Hamtramck, Michigan, known for being the first Muslim-majority city council in the U.S., was celebrated for its diversity. However, it has recently sparked controversy by passing legislation banning Pride flags, resulting in heightened tensions and accusations of betrayal from LGBTQ+ residents and former supporters. The Guardian has the story.
In 2015, many liberal residents in Hamtramck, Michigan, celebrated as their city attracted international attention for becoming the first in the United States to elect a Muslim-majority city council.
They viewed the power shift and diversity as a symbolic but meaningful rebuke of the Islamophobic rhetoric that was a central theme of then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign.
This week many of those same residents watched in dismay as a now fully Muslim and socially conservative city council passed legislation banning Pride flags from being flown on city property that had – like many others being flown around the country – been intended to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.
Muslim residents packing city hall erupted in cheers after the council’s unanimous vote, and on Hamtramck’s social media pages, the taunting has been relentless: “Fagless City”, read one post, emphasised with emojis of a bicep flexing.
In a tense monologue before the vote, Council member Mohammed Hassan shouted his justification at LGBTQ+ supporters: “I’m working for the people, what the majority of the people like.”
While Hamtramck is still viewed as a bastion of multiculturalism, the difficulties of local governance and living among neighbours with different cultural values quickly set in following the 2015 election. Some leaders and residents are now bitter political enemies engaged in a series of often vicious battles over the city’s direction, and the Pride flag controversy represents a crescendo in tension.
“There’s a sense of betrayal,” said the former Hamtramck mayor Karen Majewski, who is Polish American. “We supported you when you were threatened, and now our rights are threatened, and you’re the one doing the threatening.”
For about a century, Polish and Ukrainian Catholics dominated politics in Hamtramck, a city of 28,000 surrounded by Detroit. By 2013, largely Muslim Bangladeshi and Yemeni immigrants supplanted the white eastern Europeans, though the city remains home to significant populations of those groups, as well as African Americans, whites and Bosnian and Albanian Americans. According to the 2020 census some 30% to 38% of Hamtramck’s residents are of Yemeni descent, and 24% are of Asian descent, largely Bangladeshi.
After several years of diversity on the council, some see irony in an all-male, Muslim elected government that does not reflect the city’s makeup.
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One intolerant bunch of fifth columnists at war with an even worse one.
Popcorn time.
Meanwhile, the rest of us coalesce around the punchy rallying cry –
“We don’t want any of this crap”.
The vast amount of Muslims are law-abiding and respectful, same as the vast amount of trans people. It’s the extremists who cause all of the problems. The Lefties and broken society, much enabled by the msm presstitutes, give the impression the small minority from both camps make up the majority, all because it serves their agenda for promoting hate and division, but it is nothing more than illusion and distraction. And regarding the Islamic faith, my main concern there is the amount of migrants being allowed into countries unchecked and the ramifications ( which is widely documented in countries such as Germany, UK, Sweden and France ) for our citizens as a result of this.
There won’t be any ‘law-abiding and respectful’ muslims, once a majority is achieved.
Well we deliberately avoided the more Muslim-dense neighbourhoods when we came to buy a house here. Nothing against what religion somebody wants to subscribe to, I don’t adhere to any of them personally, but on a scale you definitely have Islam at the ‘least tolerant’ end and, say, Buddhism at the most ‘peaceful’ opposite end. I don’t hear of many violent crimes and atrocities being committed in the name of Buddha.
Indeed.
I think ‘political ideology’ is a better description of Islam, than ‘religion’.
Yes I think so. It isn’t until I recently started reading more about it, after the stabbings in France by the Muslim migrant from Syria posing as a Christian, that I realised just how much I actually *should* be opposed to this particular ideology, especially as a freedom-loving female used to having all of my human rights respected. Their teachings in their holy book definitely don’t respect me or my values and so I would certainly not want to be bringing up my daughter in such a place where she’d be exposed to such racism and misogyny. The way they view females, so-called ”infidels” and ”idolaters” is horrific.
“The way they view females, so-called ”infidels” and ”idolaters” is horrific.”
It needed to be said Mogs.
Not sure the Tamils in Sri Lanka would necessarily endorse that view, the Buddhist majority have not quite been as tolerant as you might expect.
Ask the Rohinhya in western Myanmar, they’ll tell you about Buddhist extremists.
But I’m with you, most people are fine as long as they aren’t riled up by the nasty, mischievous minority.
And no doubt the Buddhists of western Myanmar will tell you about the Muslim extremists.
Or you could just combine the worst of both worlds ( that’d be Islam and gender ideology ) in the shape of most hated man in Britain, Sadiq Khan;
”OFFICIALS working for Sadiq Khan are banned from referring to “men and women” in the latest bid to go ultra-woke.
The Labour Mayor’s staff are also ordered not to describe any migrant as “illegal” – but call them people “with insecure immigration status” or simply “undocumented”.
City Hall’s inclusivity guide – leaked to the Sun – was last night dismissed as political correct “nonsense” by critics.
The gender section of the memo tells employees: “Avoid using ‘men and women’ – say ‘people’ or ‘Londoners’.
“Similarly, instead of ‘ladies and gentlemen’ say something that doesn’t exclude non-binary people.”
It says the terms male and female are “dated and medicalised” and that “female humans are called ‘girls and/or women’, male humans are called ‘boys and/or men’”.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/politics/22672251/sadiq-khans-staff-banned-men-women/
Have to laugh really.
One would have to have a heart of stone not to do so!
It’s really quite simple. Just organise to vote the current council out at your next opportunity.
Is she Polish or ‘American’? This prefixing of ‘American’ only emphasises differences. How many prefixes and qualifications are encouraged; at what point does it sound silly?
I think Morgan Freeman nailed it: I understand he sees the term African-American as an insult. He’s American and proud of it.
“We supported you when you were threatened”
Hope she carries the guilt of her naive gullibility to the grave.
So the Guardian thinks “residents watched in dismay”..while in reality Mr Hassan said
“I’m working for the people, what the majority of people like….….and I think there you have it in a nutshell…
Please explain how this is a ‘betrayal’…as former mayor Karen Majewski states. Are they banning Polish flags…..,?
they say a picture paints a thousand words..
https://twitter.com/dick_nalton/status/1668703870774640641
I don’t think they’ve banned the Pride (one of the seven deadly sins) flag. They’ve just said no to flying it on city buildings. I don’t suppose they fly Polish flags there either. I really hope they’re being consistent and only flying ‘Old Glory’
‘Pride goes before destruction…’.
The second that critical mass is reached, the goat-molesters will happily burn the stars and stripes.
…now fully Muslim..city council…
I think we’d have seen other headlines if members of the city council had burned the Stars and Stripes.
I know the Brits mock USAians for their flag fetish but there would have been outrage if city council workers had dropped the flag into the streets of Washington DC (drawing comparison with the film of workers dropping the Union flag onto the street in London).
When I was a lad in the Scouts we were taught how to package the Union flag before running it up the pole and breaking it so that it didn’t drape on the ground or tangle on the pole. On lowering the flag we were taught never to let it touch the ground. I had occasion to mention this to my grandchildren recently – they think I’m joking.
I hesitated about putting up the same picture of pre war Germany yesterday, glad you’ve linked to it because its what the vast majority are thinking, the resemblance is very worrying!
Nearly 20% of people in the UK are disabled or suffer mental illness, Where are their Flags??
You also know that the goat-molesters would be happy to burn the stars and stripes.
“There’s a sense of betrayal,” said the former Hamtramck mayor Karen Majewski, who is Polish American. “We supported you when you were threatened, and now our rights are threatened, and you’re the one doing the threatening.”
————
I guess this silly woman, and the other naive “liberals” who think like this have never looked at the beliefs and behaviour of many (not all) Muslims and the state of the countries they come from and thought “I wonder if they’d think and behave like that here and if they’d turn our country into a carbon copy of theirs if get the chance?”
Banning the Pride flag is one thing. Chucking gays off of high buildings is something else altogether. But both supported by many (not all) Muslims.
Islamophobic rhetoric that was a central theme of then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign. Can you please elaborate on this with some examples.
I am surprised that conservative Muslims in this country are not kicking up a stink at some of the insidious garbage our children are being subjected to in schools. ——Or maybe they are and I just have not heard about it.
i don’t know why any flags other than official ones are displayed at public buildings and events. Allowing the “pride” flag could lead to demands from other groups for equal time – and maybe should. Just imagine the options… how about a pro life flag?
Multiculturalism.