Muslim-majority US city renames major road after former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia

Three-time Bangladesh PM Begum Khaleda Zia passed away on December 30, 2025. (Courtesy: Reuters file photo)

A city in the US state of Michigan has formally cleared a proposal to rename one of its major roads to Khaleda Zia Street in honour of the former Bangladesh Prime Minister and chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Zia passed away on December 30 while undergoing treatment in a Dhaka hospital. She was laid to rest with state honours the following day at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, beside the grave of her husband, Zia ur Rehman.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said that the Hamtramck City Council has approved a proposal to rename 'Carpenter Street' to 'Khaleda Zia Street'. Currently, four councilors of Bangladeshi origin are serving in Hamtramck City Council.

According to the BNP Media Cell, this is not the first instance of a Bangladeshi leader being honoured on American soil. A street in Chicago was previously named after the late president Ziaur Rahman.

A city in Michigan's Wayne County, Hamtramck is the most densely populated municipality in the state. It is the first city in the US to have an entirely Muslim-majority population.

Hamtramck became a Muslim-majority city in 2013. In 2022, Hamtramck became the first US city with an all-Muslim city council.

For the city's Bangladeshi residents, the decision to rename the street is widely viewed as an acknowledgment of their cultural roots and their role in shaping Hamtramck's social life.

The official unveiling ceremony is expected to draw significant participation from the Bangladeshi-American community across the Midwest.