Source: USINFO
Washington – Houston City Councilman M.J. Khan, a Muslim American originally from Pakistan, answered questions sent from journalists and students in Morocco, India, Sri Lanka and Liberia about his political career and about Muslims’ growing political involvement in the United States.
“My election was significant in the fact that I come from a different culture, a different background, a different religion, and yet people voted for me,” he said during the recorded interview hosted March 5 by the U.S. State Department.
Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States, with a Muslim population of roughly 250,000, Khan said. The district he represents, which does not have a significant Muslim population, is overwhelmingly Christian. The ethnic-racial makeup of his district is largely Hispanic and also includes African Americans, whites and Asians.
Khan, a Republican, was first elected to city council in 2003 and has been re-elected once since. He will seek re-election again in 2007.