At 22, Georgia Rep. Akbar Ali, D-Lawrenceville, is the state’s youngest lawmaker. Whether he was organizing climate marches in high school or rechartering the Gwinnett Young Democrats, Ali has long been civically engaged.
The driving force behind Ali’s desire to serve the community dates back to 2010 when the Gwinnett County mosque he grew up in, Dar-e ‘Abbas, became what he described as the center of a hate crime movement. The mosque wished to expand its property but its rezoning applications were denied by the Lilburn City Council multiple times.
Ali said threats of arson and other violence spread throughout his community, ending only after former President Barack Obama’s Department of Justice stepped in.
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