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Three False Claims

Three False Claims

Last updated on: September 2, 2026 at 11:55 pm by Dan Peterson

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Three False Claims 2026-09-02T23:55:07-06:00 Dan Peterson

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The roof of the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book was designed to resemble the lid of one of the jars in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were found at Qumran. (Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph)

This article went up today on the website of the Interpreter Foundation, where, as prophesied long ago, nothing ever changes and nothing ever goes up: Reprint: “‘We Believe the Bible to Be the Word of God, as Far as It is Translated Correctly’: Latter-day Saints and Historical Biblical Criticism,” written by David R. Seely

Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article originally appeared in Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses — Inspired Origins, Temple Contexts, and Literary Qualities Volumes I and II, edited by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, David R. Seely, John W. Welch, and Scott Gordon. For more information, go to https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/ancient-threads-in-the-book-of-moses/.

“In 1842 Joseph Smith published the basics of Latter-day Saint belief in thirteen articles of faith.1 In Article of Faith 8 he succinctly set forth their belief about the Bible: ‘We believe the Bible to be the word of God.’ While there is no evidence that Smith was familiar with Maimonides or his writings, in a strange coincidence Maimonides, in the twelfth century, also set forth thirteen principles of Jewish belief, and number 8 in his list also dealt with the Bible: ‘I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah that is now in our possession is the same that was given to Moses our teacher, peace be upon him.’”

A meetinghouse of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Dearborn, Michigan (Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph)

I didn’t intend, and I don’t intend, to make Islam the principal focus of my blog. But my recent Islam-focused blog entries have generated considerable ire and a significant number of false claims. And, since those false claims appear to be fairly widespread, I don’t want to let them go uncorrected any longer than I must. Accordingly, I choose to respond to three of the easier ones here:

-False Claim 1-

Dearborn, Michigan, is completely under shari‘a and is, accordingly, a model of America’s future if we don’t wake up and resist the planned Muslim-Marxist takeover of the United States.

I’ve never been to Dearborn, but I am able to pose a question on my computer, and this is what AI told me:

No, Dearborn, Michigan, is not under Sharia law. Like every other city in the United States, Dearborn is governed exclusively by the United States Constitution, Michigan state law, and local city ordinances. City services, police, and local government operate entirely under secular American legal frameworks.

But. of course, AI isn’t infallible. It may conceivably be hallucinating or even lying. So perhaps we ought to doublecheck its assertions. I propose two simple methods that anybody who wants to do so can use to verify or to disconfirm the claim that Dearborn, Michigan, is completely under shari‘a:

First — since most people who imagine that they understand shari‘a, but who actually don’t, think of the so-called hudud or penalties when they think of it — the investigator might contact the Dearborn Police Department. He or she should inquire about recent judicially-ordered decapitations there, and about whether theft is regularly punished there by the amputation of right hands, and adultery by stoning to death. Here’s some helpful contact information:

Commanding Officer, Investigative Division: Commander Timothy McHale (Phone: 313-943-2237; Email: [email protected])
Commanding Officer, Patrol Division: Commander Vincent Belloli (Phone: 313-943-2055; Email: [email protected])

A simple telephone call or email should definitively settle the question.

A second method would be to contact one or more of the banks that are located in Dearborn, to inquire whether, in accordance with shari‘a, they have abolished charging interest (usury) on loans. For the convenience of any investigators who truly want to know whether Dearborn, Michigan, is completely under shari‘a, here is a list of Dearborn banks. If any one of them is charging interest on loans, the claim that Dearborn is totally controlled by shari‘a is proven false:

Chase Bank
Bank of America
Dearborn Federal Savings Bank
Citizens Bank
Huntington Bank
Flagstar Bank
PNC Bank
Fifth Third Bank
DFCU Financial
Comerica Bank
Community Choice Bank

The flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

-False Claim 2-

The Union Flag of the United Kingdom cannot legally be flown in the British city of Birmingham, because it offends Muslim sensibilities. (“Just don’t try to fly the Union Jack in Birmingham.”)

Well, here’s something that I found online about flying the British flag in Birmingham, where city officials have apparently issued an injunction against the unauthorized flying of flags on publicly-owned property:

“Nobody has banned the Union Flag or St George’s Cross. You remain perfectly entitled to fly either from your home, garden or other private property where you have permission to do so. The Birmingham injunction concerns unauthorised flags and other attachments placed on highway infrastructure. It is not written to say “English flags prohibited, Palestinian and Pride flags permitted”. The same principle applies whatever is printed on the fabric. And “public safety” does not require somebody to have already been killed by a rogue flag before a highway authority is entitled to act. Councils are responsible for the safe management of highway infrastructure, including what is attached to it, how it is installed and how it is subsequently removed. You can quite reasonably argue that Birmingham is overreacting or that an injunction is disproportionate. What you cannot reasonably say is that the Union Flag has been banned while other flags remain exempt. It simply has not.”

-False Claim 3-

Owing to Muslim protests and pressure, the national flag of Great Britain no longer flies over official buildings in the West Yorkshire city of Bradford, although Pride flags and Palestinian flags are permitted.

I can’t recall whether I’ve ever been to Bradford, although I’ve been in my ancestral Yorkshire several times (most recently during this past May). And I certainly wouldn’t have been paying any particular attention to whether not the British flag was flying over municipal buildings there. But, happily, I have access to AI. And this is what AI tells me:

No, the British flag (Union Flag) is not prohibited; rather, Bradford Council’s policy explicitly establishes the Union Flag as the principal civic flag to be displayed on civic buildings.

Flag Rules in Bradford

Permitted Flags: City Hall and civic building flags are restricted to the Union Flag and St George’s Cross, alongside specific recognition for the Armed Forces, Remembrance, Yorkshire, and emergency services.

Restricted Flags: Recent council protocol updates restrict non-official or solidarity banners (such as Pride flags or international cause flags) from flying on council buildings.

The Union Flag: Far from being banned, the “Union Flag [is established] as the principal civic flag of the United Kingdom, to be displayed with pride on Bradford’s civic buildings as a symbol of our shared national identity and civic unity.”

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