A New Jersey mayor declared that his city is the “capital of Palestine” and “the fourth holiest city in the world” during the kickoff to Ramadan last month, footage shows.
Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh made the remarks at a Feb. 28 Hilal Lighting Ceremony surrounded by other lawmakers and community leaders in the city with the highest Muslim population in the Garden State.
“I’m not the one who said it, but I heard people say that Paterson is probably the fourth most halal or holiest city in the world. Jerusalem, Mecca, Medina and Paterson, New Jersey,” the 50-year-old Democrat said.
“Paterson is the capital of Palestine in the United States of America,” he later added.
“Paterson, as I’ve stated before, is the fourth holiest city in the world: Jerusalem, Mecca, Medina and then Paterson, New Jersey.”
Sayegh, who became Paterson’s first Arab-American mayor when he was elected in 2018, rattled off ways the city has worked to celebrate Islamic traditions, including giving students off for religious holidays and presenting youngsters halal food options in schools.
He also claimed that Paterson was on the shortlist of holiest cities in the world.
Saudi Arabian cities Mecca and Medina are the sites of the Grand Mosque and Prophet’s Mosque, respectively. With Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque, the three are considered the three holiest sites in Islam.
Kairouan, Tunisia is considered the fourth holiest city connected to Islam.
Ramadan is a holy month in which Muslims fast from dawn until sunset daily. The holiday started on Feb. 28 and will end on March 29.
Paterson has an estimated Muslim population of 30,000 out of the more than 150,000 residents that live in the city.
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