After a burned Quran was found at the steps of the Islamic Center of Greater Lansing in September, public relations director Abdalmajid Katranji said he found out just how supportive the community was.

“The support that the East Lansing community gave us was beautiful,” he said. “People would call just to express their support, and we extend our support as well.”

The incident is almost forgotten now, he said. “It only brought our community closer together.”

Katranji said the people of the East Lansing and Mid-Michigan are phenomenal when it comes to acceptance of other cultures.

“East Lansing, with all of its diversity, feels more at home to some people than their own home countries,” Katranji said. “People are coming here to start their businesses and start their families.”

The inclusive environment is something other community leaders also said they appreciate, especially in light of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The holiday is meant not only to celebrate diversity, but also to re-examine and improve it, East Lansing City Councilmember Nathan Triplett said.

He said diversity is an especially important part of the East Lansing community, and makes it a unique place to live.

“The people of East Lansing are diverse, and a lot of it has to do with the presence of the university,” Triplett said. “It acts like a magnet to people with different backgrounds, including religion, race and sexual orientation.”

Elaine Hardy said she has the opportunity to watch the community come together every day in her role as chairperson of the Greater Lansing Area Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission and the Hannah Community Center coordinator.

During any given time at the center, there are young children taking swim lessons, seniors in aerobics and people of all ages in the fitness room, she said.

“East Lansing’s diversity brings to each of our lives things that we don’t have otherwise within our own secluded selves,” she said. “The community center is one of the many jewels in the crown of things that encourage diversity here.”

Katranji said East Lansing Mayor Vic Loomis and MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon are two leaders who deserve recognition for the diversity in the community.

“The leadership here at East Lansing and MSU are committed to celebrating diversity,” he said.

Hardy said after the shooting in Arizona that left six dead and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., in critical condition last weekend, everyone has to have a more civil attitude toward our fellow man.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day provides a chance for residents of East Lansing to look back on his legacy, she said.

“It is a chance for us to extend ourselves to our neighbors and nation,” Hardy said.

Katranji said Martin Luther King Jr. is an American hero.
“(He) is a hero to all of the community,” he said. “What he represented is what America is all about. We encourage the
community to recognize what he has done.”