First for Canada. North America?

[mako88sb]

We had our civic election Monday here in Calgary and Canada's first Muslim mayor will be taking the office soon. For those of you unfamiliar with Calgary, we do have a bit of a red-neck reputation. The outcome was pretty surprising but I have to admit Naheed Nenshi ran a pretty intelligent campaign and seemed to win over a large amount of non-Muslims. Should be interesting to see how the next 3 yrs play out. Some have referred to him as the first North American Muslim mayor but I can't seem to find anything confirming or denying that claim.


http://www.calgarysun.com/news/calga.../15753416.html

[Oberon]

Oooh, this thread is going to get real interesting real fast...

[FIREWALL]

The voters have spoken. Good luck to the new Mayor.

[AVGWarhawk]

We got a Muslim in the....oh nevermind...... I'm sure he will do just fine.

[Bilge_Rat]

Made the news in Montreal as well.

I heard him interviewed on CBC radio last night ("As it happens"), sounds like a bright guy, Harvard educated, pro-business. If the interviewer had not pointed out his religion, I never would have guessed.

[CCIP]

As I keep saying, you can't lump all Muslims together as Osama-loving, Jew-hating Jihad-junkies. Some of the brightest, most ethical and most open-minded people that I've worked with in Canada have been Muslim. Hell, two of the three people on my thesis committee are Muslim, and I'd trust them with their understanding of Canadian society and politics more than I would many anglo- or franco-Canadians.

I have a couple of Calgarian friends, both of whom seem quite happy with this. One is nominally Muslim, and also happens to be a bass player in a punk band. Average sort of kid who gets along perfectly well with the rest of Canada. Why can't the rest of us?

While extremists can go to hell, let's not assume anyone who has a religious affiliation stands on the extreme side of it.

[Méo]

Originally Posted by CCIP

While extremists can go to hell, let's not assume anyone who has a religious affiliation stands on the extreme side of it.

Of course not. There are between 0,9 and 1,4 billion (depending on sources) muslims in the world. If all of them were extremists, we would know.

[August]

Might be a first for Canada but it already has happened in the US and with an interesting twist.

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpps/news/new...100706_8512894

New Jersey Town Elects Muslim Mayor, Jewish Deputy
A First In The U.S.

A suburban New Jersey township elected a Muslim mayor and an Orthodox Jewish man as his deputy in what was thought to be a nationwide first, U.S. broadcaster ABC reported Tuesday.
Teaneck's nonpartisan Township Council voted to appoint both men last week to the two-year positions.
The community of about 39,000 people -- which has large African-American, Jewish and Muslim populations -- was also one of the first places to voluntarily integrate its public schools during the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

[Capt. Morgan]

Originally Posted by mako88sb

...Naheed Nenshi ran a pretty intelligent campaign and seemed to win over a large amount of non-Muslims....

That's an understatement. I just heard that he garnered more votes in this election then were cast for all candidates - combined, in the previous one. (Sept 20th interview with Anna-Marienta Tremonti CBC, The Current) Sounds like he's won over everybody.