🚀 go-pugleaf

The festival that has become a staple in the tight-knit Orange 
County Arabic community for nearly 20 years has become a place 
of protest outside the event gates but inside, the party goes on.

By day, families play games, take their children on rides and 
peruse aisles of Middle Eastern cuisine and hookah tents at the 
Arab American Day Festival in Garden Grove.

When night falls, music will overwhelm the venue on Main Street, 
a dance party will ensue and, according to some, the protests 
will begin.

Friday night drew heated controversy outside the gates between 
festival-goers and a group carrying signs disparaging the 
prophet Muhammad and passing out Bibles.

Police said no arrests were made Friday and about 30 officers 
were at the festival on Saturday, the night expected to draw the 
largest crowds.

Festival organizer and founder Ahmad Alam said the protesters 
stood with a microphone and signs yelling anti-Islamic sayings. 
One of the signs reportedly used a phrase from the anti-Muslim 
movie that has sparked riots at U.S. embassies across the world 
and resulted in the death of a U.S. ambassador and several 
others.

But Alam said this is nothing he hasn't seen before.

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Alam said the festival has 
seen its share of anti-Muslim groups outside their festival.

"Our people are used to this," he said.

Mo Alam, who runs a booth promoting his bakery in Little Arabia 
said he was aware of what goes on outside the gates.

"It was no problem," he said of the Friday night protests. "It's 
just words."


http://www.ocregister.com/articles/festival-373136-alam-
night.html