The story of the existence of the first Muslim-majority city in the US
For decades, Hamtramck was known as “Little Warsaw” in Michigan, a city of just two square miles of densely packed houses and factories a long way from downtown Detroit. Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla visited once, in 1969, before he became Pope.
The statue of Wojtyla, arms outstretched, still covers what is now Pope Park, where a large mural of Polish folk dancers spans almost the entire city block. In the 99 years since its founding, every mayor of Hamtramck has been a Polish American. It ends January 2, in Hamtramck’s centenary, when Amer Ghalib will be sworn in, along with the all-Muslim city council.
“Hamtramck will be the first known city in the US with an entirely Muslim government.” This was confirmed by administrators of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, who said they had no record of such a government, CNN.com told CNN.com. Hamtramck mayor-elect Amer Ghalib will become the first non-Polish American leader in the city’s history.
Regarding the origins of the mayor-elect Ghalib was born in Yemen and came to the United States alone as a young man. He came with only a handful of broken English and little else. He is now 42 years old, works in the medical field and is studying to become a doctor.
When Ghalib arrived, Hamtramck’s heyday seemed to have passed. The city is rotting. Many factories have closed. Many second- and third-generation Polish Americans have moved to suburban Detroit and beyond in the last two decades.
“Immigrants, mostly from Yemen and Bangladesh, replaced them and Hamtramck,” said the locals, now predominantly Muslim. Hamtramck is the palimpsest — where new immigrants have laid layers of culture and society on top of what already exists. There you can enjoy spicy Yemeni food — spicy pea soup — and flatbread for breakfast, and still find kielbasa or pierogi for lunch.
– .
