"The city council decided to stay neutral on such controversial issues. Public spaces and city properties are shared spaces among all residents and should not be used by special interest groups to promote their agenda. We just specified which flags to be allowed to fly on city properties: US flag, State, city and POW flags are allowed. Everything else is not.
No other group complained except the LGBT, because everyone believes it's fair and just decision. The city treats and serves everyone equally, no discrimination or preferential treatment," Ghalib said.
He added, "I, as a mayor, as well as
the city council don't represent all American Muslims, we just act on the best interest of our city and our residents. Muslims are diverse and hold different views about these issues, so why generalizing! I disagree with some Muslim elected officials in the same district or in neighboring cities. Acting as victims of American Muslims is an exaggerating response. We feel that we are being disrespected in the only Muslim majority city, where
some political groups try to enforce their values on us and are not willing to compromise."