(JTA) — A practicing Muslim and an Orthodox Jew have been chosen to run a New Jersey township.
Mohammed Hameeduddin was picked last week by the Teaneck Township Council to serve as mayor and Adam Gussen was chosen as deputy mayor for two-year terms.
Hameeduddin, Teaneck’s first Muslim mayor, is one of only a handful of Muslims to lead a U.S. municipality.
The leaders attended middle school together in Teaneck, which has a large Orthodox Jewish population, and both attended Rutgers University, according to ABC News.
"Nowhere else is this possible," Hameeduddin told ABC. "The opportunity to bring two communities together and break down stereotypes that have belittled our nation is both monumental and humbling."
