Islam is practiced by several Muslim American groups in Metro Detroit.
Islam is practiced by several Muslim American groups in Metro Detroit.
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2015) |
The first mosque in the city was the Highland Park Mosque, and the first imams who lived in Detroit were Kalil Bazzy and Hussein Adeeb Karoub. This first mosque failed in 1922. A multiethnic coalition founded the Universal Islamic Society (UIS), the city's second mosque, in 1925. [1]
Early Muslim communities in Detroit "navigated turbulent periods of xenophobia, racism (anti-black and anti-Asian), Orientalist stereotyping, anti-Muslim prejudice, economic depression, and war." [2] By the mid-20th century, however, Muslims in Detroit were seen as an upwardly-mobile, modern group on "easy terms with American patriotism." [2] During this time, while the first national organizations for the advancement of Muslim issues began to sprout up across the county, many Muslim activists, political and spiritual leaders began to rise to prominence in Detroit. The city was seen as "a harbinger of successful Muslim incorporation in American society... by Muslims and non-Muslims alike." [2]
The character changed in Detroit's Islam in the 1970s when the conversions of the members of the Nation of Islam to mainstream Islam took place, and when immigration from India, southern Lebanon, Pakistan, and Palestine occurred. [1] B. D. Singleton of the California State University, San Bernardino wrote that the older Muslim population were often "marginalized or shut out of" institutions they themselves had created. [3]
In the 2000s a Bengali mosque in Hamtramck named the Al-Islah Jamee Masjid wanted permission to broadcast the adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, from loudspeakers outside of the mosque and requested this permission from the city government. It was one of the newer mosques in Hamtramck. Sally Howell, author of Competing for Muslims: New Strategies for Urban Renewal in Detroit, wrote that the request "brought to a head simmering Islamophobic sentiments" in Hamtramck. [4] Muslims and interfaith activists supported the mosque. Some anti-Muslim activists, including some from other states including Kentucky and Ohio, participated in the controversy. [4] Howell added that the controversy, through an "international media storm", gave "a cathartic test of the 'freedoms' we were said to be 'fighting for' in Afghanistan and Iraq" to the remainder of the United States. [4] In 2004 the city council voted unanimously to allow mosques to broadcast the adhan on public streets, making it one of the few U.S. cities to allow this to occur. Some individuals had strongly objected to the allowing of the adhan. [5]
In 2013 the city council of Hamtramck became the first in the U.S. that was Muslim majority. [6] [7]
By 2015 many Muslim women in the Detroit area asked to be able to wear hijab in public places and in any identification photographs. Several municipalities are having to determine how to deal with producing identification photographs of Muslim women who are under arrest. [8]
By 2022, there were more tensions between the Muslim and LGBTQ voting groups in Dearborn and Hamtramck in regards to LGBTQ materials in schools. This was a political shift, in which Christian groups now courted Muslim groups which they previously opposed, in order to get more voters for politically conservative causes. [9] On June 13, 2023, the Hamtramck City Council introduced a resolution prohibiting the display of flags representing "any religious, ethnic, racial, political, or sexual orientation group" on city property, which was widely considered a targeted ban on the rainbow flag. [10] Following three hours of public comment, the Council passed the resolution unanimously. [11] Current mayor Amer Ghalib opposed displaying the pride flag, while former Mayor Karen Majewski had supported displaying the LGBT pride flag. [12]
The authors Abdo Elkholy, Frances Trix, and Linda Walbridge, all, as paraphrased by Sally Howell, stated that "relations between Albanian Muslims and other Muslims in Detroit were limited at best." [13]
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has a Michigan chapter, [14] headquartered in Southfield. [15]
Mosques in Dearborn include the Islamic Center of America and the Dearborn Mosque. The First Albanian Bektashi Tekke in America serves the Albanian-American Bektashi Sufi community. [16]
In Hamtramck the Bengali community has established mosques, including Al-Islah Jamee Masjid. [17] In addition, in Hamtramck the Yemeni community established the Mu'ath bin Jabal Mosque (Arabic : مسجد معاذ بن جبل), [18] which was established in 1976. [19] In 2005 the mosque, located just outside the south eastern border of Hamtramck, was the largest mosque out of the ten within a three-mile radius.
The First Albanian Bektashi Monastery (Tekke) opened in Taylor in 1953. Baba Rexheb, an Albanian Sufi, had established it. [13] In 1963, the Albanian Islamic Center in Harper Woods opened. [20]
Islamic day schools in the Detroit area include:
As of 2015 Michigan Islamic Academy, a K-12 Islamic day school in Ann Arbor, has students who come from Metro Detroit. [23]
In a thirty-year period ending sometime prior to 2010 Dearborn Public Schools and Detroit Public Schools both developed policies to accommodate Arab and Muslim students in collaboration with administrators, parents, teachers, and students. Policies adopted by the districts included observances of Muslim holidays, Arabic-language programs, policies concerning prayer, and rules regarding modesty of females in physical education and sports. [24] Since the early 1980s Dearborn district schools have vegetarian meals as alternative to non-halal meals. As of 2010 some schools use discretionary funds to offer halal meals, but most schools do not offer halal meals since they cannot get affordable prices from distributors. [25]
In 2005 Highland Park Schools made plans to attract Arab and Muslim students resident in Detroit and Hamtramck. [26] Dr. Theresa Saunders, the superintendent of the school system, hired Yahya Alkebsi (Arabic : يحيى الكبسي), a Yemeni-American educator, as the district's Arab Muslim consultant. It added Arabic-speaking teachers and began offering instruction in Arabic. Sally Howell, author of Competing for Muslims: New Strategies for Urban Renewal in Detroit, said that the district began treating "Muslim families more directly like consumers". [24] Howell said that the district agreed "to segregate Muslim students from mainstream classrooms" but that the district routinely denied that this was the case. [24] Alkebsi said that he would bring halal food to HPS schools, but he was unable to do so. The district instead had vegetarian options. [25]
In 2022 there were political controversies in the district regarding LGBTQ materials in schools at Dearborn Public Schools. [27] In 2022, there were protests that advocated for removing certain books and protests that advocated against districts removing such books. [28] The district chose to discontinue holding seven titles. [29] Much of the impetus against LGBTQ books was driven by conservative Muslim advocates, who were backed by conservative Christian advocates. [9]
The number of halal-certified restaurants in Metro Detroit grew from 89 in 2010, [30] to 236 in 2014. [31]
Religious leaders:
Elected officials:
Rima Fakih winner of the Miss USA and Miss Michigan pageants in 2010. [32]
Ethnic groups:
Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Dearborn borders Detroit to the south and west, roughly 7 miles (11.3 km) west of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976, ranking as the seventh-largest city in Michigan. Dearborn is best known as the home of the Ford Motor Company, and the birthplace and hometown of its founder, Henry Ford.
Hamtramck is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An enclave of Detroit, Hamtramck is located roughly 5 miles (8.0 km) north of downtown Detroit, and is surrounded by Detroit on most sides. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 28,433, and was by far the most densely populated municipality in Michigan. It is notable as the only Muslim-majority city in the United States.
Dearborn Mosque is a mosque belonging to the American Moslem Society in Dearborn, Michigan. It was built in 1937 by the nascent Islamic community, and was only the second mosque constructed in the United States. The building is three stories high and almost an entire city block on the intersection of Vernor and Dix Streets.
The Dearborn Public Schools is a school district that includes the entire city of Dearborn, Michigan and a small portion of Dearborn Heights, both in Greater Detroit. Dearborn Public Schools is the third largest school district in Michigan, serving 20,000 students. The district had a $233 million budget for 2021.
The Islamic Center of America is a mosque located in Dearborn, Michigan, in the United States. The 120,000 sq. ft. facility is the largest mosque in North America and the oldest purpose-built Shia mosque in the United States, as well as the second oldest mosque in the United States after 'Asser El Jadeed which originally opened in 1924 in Michigan City, Indiana. Although the institution dates back to 1963, the center's current mosque opened in 2005. With its large Shia Arab population, Dearborn is often called the "heart of Islam", especially for Shi'ism, in the United States.
Sayyid Hassan al-Musawi al-Qazwini is an Iraqi-American Shia Imam.
Hamtramck Public Schools (HPS) is a public school district based in the city of Hamtramck, Michigan (USA) in Greater Detroit.
Al-Islah Mosque, also known as the Al-Islah Islamic Center or the Al-Islah Jame Masjid, is a mosque following the Sunni tradition in Hamtramck, Michigan. It was founded in 2000 by immigrants from Bangladesh, of which a large community exists in Hamtramck. Al-Islah Mosque is currently expanding to a bigger building next door.
The Dearborn mosque bombing plot was an incident on January 24, 2011, when American man Roger Stockham was arrested and charged with terrorism and possession of illegal fireworks in the parking lot of Islamic Center of America, a Shia mosque in Dearborn, Michigan.
As of the census of 2010, there were 5,196,250 people, 1,682,111 households, and 1,110,454 families residing within the Detroit–Warren–Ann Arbor Combined Statistical Area. Within the Detroit–Warren–Dearborn Metropolitan Statistical Area, there were 4,296,250 people residing. The census reported 70.1% White, 22.8% African-American, 0.3% Native American, 3.3% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.2% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.2% of the population. Arab Americans were at least 4.7% of the region's population.
In 2004, Metro Detroit had one of the largest settlements of Middle Eastern people, including Arabs and Chaldo-Assyrians in the United States. As of 2007 about 300,000 people in Southeast Michigan traced their descent from the Middle East. Dearborn's sizeable Arab community consists largely of Lebanese people who immigrated for jobs in the auto industry in the 1920s, and of more recent Yemenis and Iraqis. In 2010 the four Metro Detroit counties had at least 200,000 people of Middle Eastern origin. Bobby Ghosh of TIME said that some estimates gave much larger numbers. From 1990 to 2000 the percentage of people speaking Arabic in the home increased by 106% in Wayne County, 99.5% in Macomb County, and 41% in Oakland County.
Yemeni Americans are Americans of Yemeni ancestry. According to an estimate in 2010, more than 100,000 Yemenis live in the United States.
The LGBT community in Metro Detroit is centered in Ferndale, Michigan, as of 2007. As of 1997, many LGBT people live in Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, and Royal Oak. Model D stated in 2007 that there are populations of gays and lesbians in some Detroit neighborhoods such as East English Village, Indian Village, Lafayette Park, and Woodbridge and that the concentration of gay bars in Detroit is "decentralized".
Metro Detroit includes Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and other groups.
The organization Global Detroit stated that the largest group of ethnic Albanians not in Europe is in Metro Detroit. As of 2014, 4,800 ethnic Albanians live in Macomb County, making up the fourth-largest ethnic group in that county, and the highest concentration of Albanians in Metro Detroit.
Old Islam in Detroit: Rediscovering the Muslim American Past is a 2014 book by Sally Howell, published by the Oxford University Press. It discusses the Muslims of early 20th century Detroit, Michigan, and Detroit prior to 1970.
The InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit is a faith-based civic organization founded in 2010 by members of a Detroit-based interfaith group known then as the Interfaith Partners. Its headquarters are in Oak Park, Michigan.
Mirza Ghalib (Victor) Begg is an Indian-born Muslim American author, philanthropist and community leader. Alongside his column-writing and community activism, Begg is a former entrepreneur and businessman who opened several furniture stores throughout metro-Detroit in the 1980s.
A statue of Orville L. Hubbard was installed in 1989 in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. The sculpture was removed in June 2020.
The Albania-American Bektashi Teqe in Michigan is a Bektashi Sufi tekke located in Taylor, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Baba Rexheb, a Bektashi community leader who had immigrated to the United States from Albania. As the first Bektashi building founded in the United States, the tekke was consecrated on May 15, 1954.