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The Record - January 2, 2007
Muslim mayor avoids mixing politics, religion
Maya Kremen
PROSPECT PARK -- The mayor's voicemail is full of pleas. Two residents want handicapped parking permits. A man who's moved out of state is trying to pay parking tickets. And there's a woman facing eviction.
His cellphone buzzes. The office phone rings. He picks it up.
"Hey, what's up," Mayor Mohamed Khairullah says. "Assalam alaikum. I got your e-mail."
Khairullah, 31, set a precedent in November by becoming the state's first elected Arab-American Muslim mayor. Now he's all about proving that, like any good politician, a Muslim can serve the public without mixing religion into it.
You'll find the Quran in his office. But it's wedged between essential reading for this job: a municipal manual and a flood insurance study.
Deliver the goods to everyone, and then you can exert personal perspective. It's a strategy he imparts to other Muslims and Arabs….
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