HAMTRAMCK Saad Almasmari is once again serving the Hamtramck community on its City Council, after former Councilwoman Andrea Karpinski resigned following years of bitter disputes within the body.
Almasmari had previously served since 2015, but failed to recapture his seat at last year’s election. During that reelection campaign, his outstanding property tax debt put his eligibility in question, per the city’s charter.
That question became irrelevant when he failed to secure his seat in the November 2019 election anyway.
With Karpinski resigning, Almasmari was in line to be take her place as the person who received the required amount of votes in the previous election. With his tax debt still outstanding in the days leading up to his reappointment, according to public records, his chances on serving on the Council again came under jeopardy.
Marijuana and Muslim religion clash as 2nd dispensary slips into Michigan town
Updated Dec 22, 2020;
Muslim dogma, marijuana profits, lawyers and politics have collided to create a municipal mess in the Detroit suburb of Hamtramck.
Early last month, Hamtramck’s first retail marijuana shop, Pleasantrees, to the surprise of nearly all, popped up in a former Polish veteran’s club within an earshot of the Abu-Bakr Al-Siddique Islamic Center’s frequent call to prayer.
As many Americans’ views of marijuana shift and it becomes more socially acceptable, some Michigan Muslim communities remain staunchly against it, as illustrated by the conflict in which Hamtramck is currently embroiled.