his own and talking

(12:59):
again Within hours, I meanhello.
And then, six weeks later, hewas back home in Lubbock for his
seventh birthday and had moreto celebrate than just another
year.
Oh my gosh, that is freakingamazing and I hope that that
brightened up your day.
My goodness, the tenacity andpersistence of that mother,

(13:21):
thank God.
I mean please, please, let thatbe a symbol for everybody else
to never give up and to go seekanswers.
All right, question of the day.
Okay, question of the day.
You know you've heard RobertRedford passed away.
I want to know what's yourfavorite Robert Redford movie?
My husband's favorite movie isthe Sting.

(13:41):
I had never watched it until Imarried him and so he made me
watch it and it's a really goodmovie.
I love it, but I'm gonna haveto re-watch the Way we Were with
Barbra Streisand.
I know, I know, but I'm gonnahave to re-watch that, probably
this weekend.
All right, gotta go.
Thanks for listening.
Love y'all, bye.