Posted on Nov 16, 2021
The harmonious US city run by Muslim Americans
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A walk down the main street in Hamtramck, Michigan, feels like a tour around the world.
The harmonious US city run by Muslim Americans
Posted from bbc.com
Religion
Islam
Culture
Immigration
Posted 3 y ago
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Hamtramck is about to be featured in a new documentary film here on PBS World’s America Reframed next Tuesday May 25 at 8 p.m.It’s called Hamtramck, USA crea...
Thank you my friend PO1 William "Chip" Nagel for posting the background on Hamtramck, Michigan.
"The world in two square miles" - Hamtramck lives up to its slogan, with around 30 languages spoken within its 5 sq km area.
Midwestern city of 28,000 has reached a milestone. Hamtramck, Michigan has elected an all-Muslim City Council and a Muslim mayor, becoming the first in the US to have a Muslim-American government.
Image: Hamtramck, Michigan
Hamtramck, USA on PBS | Clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdPFWuQDy1c
The arc of Hamtramck's history from beginnings as a town of German settlers to the modern day - it was America's first majority-Muslim city - is etched in its streets.
Storefronts display signs in Arabic and Bengali, embroidered Bangladeshi garments and Jambiyas, a type of short curved blade from Yemen, are seen in store windows. Muslim residents queue up to buy paczki, a kind of custard-filled Polish doughnut.
"It's not unusual to see some with miniskirts and tattoos and some in burqas walking on the same street. This is all about us," said Zlatan Sadikovic, a Bosnian immigrant who owns a café in downtown Hamtramck.
Florian Roman Catholic Church in Hamtramck, Michigan.
A stone's throw outside Detroit, which partly envelops the city, Hamtramck was once part of the epicentre of America's automotive industry, dominated by the General Motors plant that straddled its border with 'Motor City'. The first Cadillac Eldorado rolled off the assembly line in Hamtramck in the 1980s.
Over the course of the 20th Century, it became known as "Little Warsaw", as Polish immigrants flocked in for the blue-collar jobs. The city was one of the stops of Polish-born Pope John Paul II's US tour in 1987. In 1970, as much as 90% of the city was of Polish origin.
However, that decade saw the beginning of the long decline of US car manufacturing, and younger, wealthier Polish Americans began moving to the suburbs. The change made Hamtramck one of Michigan's poorest cities, but the affordability attracted immigrants.
Over the last 30 years, Hamtramck transformed again, to become a landing pad for Arab and Asian immigrants, notably those from Yemen and Bangladesh. A significant portion of the city's residents today - 42% - are foreign born. More than half are believed to be practising Muslims.
Presentational grey line
The newly elected government's makeup reflects the changing demographics in Hamtramck. The city council will include two Bengali Americans, three Yemeni Americans and a Polish-American convert to Islam.
Winning 68% of the vote, Amer Ghalib will be the first Yemeni-American mayor in the US.
"I feel honoured and proud, but I know it's a big responsibility," Mr Ghalib, 41, said.
Born in a village in Yemen, he moved to the US when he was 17, first working in a factory making plastic car parts near Hamtramck. He later learned English and received medical training, and now works as a healthcare professional.
Rather than being a "melting pot" or "salad bowl", Hamtramck is more like a "seven-layer cake" where different groups retain their distinct cultures while closely co-existing with each other, said city councilmember-elect Amanda Jaczkowski. "People are still proud of their culture specifically, whereas if it's assimilation, we would lose the uniqueness."
"When you live this close to each other, you are forced to overcome those differences," Ms Jaczkowski, 29, said.
But Hamtramck "is not Disneyland", said Karen Majewski, the outgoing mayor who will have served in office for 15 years before stepping down. "It's just a small place. And we do have conflicts."
Friction arose in 2004 following a vote to broadcast the Islamic call to prayer in public. Some residents have argued that a ban on bars near mosques hurts the local economy.
FYI LTC Greg Henning LTC Bill Koski LTC John Shaw Maj Kim Patterson Maj Marty Hogan Col Carl WhickerCol Carl Whicker] SMSgt Mark Venzeio SMSgt Lawrence McCarter
SSG Jacey R. SGT (Join to see) Sgt (Join to see) 1LT Ernest ChambleeCPL Douglas ChryslerSGT Rick Colburn
Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen PO3 Phyllis Maynard
"The world in two square miles" - Hamtramck lives up to its slogan, with around 30 languages spoken within its 5 sq km area.
Midwestern city of 28,000 has reached a milestone. Hamtramck, Michigan has elected an all-Muslim City Council and a Muslim mayor, becoming the first in the US to have a Muslim-American government.
Image: Hamtramck, Michigan
Hamtramck, USA on PBS | Clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdPFWuQDy1c
The arc of Hamtramck's history from beginnings as a town of German settlers to the modern day - it was America's first majority-Muslim city - is etched in its streets.
Storefronts display signs in Arabic and Bengali, embroidered Bangladeshi garments and Jambiyas, a type of short curved blade from Yemen, are seen in store windows. Muslim residents queue up to buy paczki, a kind of custard-filled Polish doughnut.
"It's not unusual to see some with miniskirts and tattoos and some in burqas walking on the same street. This is all about us," said Zlatan Sadikovic, a Bosnian immigrant who owns a café in downtown Hamtramck.
Florian Roman Catholic Church in Hamtramck, Michigan.
A stone's throw outside Detroit, which partly envelops the city, Hamtramck was once part of the epicentre of America's automotive industry, dominated by the General Motors plant that straddled its border with 'Motor City'. The first Cadillac Eldorado rolled off the assembly line in Hamtramck in the 1980s.
Over the course of the 20th Century, it became known as "Little Warsaw", as Polish immigrants flocked in for the blue-collar jobs. The city was one of the stops of Polish-born Pope John Paul II's US tour in 1987. In 1970, as much as 90% of the city was of Polish origin.
However, that decade saw the beginning of the long decline of US car manufacturing, and younger, wealthier Polish Americans began moving to the suburbs. The change made Hamtramck one of Michigan's poorest cities, but the affordability attracted immigrants.
Over the last 30 years, Hamtramck transformed again, to become a landing pad for Arab and Asian immigrants, notably those from Yemen and Bangladesh. A significant portion of the city's residents today - 42% - are foreign born. More than half are believed to be practising Muslims.
Presentational grey line
The newly elected government's makeup reflects the changing demographics in Hamtramck. The city council will include two Bengali Americans, three Yemeni Americans and a Polish-American convert to Islam.
Winning 68% of the vote, Amer Ghalib will be the first Yemeni-American mayor in the US.
"I feel honoured and proud, but I know it's a big responsibility," Mr Ghalib, 41, said.
Born in a village in Yemen, he moved to the US when he was 17, first working in a factory making plastic car parts near Hamtramck. He later learned English and received medical training, and now works as a healthcare professional.
Rather than being a "melting pot" or "salad bowl", Hamtramck is more like a "seven-layer cake" where different groups retain their distinct cultures while closely co-existing with each other, said city councilmember-elect Amanda Jaczkowski. "People are still proud of their culture specifically, whereas if it's assimilation, we would lose the uniqueness."
"When you live this close to each other, you are forced to overcome those differences," Ms Jaczkowski, 29, said.
But Hamtramck "is not Disneyland", said Karen Majewski, the outgoing mayor who will have served in office for 15 years before stepping down. "It's just a small place. And we do have conflicts."
Friction arose in 2004 following a vote to broadcast the Islamic call to prayer in public. Some residents have argued that a ban on bars near mosques hurts the local economy.
FYI LTC Greg Henning LTC Bill Koski LTC John Shaw Maj Kim Patterson Maj Marty Hogan Col Carl WhickerCol Carl Whicker] SMSgt Mark Venzeio SMSgt Lawrence McCarter
SSG Jacey R. SGT (Join to see) Sgt (Join to see) 1LT Ernest ChambleeCPL Douglas ChryslerSGT Rick Colburn
Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen PO3 Phyllis Maynard
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