A Detroit suburb with a history as a Polish enclave is making history of a different kind. This from westernjournal.com.
After elections on Tuesday, Hamtramck, Michigan, is set to become what is likely the first municipality in the country where every elected governing official is of the Muslim faith, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Amer Ghalib ousts Karen Majewski, becoming Hamtramck's first Muslim mayor. A Yemeni immigrant, will be the new mayor of Hamtramck after nearly 100 years of Polish mayors. #Yemen #ArabAmerican #Michigan #Hamtramck #MichiganElection #Election2021 ألف مبروك د. أمير غالب حيدرة pic.twitter.com/6I7XdY5sCG
— אריאל Areel AL-Lami (@AreelUS) November 3, 2021
On Tuesday, Hamtramck voters elected three Muslims to its City Council to join the three Muslims already serving. Voters also elected Amer Ghalib, 42, a Muslim, as mayor, the Free Press reported.
Councilman Mohammed Hassan said the council will govern for all.
Hassan added that “nothing will change in council, we remain the same.”
Amanda Jaczkowski, who was elected last week, said the city’s government will serve all the people.
“We will all take an oath … to protect the Constitution of the United States, and that includes the concept of separation of church and state. I believe strongly in that separation, and although I will bring the Islamic values of honesty and integrity to the table, the policies that I promote and affirm will be what is best for all people of Hamtramck,” she said.
Mayor Karen Majewski, who lost her bid for a fifth term, said she will work with the new leadership of the city.
“I’ve always cautioned people to not think about Islam as a monolith,” Majewski said.
Majewski and Ghalib have differed over LGBTQ issues: She supports flying the LGBTQ flag outside City Hall. He does not.
“People think because of my background and my religious beliefs that I will be anti-LGBT or something, but we are in America,” he said.
Adam Albarmaki, an immigrant from Yemen elected last week, said there will be no favoritism.
“I owe it to the people of Hamtramck, and my loyalty to them will remain intact,” he said. “Make no mistake, I do not represent the interest of a certain group over another. I will work diligently to ensure that the best interest of Hamtramckans is attained.”
Beginning in the 1960s cities throughout America experienced a phenomenon which came to be called, ‘White Flight.’ Well, if it hasn’t already begun, Hamtramck will soon begin to show signs of Non-Muslim Flight.
Also, despite what these newly-elected politicians say, expect favoritism toward Muslims to be the policy. And expect discrimination toward all those who are something “less than Muslim.”
After all, for entrenched Muslims, anyone else is untermenschen.