The city, which was formerly a distinctly Polish city, became completely Muslim • Polish immigrants moved to the suburbs, and the only Polish councilor converted to Islam • She pledged: “Full Muslims are not expected to live under the rules we are expected to live by.”
The city of Amtrak in the state of Michigan is characterized by 99 years of only Polish-American mayors. In the last election, the demographic change in the city was reflected and the council that will serve in the city will be composed exclusively of Muslims.
On January 2, when Amer Gallib becomes the first Muslim mayor, Amtrak will become the first known city in the United States with a government made up entirely of Muslims. 42 years old and studying for a degree in medicine.
In recent decades, the city has suffered from many problems – many of the second and third generation of its Polish-American residents have moved to the suburbs of Detroit or left for other places and many factories have closed. Immigrants, mostly from Yemen and Bangladesh, have taken the place of the original inhabitants and the majority of the Materak are now Muslim.
“Tonight is a real example that the American dream is alive and well in the land of opportunity,” Gallib told the excited crowd, who had gathered to celebrate his victory in the early November election. He defeated the incumbent mayor, Karen Majevsky, who served in the post for 16 years. There is currently only one member of the new council who is a native of the United States: Amanda Jachkowski. Her Polish-American family has lived in the city for five generations. She herself converted to Islam in 2012.
“One of the main things people are worried about is that we are going to get rid of places to sell alcohol. We can not get rid of them,” Jachkowski told local media. According to her, Islam outlaws alcohol only for believing Muslims, but not for anyone else: “These are not necessarily bad places that should be banned. Full-fledged Muslims are not expected to live under the same rules that expect us to live by them.”
She added: “We are going to swear to defend the United States Constitution. And the United States Constitution includes a separation of religion and state.” The elected mayor and his council promise to ensure the separation of religion and state. Gleev addressed the issue: “We are Muslims and proud of our beliefs and values. But we do not intend to try and impose them on others.”