City Council Meetings to Begin with Muslim Prayers
Hartford's city council has invited imams to perform Islamic invocations to begin meetings in September.
In the wake of the battle over a mosque at Ground Zero, a move by the Hartford City Council is sure to have its critics.
The Council announced Tuesday that it has invited local imams to perform Islamic invocations at the beginning of the Council meetings in September.
An e-mail from the Common Council called it "an act of solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters."
The email even referenced the ongoing issue in New York. "One of the goals of the Council is to give a voice to the many diverse peoples of the City, which is especially important given the recent anti-Islam events throughout the country."
Council President rJo Winch called it an important move for the Council.
"I feel it is very important that, as a Council, we project a culture of inclusiveness in the City of Hartford. Too often it is our differences that divide us. In my opinion, it is our combination of differences that makes us strong," Winch said.
On Facebook, Council Minority Leader Luis Cotto wrote: "We start every single council meeting with a prayer. 99% of the prayers are Christian based, and in three years I recall one Rabbi coming through."
Follow us on Twitter @NBCConnecticut, on Facebook, and sign up for breaking news SMS alerts on your phone by texting “CTBREAKING” to 622669.
Posted Tuesday, Sep 7, 2010 - 6:14 PM EST
