A festering controversy over a plan to allow mosques to publicly broadcast their call to prayer over loudspeakers erupted into an ugly confrontation Tuesday evening in this old Polish enclave surrounded by Detroit.
About 80 people--Muslims and Christians--jammed the second floor chambers of the Hamtramck City Council to air their differences over a proposal that would amend the city's noise ordinance and clear the way for the amplified Arabic chant five times a day.
The hearing promptly degenerated into noisy arguments over religious preferences.
"I object to the content of the Arabic call to prayer. . . . It says Allah is the only God," said Bob Golen, of Hamtramck, whose remarks were greeted with applause and amens. "A U.S. citizen should not be subjected to the tenets of someone else's religion."
Abdul Alguzali, a Hamtramck businessman, said he and other Muslims "are citizens of this country, too." When Alguzali recited the call to prayer in Arabic, some in the crowd shouted "talk American" and "speak English."
At several times during the contentious hearing, Council President Karen Majewski called for civility. "We have the eyes of the nation upon us, and I hope we act appropriately," Majewski pleaded.
The Council voted 5-0 to hold a third and final reading of the ordinance next week. It would take effect 20 days after the approved measure is published.
Majewski said there is nothing preventing the call to prayer now. "What this does is allow us to regulate it in 30 days," she said.
Built on the foundation of immigration, this city of 23,000 is now mired in a hot debate over the most recent immigrant arrivals: Muslims. The Arab and Muslim presence in Hamtramck is chiefly responsible for a dramatic increase in the city's population. During the 1990s, census figures show, Hamtramck was one of the fastest-growing cities in the country.
Hamtramck's city government is in financial receivership. Severe budget trouble prompted the state to appoint a manager to run the city in December 2000. However, officials are confident they can overcome the money troubles and regain control of their city.
Where the auto industry of a century ago acted as a magnet for Polish immigrants, inexpensive housing has attracted Bosnians, Pakistanis, Albanians, Yemenis, Bengalis and Arabs. A bronze statue of Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II stands in a little brick park downtown, and the pontiff visited the city in 1987, but the community is changing.
People of Polish descent control the politics of Hamtramck, but its growth--and perhaps its future--is driven by Muslims. Evidence of that can be seen on Conant Avenue, a major commercial strip, where the New Polka Bakery is a neighbor of the Beirut Hair Salon and an Asian market that sells live chickens and halal meat.
Estimates indicate that Muslims make up one-third or more of the population, compared to about one-quarter for people of Polish descent. A measure of that status is contained in the proposed noise ordinance change.
The proposal would allow an amplified message over loudspeakers, between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The calls to prayer, depending on the volume, would be heard by many residents in this densely populated city of old bungalows. Front yards are postage stamp-size and front porches practically sit on the sidewalk. Only a few feet separate the houses.
"Living in Hamtramck is like living in a giant apartment building. You have to be very mindful of your neighbor," said Greg Kowalski, chairman of the Hamtramck Historical Commission. Kowalski, who did not attend the Tuesday hearing, said the controversy has been "blown way out of proportion."
"This is not about being anti-Arab or anti-Muslim. This is about noise. No one wants to discriminate," he said.
Religion, though, dominated the hearing. Muslim defenders of the amplified chant argue that the daily chimes from Roman Catholic churches are no different. If the chant is noise, so are the chimes, they say.
Mary Urbanski, a lifelong resident of Hamtramck, said the nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and the "bells are music." The chant, she said, "is not just a call to prayer . . . and I don't want to hear it five times a day."
A Muslim physician walked out of the hearing shaking his head and said, "I never knew they hated us so much." Another Muslim, Gabriel Alaziz, said he was "blown away by the level of intolerance I see here."
Darryl Thorne, a Southern Baptist who married a Muslim, said people in Hamtramck need to "separate church and state and mosque and state and deal with the issues that make people want to live here."
The fury inside City Hall was not reflected on the streets of Hamtramck on Tuesday. Alana Kiciak, who works at a downtown deli, said she thinks Muslims "have a right to their own religion. I hear the church bells all the time--why not the chant?"
And Archie Mendalski, an autoworker who was watering his front lawn, said he hadn't given the issue much thought. "I guess it all depends on how loud it is," Mandalski said.