As the rest of America whines over security threats concerning those fleeing the horrifying brutalities of Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State; Hamtramck, Michigan –the country’s only Muslim-majority city– is welcoming Syrian refugees with open arms.
At one point, 90 percent of Hamtramck’s population constituted Polish Catholics, but gradually the blue-collar enclave situated just outside Detroit was transformed by successive waves of immigrants from Yemen, Bosnia and Bangladesh. Now, the city has more Muslims than non-Muslims, with four members of the six-member council following Islam; and the call to prayer echoes through the streets of Hamtramck five times a day.
The most recent addition to the growing ethnic mix are 33 Syrians, all members of Muslim families who decided to flee their country’s sectarian strife or civil war. These individuals landed in America amid a national debate over the security threat of letting in refugees, who could be undercover Islamic State jihadists plotting brutal terror attacks across the country.
As GOP figures like Ben Carson and Donald Trump continue to stress that there should be tougher monitoring of Muslims, with Michigan Governor Rick Snyder vowing to stop more Syrians from entering his state, officials in Hamtramck insist that such fears have been blown out of proportion and their doors will remain open for those who need a home.
Thaer Hoshan (age 40) fled Syria in 2012 with his pregnant wife, Dalal (age 37) and five children: Shouk (age 13), Shahed (age 12), Rania (age 10), Fadi (age 9) and Abdul Hadi (age 4). Apparently, their hometown of Daraa was one of the first to come under siege by Assad’s forces, who would mercilessly shell civilians and arbitrarily break into homes to kill men and rape women. Hoshan described how he, along with his family, escaped into Jordan, where the United Nations made them undergo a 19-month vetting process, before they could move to the United States in August this year. Upon reaching America, Hoshan was amazed to have to access to many of the comforts and customs that he was used to in the Middle East, from bustling halal restaurants to souvenir shops stocked with Islamic clothes and accessories as well as Arabic-speaking neighbors.
“Coming to the US was very nerve-racking. I had never heard of Michigan, let alone Hamtramck,” Hoshan said, through an interpreter. “I had no idea what to expect but once I got here I was surprised at how comfortable it felt. There is a mosque on the corner; most of the people speak our language. This place feels like home.”
Hoshan, who was a farmer and construction worker back in his homeland, insisted that he had never even heard of Islamic State or their barbaric crimes until after he left Syria.
“We are not a threat to anyone,” he added. “They did interviews and medical tests. The security checks alone took a month. The only person I would like to see dead is Assad. As for killing others, Islam is totally against it.”
The Hoshans’ $500-a-month rented apartment is located within yards of one of the city’s four mosques. The area is also home to an assortment of Bengali restaurants, marketplaces and boutique stores that are known for selling sequined niqabs and headscarves. A nearby Polish arts center, sausage factory and statue of Pope John Paul II harks back to the 1970s, when working-class Polish Catholics last reigned over Hamtramck. However, as their community started to prosper and move away, their vacant homes were snapped up by refugees pouring in from Yemen, Bangladesh and eventually Bosnia by the end of the Yugoslav wars.
According to latest data, the area’s Arabic population is clocked at 23 percent, Bangladeshi population at 19 percent and Bosnians and other Muslims at approximately nine percent; which together forms a Muslim majority of 51 percent. The Polish Catholics have dwindled to a meager 11 percent however.
Religious and ethnic grievances started to surface in 2004, when the city council suddenly allowed local mosques to broadcast the Muslim call to prayer via loudspeaker. Tensions were once again brewing last month, when 28-year-old Saad Almasmari from Yemen decided to run for council and learnt of a flyer that was being circulated among voters urging the city’s non-Muslim population to get rid of all Muslims and reclaim their city. In a different area, a poster featuring another Muslim candidate was reportedly defaced with a swastika symbol and the words ‘don’t vote’. Despite all these attempts, Almasmari swept to victory, receiving more votes than any other candidate and becoming the fourth Muslim on the six-member-council, which resulted in Hamtramck becoming America’s first Muslim-majority jurisdiction.
“I knocked 3,800 doors during my campaign and spoke to Polish people, old and young,” he said. “A lot of them voted for me. Nobody said anything negative to my face.”
There are dozens of smaller communities and ethnicities that are vying for space in Hamtramck, as evident by the 27 languages spoken across its schools. Traveling through town is comparable to a global culinary tour, with a wide variety of Polish cafes, Chinese restaurants, Yemeni hookah bars and Afghani kebab stalls, all owned by Iraqi Catholics.
“In the 1930s we had 60,000 people living in Hamtramck and there are now around 25,000,” said Mayor Karen Majewski. “So we certainly have room. And believe it or not, we actually had around 50 languages spoken back then. So diversity is nothing new, we just have a different breakdown. There is no quota on how many different ethnicities are welcome. There are people who are concerned about the change in culture, and that's a normal fear. But it's got nothing to do with terrorism. People aren't worried about being blown up on the street corner.”
The Hoshans and the five other Syrian families that recently settled in Hamtramck were brought to the United States by the Syrian American Rescue Network that offered them their first month’s accommodation free of cost, thanks to a Syrian-American businessman, Bashar Imam (age 53), who also helped some of the refugees find local jobs and their children school admissions.
“We owe it to these people to ensure they don't suffer a minute longer,” said Imam, an engineer who came to the United States from Damascus nearly 40 years ago. “When I heard they were coming here I took one of my vacant properties off the market just to make more room for them. These guys are not terrorists, they don't want money - they want opportunity. And who are we to close the door on them? Who is Donald Trump to close the door on them?”
Despite so much goodness and goodwill, some of Hamtramck’s white, non-Muslim population remains wary of what they believe to be a ‘Muslim invasion’ or ‘Sharia takeover’. Certain senior citizens have complained bitterly about being woken up by the first call to prayer at 6 am while others have accused Muslim landlords of not maintaining their properties well enough.
“People here used to be fanatical about looking after their homes, shoveling the snow, cutting the grass, that sort of thing,” said Bernice Kurzawa (age 84), who has lived in Hamtramck for the past six decades. “They are all renters now, they don't care. Some of the women wear outfits where you can only see the eyes. The shops are all shutting because the Arabs eat their own food.”
Barbara Zielinska (age 60) has been feeling unsettled by groups of young Arab men congregating late at night.
“We have an invasion of Muslims here now,” she said. “I'm not afraid to say what needs to be said. They buy the houses, they take all the parking, they are very loud. My neighbors have late night meetings all the time with big groups of Muslim men who come from out of state. They could be plotting something and I don't know if I should report it to the police. A lot of them seem to live off benefits and not work.”
Naturally, such accusations bother Husain Hizam (age 45), who runs a clothing store that sells everything from rugs and curtains to Islamic artwork. Hizam’s father had moved to the United States from Yemen in the 1970s, eventually working as an assemblyman at a car plant in Detroit for 30 years.
“He worked hard, he showed us the American Way,” said Hizam. “This is a country of chances, the more you work the more you earn.”
Hizam caters to both Muslim and non-Muslim customers, with Polish women in particular being drawn to his ornate, bejeweled tailoring.
“I don't value one type of customer over another,” he said. “If I did I would go out of business. What we see on the TV and the things happening in Paris, it worries me. But we all get along here. One neighbor is Polish, the other is Vietnamese - we are like one big family.”
Photo Credits: CBS News
