US metropolis Hamtramck in Michigan has elected all-Muslim City Council and a Muslim mayor named Amer Ghalib in its first ever Muslim-American authorities based on reviews. Khalil Refai, Amanda Jaczkowski and Adam Albarmaki who’ve gained the City Council election in Hamtramck final week would be part of the three present members. All six members establish as Muslim.
Muslim residents represent greater than half of the inhabitants within the multicultural metropolis Hamtramck the place totally different non secular and cultural backgrounds coexist. Storefronts in Hamtramck show indicators in Arabic and Bengali whereas the home windows of the retailers showcase Bangladeshi clothes and Jambiyas, a sort of quick curved blade from Yemen. Hamtramck has reworked through the years to grow to be a protected heaven for Arab and Asian immigrants specifically these from Yemen and Bangladesh. Around 42% of the residents within the metropolis are international born whereas greater than half had been believed to be practising Muslims.
Muslim metropolis councilmember-elect Amanda Jaczkowski famous, “People are still proud of their culture specifically, whereas if it’s assimilation, we would lose the uniqueness.” Among the six Muslim council members, 5 of them had been immigrants, and one is a convert to Islam. Jaczkowski additional stated, “It’s important to remember that although we all happen to be practicing Muslims, we are elected through the processes set forth by the United States, Michigan, Wayne County and Hamtramck,”
Dawud Walid, government director for the Michigan chapter of CAIR stated, “The historic election … will usher in the first city in America to have a Muslim mayor and completely Muslim city council,” including, “The political voice of Muslims in Southeastern Michigan can no longer be ignored.”
According to M. Baqir Mohie El-Deen, coverage program supervisor on the Muslim Public Affairs Council, town of Hamtramck which consists of greater than 28,000 inhabitants was as soon as a hub for Polish American immigrants. Mohie El-Deen stated, “This City Council truly represents all the elements of Hamtramck history, whether they are Arabs, South Asian or European descendants.”
Ghalib is a healthcare skilled and a Yemeni immigrant and arrived within the US over 20 years again. He has diploma in organic science in addition to well being/nursing science and works at a medical centre. He has three youngsters.