November 5, 2015

Hamtramck city elects America's 1st majority Muslim city council

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Thursday 05 Nov 2015 - 11:52 Makkah mean time-23-1-1437

(Image from pamelageller)

Hamtramck, Michigan (IINA) - An election of historic significance in Hamtramck saw three Muslim-Americans garner the most votes in Tuesday night's city council election.
Hamtramck on Tuesday elected four Muslims in the 6-member council making the Detroit enclave, known for its Polish heritage, first Muslim-majority City Council in the United States, Ummid online news reported.
Muslims now hold four of the council's six seats in the city that was settled by Germans, became predominantly Polish in the early 1900s and now has a slight majority of Muslims from Yemen, Bangladesh and Bosnia-Herzegovina, Associated Press reported.
Local residents on Tuesday elected Yemeni-American Saad Almasmari and re-elected Bangladesh natives Abu Musa and Anam Miah. They join Bangladeshi member Mohammed Hassan.
"We are very proud and we are very happy for that achievement, what we have done in this city, for our city," said Jamal Alturki a voter, is quoted by WDIV Detroit.
Commenting on the poll results, Anam Miah, the newly elected member in the city council, said, "I think that sends a message not only to Hamtramck but throughout the region that people want their representation in offices".
"We are going to represent everybody. We are going to serve everybody, Christians, Jewish, Muslims, everybody," said Almasmari.
The council in nearby Dearborn has an Arab-American majority but not all are Muslim.
Councilman-elect Almasmari will officially join the council when he takes the oath of office next January.
SM/IINA

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