Historic Mayoral Elections in Dearborn, Hamtramck and Dearborn Heights

[Lowell]

The elections of Abdullah Hammoud in Dearborn, Amer Ghalib in Hamtramck, and Bill Bazzi in Dearborn Heights are remarkable historic moments. All are Arab-American and Muslim, a first in both categories in those communities.

All won also by large majorities in communities with sizable, but not yet majority, Arab-American populations, meaning that they achieved support from across their entire communities.

I find that uplifting, an upbeat chapter in the American story, a political and social maturation that is to be lauded. This is particularly true for Dearborn whose notorious former mayor Orville Hubbard had once made the city a shameful poster-child for exclusion with his code-speak "Keep Dearborn Clean" signs. Amid all the recent anti-immigrant rancor and rise of white supremacy groups, these elections shed a bright light and again bring meaning to E Pluribus Unam -- "Out of many, one". Bravo to both communities.
https://freep-mi.newsmemory.com?publ...4ff809_1345fc4

[jcole]

[Danny]

I know that.

Dearborn's first Arab-American Mayor will end the Hubbard-O'Reily Era.

Dearborn Heights' first Arab-American Mayor will to the fast growing Arab communities in West Central Wayne County.

Hamtramck's first Arab American mayor will sparkle in the first Muslim majority city in America.

[Wesley Mouch]

The elections of Abdullah Hammoud in Dearborn, Amer Ghalib in Hamtramck, and Bill Bazzi in Dearborn Heights are remarkable historic moments.
... snip...
these elections shed a bright light and again bring meaning to E Pluribus Unam -- "Out of many, one". Bravo to both communities.

Bravo indeed!

It is historic.

But the real historic shift will be when the 'newcomers' are able to create an effective government that lets its citizens determine their own future, and create wealth.

People here know that I have been a big fan of Coleman Young. Like Trump, he broke rules. He said things that had never been said before [[Aloha M-----f---ers) [[1) And while he did some great things [[like breaking the tension between the white cops and black citizens by desegregating the PD), in the end he left a dysfunctional city. He didn't reform the City. He just turned the white man's political machine into the black man's political machine. But he didn't fix the schools. He didn't stop disinvestment. He didn't stop crime [[regardless of 'hit 8-mile').

I wish these Americans well. They need to do bold things that won't make them popular every day. If they only become the distributor of their newfound power to their friends [[ala Young), the history won't be kind. But they have the chance to create great new American communities.

[[1) Bloomberg CityLab: "And finally, no great mayoral quotes list can exclude former Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young, who once began a press conference with reporters via closed-circuit television while on a business trip in Hawaii with "Aloha, motherfuckers."

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...mayoral-candor

[Ray1936]

But he didn't fix the schools.

He couldn't. The Detroit Board of Education is a separate body politic from the City of Detroit. Flunked Detroit government 101, did'ja?

[Richard]

I know that.

Dearborn's first Arab-American Mayor will end the Hubbard-O'Reily Era.

Dearborn Heights' first Arab-American Mayor will to the fast growing Arab communities in West Central Wayne County.

Hamtramck's first Arab American mayor will sparkle in the first Muslim majority city in America.

Not saying it is going to,but what happens if the community becomes divided and others are not welcome,not based on race but based on religion.

At that point what defines American? It is not based on American values and beliefs,is it?

The question will be,can they achieve in America something that they have not been able to achieve for over 2000 years everywhere else in the world.

The coexistence of separate religions.

If one religion controls the government and sets the standards is it an all inclusive control?

I highly doubt the separation of religion and state will be in effect,if it is it will be the first recorded case in history with the Muslim community and will show the rest of the world it can be done.

That in itself will be a challenge, because there will be newcomers that will adhere to the old ways and as always it will be their mission to retain that at any cost.

That is why places like Afghanistan remain in turmoil,there is no cohesion or tolerance between religions.

Thats not to say these communities could not be made up of those who have said,to hell with all of that,we just want to be left in piece to practice our religion and you can practice yours.

That is the American part,freedom of religion without recourse,more power to them, but they will have to figure out how to mold in new arrivals that want to remain hardfast set in their ways and draw negative response and try to interrupt a peaceful existence.

The blowback happening in other none Muslim parts of the world that have been settled by Muslims,is not against Muslims in general,it is against that small faction that remain true to the cause.

To me and for the greater Detroit region,this may not be a case of they are over in those cities and they can do as they wish,but more so they are now a part of the overall community,usually the overall community will be involved like it or not,but given the history of the overall community shunning cities they do not particularly care for,I am glad I am watching this one from afar.

For the most part,no matter where you go in the world,no matter what the race or religion or ethnic back ground,or even language is,everybody is the same,they want to live in peace,practice their religion and raise their families to a better future and that is what this country is about and what the constitution provides as a citizen.

[Gistok]

^ There are many Christian Lebanese and Christian Iraqis [Chaldean] living among the Muslim population of the greater Dearborn area. The younger Middle Eastern group are not into the political side of life from the old country as their parents likely are. No extreme Madrassas in Dearborn.

[Hypestyles]

I suspect that F-x n_ws [the cable channel, not WJBK] will soon be trying to drum up "sharia law" bogeyman tropes, especially leading into the 2022 midterms election cycle. Heck, might even be Jeannine Pirro making such comments, and she has Lebanese parents.

[Zacha341]

^^^ I have gay friends and colleagues [hardly the fox-news right-winged types] express to me they are ALSO concerned about how Hammy may change culturally and policy-wise relative to this election.

Taking into considering the tolerance [often expressed beyond words or protest] towards gays in most middle eastern countries as a referent.

Beyond tropes.

[Richard]

^ There are many Christian Lebanese and Christian Iraqis [Chaldean] living among the Muslim population of the greater Dearborn area. The younger Middle Eastern group are not into the political side of life from the old country as their parents likely are. No extreme Madrassas in Dearborn.

That maybe the case today,but there is also tomorrow and next week and next month etc.

I really do not care about how it is today,they are not cities living in a bubble.

You do realize Muslims have been in politics and a part of the political structure in any given local for over 2000 years,political structures that have been in turmoil the entire time because one religion refuses to be governed by another one,always has been.

That has always been a key role in getting into government in the first place,in order to be the dominant religion.

In the past and in these two cities,they were not in a domineering political position like they are now.

Like I posted,time will tell if there will be a separation of church and state in those politics and everybody has representation equally,the only way that has worked in the past is if both the religions share the power structure equally,it’s a trust thing.

Its not that complicated,if you have a different religion that does not agree with the other one,they do not trust them to govern them.

Its not me saying it,it is history saying it.

Age has no relevance,while I agree that the younger generation are more in tune with being Americanized verses hard core faith,many of the younger generation are also easy to radicalize when they become disenfranchised.

In my personal experience I find the older generations,no matter which way they view each other’s religion,are more old school values and the younger generations are trying to find themselves while stuck inbetween two completely different worlds which makes them a wild card.

I had one slap their high school son in the face,in front of me,because he admitted in a conversation that he stood up to pee in the school bathroom urnial,apparently they are not allowed to do that because he slapped the shit out of him without thinking twice.

There is an internal conflict in the younger generation when it comes to the old ways and ways they learn in life,even more so in public school,where you know that kid would have been ridiculed had he sat down to pee in a school bathroom like a woman would.

I had an acquaintance that was a general under the Sha of Iran back in the day,he spent a career of disappearing opposite religions and collecting bribes,because that is how things get done,corruption is as normal as you or I eating toast.

So,yea they have a mountain to climb in dispelling 2000 years of history,I hope they can do it and prove to the rest of the world it can be done.

Because that is the spotlight they are in,not just in Detroit,but in the eyes of millions across the world.

[Gistok]

Zacha341, there are several gay bars in the Dearborn area [I have an acquaintance who owns one], and it is a homogenous mix of all Middle Easterners as well as Americans of all colors and persuasions. The mix of cultures also helps keep the area beautifully kept up, and little to no squalor. A drive down West Warren Ave. shows the nicely kept up Dearborn south side [and neighborhoods south of it], and the derelict Detroit north side [and neighborhoods north of it]. It is almost like driving along Mack Ave. between Detroit and the Grosse Pointes.

Islam has only been with us for 1350 years. And in the centuries up to the 20th, most Islamic countries have been very tolerant of Christians and Jews living among them. Moorish Spain is an excellent example.. it wasn't until the reconquest of all of Spain by Catholics Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492 that intolerance began, with the expulsion of Arabs and Sephardic Jews who refused to convert to Catholicism. For over 600 years under Islam, there was much tolerance in Moorish Spain to Christians and Jews, with a magnificent flowering of culture, which was anything but the Dark Ages there. But all that ended with Ferdinand and Isabella.

The same can be said for Arab Sicily... which took a long time from the 700s to circa 1000AD to take over the entire Island. Islam only lasted about 4 centuries in Sicily until the 1200s when forces with allegiance to the Pope [and Holy Roman Emperors] gradually drove them out or forced conversion to Christianity. Muslim Sicily was one of the most magnificent flowerings of 3 religions in one island. Muslim Palermo, with over 350,000 inhabitants was one of the largest and most prosperous cities in the world around the turn of the first millennium. But that too all came to pass.

It was the "barbarian west" when the First Crusade starting in 1095, and those other crusades for the next 2 centuries afterwards... that Islam felt horrified at what savages Christendom could send to the Holy Land and butcher entire cities, all in the name of God. When Jerusalem was finally captured in 1099... the Crusaders questioned who to kill when it came to the Muslim, Jewish and Christians in the city... they were told "slaughter them all... God would sort out the rest."

It's no wonder why with all of these historic incidents that many Muslims have long memories, and bad feelings about Christianity that linger on into the 21st century.

[Zacha341]

^^^ Yes, I am aware. One friend frequents those bars in Hammy. He expressed his feelings. I listened. We'll see how it goes.

Thank you much for the details provided re. battles and conflicts between Christendom and Islam - and the crusades. Comparative religions historical and current, is an area I've also studied/ enjoyed albeit not at the degree level but for certain as a personal, spiritual commitment.

I think often about the early bloody history of Christendom applied, but not without contradistinction of actions for the cause of Islam as well. Don't forget for example the activities of Islam applied to the sub-continent of India [Mughal-Maratha Wars [[1680-1707) for example] and parts of Africa. Indeed a great deal of bloody historical conquests by the sword or bullet... Apparently the battle continues [ask Christian Egyptians/ Nigerians 2021]

Extant history [when not negated] is available. And it seems to depend on ones view as to who had/ has the edge in the varied wars/ crusades resulting in lives lost/ land conquered. All of which [even when combined] pale in comparison to the millions killed on behalf of secular communism and fascism 'gods' [Pol Pot, Mao, Hitler, etc] 100+ million within this century! But that is indeed for another full discussion, elsewhere.

[Gistok]

Exactly Zach341, all we are doing is scratching the surface of a very complex history of humanity among religions. You provided some very good examples... still thinking of all those kidnapped and missing Nigerian schoolgirls... by Boko Haram!

[Wesley Mouch]

But he didn't fix the schools.

He couldn't. The Detroit Board of Education is a separate body politic from the City of Detroit. Flunked Detroit government 101, did'ja?

Political separations between CoD and DPS exist, but if CAY had wanted to fix DPS, he had enough indirect influence to get things done.

As a PO, I imagine you saw lots of political influence where there was no legal authority.

CAY's power challenged the existing power structure every day. If it was a priority, he would had twisted arms in Lansing [[where he formerly was an elected official), diverted funding away from DPS, promoted his own slate of cronies with his war chest collects by making CoD employees fundraise for him to get promotions [[or even keep your job), or whatever it took. I don't recall him ever caring about the education of children.

He could have done it.

[CassTechGrad]

History is full ofleaders who misuse their position of power to benefit themselves. But we areall fallible humans, we all make mistakes even when we have good intentions.Queens and Popes do just that, acting in a way that violates their “oath ofoffice”. They both acted contrary to the Catholic teaching of “love thyneighbor” and “thou shalt not kill”. So the blame is on them, not the church. Had they followedCatholic principals none of crimes would have happened. Church teaching did nottell them to do wrong, they did that on their own.

[Gistok]

History is full ofleaders who misuse their position of power to benefit themselves. But we areall fallible humans, we all make mistakes even when we have good intentions.Queens and Popes do just that, acting in a way that violates their “oath ofoffice”. They both acted contrary to the Catholic teaching of “love thyneighbor” and “thou shalt not kill”. So the blame is on them, not the church. Had they followedCatholic principals none of crimes would have happened. Church teaching did nottell them to do wrong, they did that on their own.

I wasn't really blaming the church so much as I was blaming religion. Most people think that the worst war Germany was ever in was WWII. Not true! The 1618-48 30 Years War... when Catholics and Protestants bled each other white, killed or starved about 1/2 of the population of what is today Germany.

Many times the executioner and the theologian are one and the same. That goes for all religions in earlier centuries.

[Richard]

^ so they were not following religious beliefs as they tried to become the dominant religion.

As was stated,that was not the religions fault it was the fault of the bodies proclaiming to do it in the name of religion.

I cannot think of any religion that reads,go out and kill everybody that does not worship as you do.

Subjugation using religion as a pretext.

[Henry Whalley]

I cannot think of any religion that reads,go out and kill everybody that does not worship as you do.

You forgot about the bloody Christian religion. There's a history that should be kept from children, but adults should learn about it.

General Flynn's got a plan for one religion in this country. Guess what happens to the rest of us?

[Henry Whalley]

...how Hammy may change culturally and policy-wise relative to this election.

Sharia law won't be coming anytime soon.

Also, see this story from BBC:
The US city run by Muslim Americans - BBC News

[Henry Whalley]

History is full of leaders who misuse their position of power to benefit themselves.

Indeed, history leaves little room for leaders who don't misuse their positions of power. Off hand, only one name comes to mind: Eva Tomaszewski, the president of my ninth grade class.

[CassTechGrad]

We're all adults here so please tell us about the "bloody Christian religion".

[Gistok]

We're all adults here so please tell us about the "bloody Christian religion".

Not sure what Henry Whalley was referring to, but an example was the genocide that was the Albigensian Crusade in southern France in the 13th Century [1209-1229] against the heresy of Catharism by the church and French nobility. It was a particularly gruesome period in medieval history, where entire towns in southern France had their inhabitants slaughtered, and the towns razed... all for the purity of the Catholic faith...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albigensian_Crusade

[oladub]

I wasn't really blaming the church so much as I was blaming religion. Most people think that the worst war Germany was ever in was WWII. Not true! The 1618-48 30 Years War... when Catholics and Protestants bled each other white, killed or starved about 1/2 of the population of what is today Germany.

Many times the executioner and the theologian are one and the same. That goes for all religions in earlier centuries.

That may be topped by the Muslim invasion and occupation of India.

The Indian historian Professor K.S. Lal estimates that the Hindu population in India decreased by 80 million between 1000 AD and 1525 AD, an extermination unparalleled in World history. This slaughter of millions of people occurred over regular periods during many centuries of Arab, Afghan, Turkish and Mughal rule in India.

Communist takeovers in Russia, China, and Cambodia did a pretty good job of mass slaughter too but without a religious motive.

[Gistok]

That may be topped by the Muslim invasion and occupation of India.

The Indian historian Professor K.S. Lal estimates that the Hindu population in India decreased by 80 million between 1000 AD and 1525 AD, an extermination unparalleled in World history. This slaughter of millions of people occurred over regular periods during many centuries of Arab, Afghan, Turkish and Mughal rule in India.

Communist takeovers in Russia, China, and Cambodia did a pretty good job of mass slaughter too but without a religious motive.

Correct... genocide is not necessarily a religious undertaking. Remember the genocide in Rwanda in recent decades, due to tribal hatred... as is going on now in Ethiopia.

[Henry Whalley]

We're all adults here so please tell us about the "bloody Christian religion".

Edward Gibbon's 'The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' is a standard source of information -- and a pleasure to read. Also, any number of books about the Crusades; Inquisitions; Conquistas; Reformation; Counter-Reformation; Pilgrims; Thirty Years War; Pioneers; Slavery; Opium Wars; Colonizing of Australia, Africa, Asia, Samoa, etc.; World Wars; Holocaust; Vietnam War; Kosovo; Bush-Cheney Wars. To name but a few.

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: Volumes 1-3, Volumes 4-6: Gibbon, Edward, Trevor-Roper, Hugh: 9780307700766: Amazon.com: Books