Mayor of Hamtramck says banning LGBTQ flag ensures fairness, as all groups must be equal

CHICAGO: The mayor of an all-Muslim city council in Michigan says the recent controversy over the banning of the LGBTQ community flag on public buildings is being misrepresented by them for “political reasons”.

Amer Ghalib, who was elected mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, in November 2021, said that the decision to ban the LGBTQ flag, which is used by gay and transgender rights activists, was not an act of discrimination but rather an effort to treat everyone equally and fairly.

Ghalib said that his goal is to ensure that every community is treated the same and past policies, which recognized some minorities while ignoring others, must end.

“I have nothing against the LGBTQ community. They belong to Hamtramck. We serve them equally just like everybody else. Everybody in this community is equally important to me. I don’t believe I should discriminate against anyone or give preferential treatment to anyone,” Ghalib told Arab News during The Ray Hanania Radio Show.

“So, the fact that we ... are a community of minorities. Every minority is in need of support. We believe we are subject to discrimination in one way or the other. Therefore we are equally in need of that support. So, the fact that I can just show support for one group and ignore the others is not appropriate. The moment people heard they (the LGBTQ community) want their flag to be flown, they came to me and said … we have also our specific flags we want to fly on the public streets or the city building.

“I looked at them. Some of them are religious, some of them are tribal. Some of them are sectarian. So, I was like this is going to look like a mess. This is not appropriate and I cannot just pick and choose which flag I should fly and which I should reject.”

Ghalib said that Hamtramck has been a majority Muslim city for many years with Yemenis making up at least 30 percent, and a Bengali community at 25 percent. Despite those numbers, the city has never recognized the Islamic Eid holidays, unlike the recognition for those of Christianity and other faiths.

“Everyone should be treated equally in the city. We will support every group. The fact that your flag won’t be flown at City Hall doesn’t mean your rights and freedoms will be impacted in any way or that your quality of life will be impacted in any way (if) your flag is not flown somewhere,” Ghalib said.

“We still serve people equally and we will protect them and do everything. My job is not to go out and ask people what is your background or what is your religion.”

“I'm not here to enforce my values on others. And I don’t want others to impose their values on me. I respect you, and your values, your lifestyle. You do whatever you want,” Ghalib said, noting he understands that lifestyle values may differ among many communities.

“It’s not my job to come and tell you this is right or this is wrong. But for you to try to enforce your values on me or your agenda, then of course you will face some resistance.”

Ghalib first ran for mayor in the August 2021 non-partisan election, in a contest which included the 16-year incumbent Karen Majewski, who is Polish, and two other candidates, who are Bengali and Yemeni Muslims. Many pundits believed that the three Muslim candidates would divide the Muslim vote in Hamtramck and result in Majewski being reelected.

But Ghalib took first place in the primary election followed by Majewski. And in the runoff election on Nov. 2, 2021, Ghalib won with a landslide 68 percent and Majewski received only 31 percent of the vote.

Ghalib said that when he took the oath of office to become mayor, “there wasn’t a single Yemeni employee working in the City Hall.”

He said his intent is to limit individualism and “treat everyone as equals.” Ghalib added that he is working to amend the city’s code to allow for the display of only four flags — of America, state of Michigan, city of Hamtramck and one representing veterans and prisoners of war — on publicly-owned property.

Ghalib said individuals can display whatever flags they want on their own property.

“Up to 95 percent of employees at City Hall were of a specific race or color. That is why I try now to diversify the City Hall as well. We started bringing people from different (communities), you know, to reflect the demographics of the city,” Ghalib said.

“And that is also challenging because the institutional knowledge is with a certain group of people. We try to train others and make them qualified and able to serve as well in case something happens. Because when I started, (officials in) big key positions resigned from the city, about 10 of them. And that was a crisis and we had to hire some firms to come and cover for us just because they (the officials) were not willing to work with us.”

Ghalib said he thought the resignations were “suspicious” but added: “We tried to diversify City Hall and represent everyone and (ensure) equal opportunity for everyone.”

Ghalib made his comments during an appearance on The Ray Hanania Radio Show broadcast Wednesday May 31 live in Detroit and Washington D.C. on the US Arab Radio Network and sponsored by Arab News.

You can listen to the radio show’s podcast by visiting ArabNews.com/rayradioshow.