UPDATE: Crowd Protests Jones at 'I Am American' Rally in Dearborn

An estimated 1,000 people gathered for the “I Am American” rally Friday afternoon at the in Dearborn to speak out against Quran-burning .

Jones was in court Friday arguing for his right to protest at the .

People carried signs that said “I Am American,” and another protester had a sign that said “We Are All Brothers in Humanity.”

U.S. Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI), Wayne County Executive Robert A. Ficano and Imam Sayed Al-Qazwini all spoke at the event.

The purpose of the protest was to illustrate that ethnic people in the United States are no more or less American than Terry Jones, organizers said. American flags were waved and signs of peace were held while guest speakers each had a chance to share their thoughts and opinions on the recent issues.

The Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), also spoke at the event.

Anthony gave a passionate speech that animated the crowd.

“His (Terry Jones) views do not support and are not consistent with authentic Christianity,” Anthony said. “They’re not consistent with the Jesus Christ that I adore, that I practice, that I revere, that I love. … They’re not consistent with Christianity. Christ brought people together, he did not try to keep them apart. "

Anthony also said he condemned the media in allowing Jones to have a platform. Another speaker at the event was criminal defense attorney Ali Hammoud, 30, who has played a prominent role in organizing the recent events involving the Dearborn community and Terry Jones.

“Basically we met three to four times a week deciding on how we we’re going to face this issue,” Hammoud said. “We took a community consensus and we started with that, then we basically decided the best way to face this issue is to kind of ignore him, but we really couldn’t ignore him because the community wanted an outlet for their frustration.”

Hammoud, also the vice president of the Arab American Political Action committee, was pleased with the turnout at the rally.

“These people are some of the most courageous people I’ve ever seen in my life,” Hammoud said. “They’re coming here to stand up for their rights and stand up against this man who’s full of hatred and bigotry.”

T-shirts were sold with the words "I am American" written three times on the front. A number of attendees brought with them the Holy Quran and raised it proudly.

On Thursday, WJBK-TV, Channel 2, had the Islamic Center of America’s Sayed Hassan Al-Qazwini and Terry Jones sit together to discuss their opposing views on Sharia Law. Jones claimed he was in Dearborn to peacefully spread awareness about Sharia Law and his belief that it has a negative impact on the United States. However, according to Hammoud, Sharia Law is not practiced in Dearborn.

“As most residents in the city of Dearborn know that there is no such thing as Sharia Law in here,” Hammoud said. “The only law that we follow is the United States Constitution, and I use the Constitution as an attorney and so does my fiancé as a prosecutor.”

to see more from Friday's counter-protests.