Many liberals celebrated when Hamtramck, Michigan, elected a Muslim-majority council in 2015 but a vote to exclude LGBTQ+ flags from city property has soured relations
In 2015, many liberal residents in Hamtramck, Michigan, celebrated as their city became the first in the United States to elect a Muslim-majority city council. They viewed the power shift and diversity as a meaningful rebuke of the Islamophobic rhetoric 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.
I’m from MI, nonreligious, and I live in an area with a decent Muslim population. This wasn’t inevitable. There are a lot of places across the state, and across the country, that really rely on these sorts of coalitions of voters to stand against conservative strongholds. Religion aside, it’s just a bad political move. They’ve splintered their supporters and really raises the question of if they can keep their gains. Really a damn shameful “cut off the nose to spite your face” situation.
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I’m from MI, nonreligious, and I live in an area with a decent Muslim population. This wasn’t inevitable. There are a lot of places across the state, and across the country, that really rely on these sorts of coalitions of voters to stand against conservative strongholds. Religion aside, it’s just a bad political move. They’ve splintered their supporters and really raises the question of if they can keep their gains. Really a damn shameful “cut off the nose to spite your face” situation.