building islam in detroit - exhibit panels

BUILDING ISLAM IN DETROIT

Building Islam in Detroit is a research project that documents the growth of mosques and Muslim

communities in greater Detroit over the last century. Since the project began in May 2004,

members of our research team have visited over fifty mosques and Islamic associations,

photographing them, recording their histories, and interviewing the people who established them.

This exhibit explores “building” as a process that creates both physical objects and social worlds.

Mosques are ideal examples of this creative process. They are sites at which Muslims give

collective, material expression to their religious beliefs. As architectural forms, mosques reveal

the cultural identities of their builders. Their locations tell the history of Muslim arrival and

settlement in Detroit. Mosques are also works of art, where sacred words, images, and sounds

intersect to produce spaces of unusual beauty. Most important of all, mosques are places where

Muslims come together to strengthen their community through teaching and communal prayer.

We hope this exhibit will help you appreciate the historical richness, diversity, and

influence of Islam in Detroit. Shaped by experiences of displacement and

opportunity, of discrimination and empowerment, the building projects on display

here are the groundwork for a Muslim American future.

Curators and Principal Investigators

Sally Howell Program in American Culture, University of Michigan

Andrew ShryockAnthropology, University of Michigan

Research Team

Omar Baghdadi Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan

Mucahit Bilici Sociology, University of Michigan

Mara Leichtman Anthropology, Michigan State University

Kate McClellan Anthropology, University of Michigan

Design Team

El Shafei Mohamed Photographer, Art and Design, University of Michigan(Unless otherwise stated, all photographs are by El Shafei Mohamed)

Elena GodinaGraphic Designer, University of Michigan

Karl LongstrethHead Librarian, Map Library, University of Michigan

Building Islam in Detroit has received generous support from the following University of Michigan programs: Grant Opportunities for Collaborative Spaces, Digital Media Commons; the Rackham Interdisciplinary Institute; the Islam/Art/America Initiative (International Institute); and the Islamic Studies Initiative (International Institute).

Minaret and dome, Islamic Center of America.

Students at the Muslim American Youth Academy. Photo by Sally Howell.

Reading the Quran before prayers, University Islamic Center of Detroit.

Floor Mosaic, Muslim Unity Center.

BUILDING ISLAM IN DETROIT: FOUNDATIONS / FORMS / FUTURES

BUILDING ISLAM IN DETROIT


BUILDING ISLAM IN DETROIT BUILDING ISLAM IN DETROIT BUILDING ISLAM IN DETROIT BUILDING ISLAM IN DETROIT

Today, roughly 150,000 Muslims live in greater Detroit, and they worship in over 50 mosques. Most

of these mosques are located in renovated banks, warehouses, old school buildings, storefronts,

and churches. Others are purpose-built, multimillion dollar facilities that include gymnasiums, social

service offices, private schools, and grand banquet halls.

Since 1990, the number of mosques in Detroit has doubled, with new mosques appearing in the

outer suburbs and the inner city alike. These building projects are the work of congregations

composed mostly of immigrants and their children, or converts and their families. Islam in Detroit is

widely perceived to be “new” or “foreign,” and recent surveys find that over two-thirds of the city’s

Muslims were born outside the US.

Few people realize that the rapid growth of Islam in Detroit is based on foundations laid by much

older Muslim communities, some of which date back to the late 19th century.

American Muslim Center.Photo by Sally Howell.

Baitul Islam Jame Masjid.

University Islamic Center of Detroit.

Albanian Islamic Center.Photo by Mucahit Bilici.

Detroit skyline.Photo by Philip Greenspun.

Windsor,Canada

Masjid an-Nur

Tijani Zawiya

Tawheed Center

Masjid al-Haqq

Masjid As-Salam

Masjid Oak Park

Zainabia Center

Imam Ali Mosque

Masjid Al-Iklas

Masjid al-Fatiha

Masjid Al-Burhani

Muhammad's Mosque

Daru Salam Center

Masjid al-Tawheed

Al-Islah Jame MasjidMuhammad's Mosque #1

Masjid Wali Muhammad

Madrasa Talimul Qur'an

American Muslim Center

Masjid Bait al-Mukarram

Masjid Mu'ath Bin Jabal

Islamic House of Wisdom

American Moslem Society

Albanian Islamic Center

Baitul-Islam Jame Masjid

Muslim Center of Detroit

Islamic Center of Detroit

Islamic Center of America

Islamic Council of America

Islamic Cultural Institute

Ar-Rasool Community Center

New Bosnian Islamic Center

Islamic Cultural Association

Dahira Taisiroul Hasir Touba

American Muslim Bekaa Center

Moorish Science Temple (#25)

The Qur'an and Sunnah Society

American Yemeni Islamic Center

Muslim Men in Fellowship Unity

Islamic Institute of Knowledge

Bosnian American Islamic Center

Islamic Center of North Detroit

Karbala Islamic Education Center

American Islamic Community Center

Muslim Community Center of Detroit

University Islamic Center of Detroit

Islamic Center of America (historic)

Islamic Organization of North America

Muslim Community of the Western Suburb

American Society of MuslimsMasjid of Detroit

Grosse Pointe Shores

Troy

Southfield

Farmington Hills

Royal Oak

Oak ParkFerndale

Madison Heights

Birmingham

Berkley

Bloomfield Hills

Orchard Lake

Hazel Park

Clawson

Farmington

Lathrup Village

Huntington Woods

Pleasant Ridge

Warren

Sterling Heights

Roseville

St Clair Shores

Fraser

Eastpointe

Center Line

Livonia

Taylor

Westland

Inkster

Wayne

Allen Park

Dearborn Heights

Ecorse

Garden City

Lincoln Park

River Rouge

Melvindale

Highland Park

Hamtramck

Harper WoodsGrosse Pointe Woods

Grosse Pointe Farms

Grosse Pointe Park

Grosse Pointe

Detroit

Dearborn

Detroit

FOUNDATIONSThis is the first Moslem mosque built in

this land and I am proud to have the first

prayer in it, as the first imam therein. This

mosque, although built for the followers of

Islam, will be open to the believers of all

religions for a place of rest, prayer and

meditation. Mohammedans believe in

worshipping but the one God. Mohammet,

on whom be peace and the blessings of

God, is a prophet of God who teaches us

how to come into communion with Him.

We are all children of the one God. There is no original sin. There is no eternal hell. The

religion of Islam treads underfoot all racial prejudices. Islam teaches its devotees that

when they go to any other country they must peacefully obey the laws of the government

of that country. Thus it is the sacred and religious duty of every Mohammedan here to be

a good citizen of America and to learn the language of the country, without which we

cannot understand each other rightly.

Dr. Mufti Mohammad Sadiq (from India)

Detroit News. Thursday, June 9, 1921

Muslims first came to Detroit in the 1890s. They were drawn to the city’s booming industrial

economy, and by the 1920s small Muslim enclaves had formed near automobile

manufacturing plants. Detroit’s early Muslims belonged to two groups: (1) immigrants from

parts of Europe (Bosnia and Albania) and the Middle East (Turkey and Greater Syria)

controlled by the Ottoman Empire; and (2) African Americans, most of them from the Deep

South. The Europeans and Middle Easterners were either Sunni or Shi`a. African Americans,

by contrast, embraced new, alternative versions of Islam framed in response to anti-Black

racism in the US. These movements included the Moorish Science Temple (founded by

Noble Drew Ali in 1913), the Ahmadiyya movement (which originated in India in the 1880s

and was brought to America in 1921 by Mufti Muhammad Sadiq), and the Nation of Islam

(founded in Detroit in 1930 by W.D. Fard).

Detroit’s first mosque – and the first in the U.S. – was built in Highland Park in 1921, when

the local Muslim population was said (in newspaper accounts) to be 16,000 strong. The

Highland Park mosque closed in 1923, but by the mid-1930s Arabs, African Americans,

Afghanis, and Indians had prayer spaces on Hastings Street, a road that connected Detroit’s

“foreign worker colonies” to “Paradise Valley,” the city’s largest African American

neighborhood. The oldest continuously occupied mosque in greater Detroit, the American

Moslem Society, was established in Dearborn in 1938. Albanians established their first

mosque in 1950, near Highland Park.

By 1971, most area Muslims worshipped in only fourcongregations: the Albanian Islamic

Center, in Harper Woods; the American Moslem Society, in Dearborn; Muhammad’s Temple

No. 1, in Detroit (renamed Masjid Wali Muhammad in 1976); and the Islamic Center of

America, in Detroit. Many of Detroit’s new mosques are linked historically to these

institutions, all of which still function as houses of prayer.

Pioneer members of the Nation of Islam, 1975. Photo by Shedrick El-Amin.

Congregation of Masjid Wali Muhammad.

Masjid Wali Muhammad, 2005. Federation of Islamic Associations banquet in Detroit, 1957. Courtesy of Joe Caurdy.

The Highland Park Mosque, circa 1927.

W.D. Fard (in framed portrait), Elijah Muhammad (seated), and Warith Deen Muhammad. Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Imam Khalil Bazzy (right) embraces Duse Mohammad Ali at Eid al-Fitr services, 1927. Detroit Free Press.

Local imams celebrate the opening of the Highland Park Mosque, 1921. Detroit Free Press.

Poster circulated to raise funds for the construction of the Highland Park Mosque, circa 1919. Courtesy of Carl Karoub.


FOUNDATIONS

When US immigration laws were liberalized in 1965, Muslims from the Arab world and South Asia came to Detroit in large

numbers, prompting local Muslims to reinterpret their beliefs and practices. After the death of Elijah Muhammad in 1975, his

son, Warith Deen Muhammad, brought the Nation of Islam into the Sunni mainstream. This move allowed for closer relations

among Detroit’s Muslim communities, but separation along ethnic, racial, and sectarian lines is still pronounced in area

mosques. Today, the largest Muslim populations in Detroit are Arab, South Asian, African American, European, and African.

Ethnically mixed congregations are a growing trend in Detroit. Pan-Muslim organizations are gaining influence, and calls for

Muslim unity are made urgently and often.

Muslims in Detroit are heirs to some of the earliest, most innovative attempts to make Islam part of American society. They are

keenly aware of their connections to Muslims in other American cities, in immigrant homelands, and in other parts of the world.

FOUNDATIONS

When US immigration laws were liberalized in 1965, Muslims from the Arab world and South Asia came to Detroit in large

numbers, prompting local Muslims to reinterpret their beliefs and practices. After the death of Elijah Muhammad in 1975, his

son, Warith Deen Muhammad, brought the Nation of Islam into the Sunni mainstream. This move allowed for closer relations

among Detroit’s Muslim communities, but separation along ethnic, racial, and sectarian lines is still pronounced in area

mosques. Today, the largest Muslim populations in Detroit are Arab, South Asian, African American, European, and African.

Ethnically mixed congregations are a growing trend in Detroit. Pan-Muslim organizations are gaining influence, and calls for

Muslim unity are made urgently and often.

Muslims in Detroit are heirs to some of the earliest, most innovative attempts to make Islam part of American society. They are

keenly aware of their connections to Muslims in other American cities, in immigrant homelands, and in other parts of the world.

They are also aware that, as Muslims, they share vital traditions

and beliefs. The foundations of Islam in Detroit, beneath and

beyond its local histories, are those revealed by the Prophet

Muhammad, who said:

“Islam means that you testify that there is no god but God and

that Muhammad is the messenger of God, and you establish

prayer, pay zakat (tithes), observe the fast of Ramadan, and

perform the pilgrimage (to Mecca) if you are solvent enough to

bear the expense of the journey.

Faith means that you affirm your belief in God, in His angels, in

His Books, in His Apostles, in the Day of Judgment, and you

affirm your belief in the Divine Decree about good and evil.

Sincerity means that you worship God as if you are seeing Him,

for though you don't see Him, He, verily, sees you.”

Shaykh Mohamed Jawad Chirri, founder,Islamic Center of America. Courtesy of Hussein Makled.

American Moslem Society, established in 1938.

American Moslem Society,circa 2005.

Islamic Center of America, established in 1963.

Imam Vehbi Ismael,

founder of the Albanian

Islamic Center.

Imam Hussein Karoub

at the American Moslem

Society, circa 1957.

Albanian Islamic Center.Photo by Mucahit Bilici.


Islamic Center of America, established in 1963.

Albanian Islamic Association, circa 1957. Courtesy of Wayne State University.


FEATURED MOSQUES

The ALBANIAN ISLAMIC CENTER, built in Harper Woods in

1963, boasts a distinctive, Balkan-style dome and minaret.

With a prayer area, offices, large social hall, classrooms,

and kitchen, the mosque serves an old Albanian American

community (already well established in the 1940s) and newly

arrived immigrants from Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, and

other countries. The center provides weekend religious

instruction in Arabic, Albanian, and English along with other

educational and service programs. The Albanian Islamic

Center is open to Muslims from all ethnic backgrounds, but

immigrants from Europe and their descendents form its core

membership. The mosque is unusual for its location in

Detroit’s eastern suburbs.

AL-ISLAH JAME MASJID was founded in 2000 by Bangladeshi

immigrants, most of them followers of Allama Abdul Latif Chow-

dhury (Fultholi). The first Bangladeshi mosque in Hamtramck,

the masjid moved to its current home, a renovated medical

clinic, in 2001. The group plans to renovate the building next

door and establish a madrasa (religious school) there. Al-Islah

attracted international media attention in 2004 when they

tried to broadcast the idhan (call to prayer) from a loudspeaker

outside the mosque. While the idhan is freely broadcast

in Dearborn and Detroit, many Hamtramck residents objected

to the practice, and the Al-Islah leadership found itself

embroiled in an election year battle with the City Council.

The matter was resolved in a special, citywide referendum,

which Al-Islah won handily.

The ISLAMIC CENTER OF AMERICA traces its origins to the

1950s, when a group of young Lebanese Americans asked Imam

Mohamad Jawad Chirri to help them establish Michigan’s first,

purpose-built Shi`i mosque. The Center dedicated their original

building on Joy Road in Detroit in 1963. The community has

thrived over the years, and this prosperity is visible in their new

facility on Ford Road in Dearborn, which opened in 2005. In

1997, the center established a primary school, the Muslim Ameri-

can Youth Academy. Their new mosque, at 120,000 square feet

in size, is much grander than the original structure, yet both

facilities have large social spaces that can accommodate huge

crowds for special events and holiday observances.

Imam Shuajb Gerguri discusses

the history of the Albanian Islamic

Center, his thoughts on being

a European Muslim, and his

aspirations for the future on

video track 1

Hajj Hussein Makled (right) relates

community history on video

track 3. Hajj Eide Alawan provides

a tour of the new Islamic Center,

under construction, on track 4

Abdul Motlib, President, discusses

the call to prayer campaign on

video track 2

The first Friday Prayer held at the new Islamic Center of America. Photo by Sally Howell.

Islamic Center of America.Photo by Sally Howell.

Photo by Mucahit Bilici. Albanian Islamic Center.Photo by Mucahit Bilici.

Al-Islah Jame Masjid. Minbar,Al-Islah Jame Masjid.

FEATURED MOSQUES

MASJID WALI MUHAMMAD is home to the first and the oldest

African American Muslim congregation. They settled in their

current location on Linwood Avenue in 1954, but their original

home was on Hastings Street in Detroit’s “Black Bottom.” It

was there that the Nation of Islam was founded by W.D. Fard

and led by the Honorable Elijah Mohammad in the 1930s.

Masjid Wali Muhammad received its current name in 1978,

when the Honorable Warith Deen Muhammad led the Nation

into Sunni Islam. Formerly called Muhammad’s Temple No. 1,

the masjid was re-dedicated as a mosque open for the five daily

prayers with a conventional prayer space (without chairs)

oriented toward Mecca.

MASJID MU`ATH BIN JABAL is located at the center of a

neighborhood that is almost entirely Yemeni. Established

in Detroit in 1976, the mosque began as a prayer space in

a coffee house. Today, it occupies an old church building

with an attached charter school. The sanctuary of the church

has been substantially enlarged and now serves as a prayer

space that can easily hold a thousand men. A large space

for women is set aside upstairs.

Mu`ath Bin Jabal is a focal point for the growing population

of Yemeni immigrants now settling along the border of

Hamtramck and Detroit. Their school, mosque, and stores

are the infrastructure of a strong, socially conservative

enclave. The mosque, in particular, is a stabilizing force in

the neighborhood.

Although the MUSLIM CENTER OF DETROIT traces its

immediate history to the establishment in 1985 of the Muslim

American Society by Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, the

community’s history extends back to the 1930s, when the

Nation of Islam was led by Warith Deen’s father, Elijah

Mohammed. The mosque is located on Davison Avenue,

in Detroit, and recently underwent a major expansion. It now

includes a large prayer hall, a gym, a social hall, classrooms,

and a kitchen. Located in a low-income neighborhood, the

center has an active da`wa (missionary) board and provides

a wide array of services to families and youth, including

counseling, job training, substance abuse recovery programs,

and a soup kitchen.

Saleh Alghaim, Director, and Abdo

Zandany, Secretary, discuss the

mosque’s history and its future

plans on video track 6

Imams Gary al-Kasib and Saleem

Rahman discuss the history of

Islam in Detroit and the creation

of Masjid Wali Muhammad on

video track 7

Imam Abdullah

Bey El-Amin

talks about inter-

faith activities in

Detroit and

about the future

of the Muslim

Center on video

track 8Muslim Center of Detroit.

Masjid Mu’ath Bin Jabal. Prayer space, Masjid Mu’ath Bin Jabal.

Masjid Wali Muhammad. Prayer space, Masjid Wali Muhammad.

Prayer space,Muslim Center of Detroit.


PRAYER

In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful

Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds

The compassionate, the merciful

Master of the Day of Judgment

You alone we worship and you alone we ask for help

Guide us on the straight path

The path of those who have received your blessing

Not those who have brought down your wrath

Or those who have gone astray

Despite their architectural and ethnic diversity, Detroit’s

mosques are united by their primary function, which is to

serve as houses of prayer. Muslims can pray at any mosque

of their choosing. In Detroit, some people worship at several

different mosques: one near their job, one on the way to and

from work, one closer to home, one near the relatives who

live in an adjacent suburb. Others attend only one mosque,

where they can socialize with friends and worship in a

familiar place.

Whatever their native language might be, Muslims recite

their daily prayers in Arabic, the language of the Qur’an.

The fatiha, which means “the opening,” is the first chapter

of the Qur’an (see above). It is the centerpiece of the ritual

prayer, and it captures the essential ideas of worship – of

praising God and asking for his help – as understood in

the Islamic tradition.

Islamic Center of America. Photo by Sally Howell.

Senegalese Mourides.Photo by Mara Leichtman.

Al-Fatiha, “The Opening.” American Moslem Society. Islamic Center of America.American Muslim Center.


PRAYER

Before each of the five daily prayers, a mu’adhdhin (“muezzin”

or “crier”) calls Muslims to worship. The call is made about

fifteen minutes before the prayer begins. Although each caller

has his own style, the words of the call remain the same,

beginning with four repetitions of allahu akbar (“God is great”).

In the Muslim world, the call to prayer is broadcast from

minarets and strongly amplified by loudspeakers.

In most Detroit mosques,

however, the call is made

inside the building.

Minarets are appealing as

decorative features, but

only larger congregations

can afford to build them,

and rarely are these

minarets functional.

In 1980, Muslims at the American Moslem Society in Dearborn

won a court decision allowing them to broadcast their call to

prayer publicly. Twenty-five years later, a similar controversy

surfaced in Hamtramck, a working class town located within

Detroit. Once solidly Polish and Catholic, Hamtramck now has

large Bangladeshi, Bosnian, and Yemeni populations. In 2005,

the city held a public referendum to determine if members of

Al-Islah Jame Masjid could broadcast their call to prayer. Those

in favor of the public call won the referendum by a wide margin.

These legal disputes occur almost exclusively in high density,

working class immigrant enclaves. In Detroit’s outer suburbs,

now home to professional, affluent Muslims, the call to prayer is

not broadcast over loudspeakers. Muslims in these

neighborhoods tend to live far from their mosques, and each

other. They see no point in broadcasting a call to prayer that

few Muslims would actually hear.

Islamic Center of America.American Moslem Society.

Al-Islah Jame Masjid.Photo by Sally Howell.

Hamtramck Muslims celebrate election victory, 2005.Detroit Free Press.

Masjid Mu`ath Bin Jabal. Al-Islah Jame Masjid.Islamic Center of America, historic.


PRAYER

The canonical prayer,

or salat, is performed five

times daily: in the early

morning, at midday,

in the afternoon, at

sunset, and in the

evening. These prayers

can be performed in any

clean space oriented

toward Mecca, and most

prayers are said at home or work, not in mosques. Still,

Detroit mosques are usually open from early in the morning

till late at night to accommodate anyone who wants to pray

inside. Movement through the mosque is structured by the

five prayers, with the heaviest traffic at noon on Friday. As

the time for prayer nears, parking lots fill, people flood the

mosque door, and late arrivals rush to find a place in the

rear prayer lines. Early arrivals read by themselves, quietly

recite passages from the Qur’an, or visit with friends.

Those who linger in the mosque after prayer often do

the same.

American Moslem Society. American Moslem Society.

Al-Islah Jame Masjid.

Al-Islah Jame Masjid.

Prayer beads,Islamic House of Wisdom.


PRAYER

Mosques are sacred spaces, and great care is given to

maintaining their ritual purity. Mosques have special washing

areas where people can clean themselves before prayer.

Shoes must never be worn in the main prayer area. Long

racks of shoes are a common sight in the entryways of most

mosques. Modesty requires that women do not pray in front

of men. Some mosques have a women’s area separated by

a partition of fabric or wood, or located in a room away from

the men’s section. At other mosques, men and women pray

Asymmetrical floor plan, Baitul Islam Jame Masjid.

Overflow parking,Masjid Mu`ath Bin Jabal.

Old and new qiblas,Albanian Islamic Center.

Women’s prayer space,American Muslim Center,

Shoe racks,American Moslem Society.

Islamic Center of America.Photo by Sally Howell.

Prayer stones,Islamic House of Wisdom.

in the same room, with men positioned at the front. A popular

trend in larger mosques is the women’s mezzanine, a balcony

located above and behind the communal prayer space.

The act of prayer can be solitary or communal, but Muslims are

encouraged to pray together on Fridays. During the Friday

noonday prayer, Detroit’s larger mosques are filled with

hundreds, sometimes thousands, of worshippers who form long

prayer lines, their movements choreographed in synchrony with

the imam’s recitations. In some Muslim-majority neighborhoods,

the call to prayer (and even the entire Friday sermon) is

broadcast over public loudspeakers. Work and traffic come to a

standstill, and mosque parking lots overflow in all directions.

In Detroit, where mosques are often located in buildings

originally constructed for other purposes, the space of prayer

does not always fit symmetrically with existing floor plans.

Muslims must face Mecca when they pray, even when their

buildings do not, and this requirement often gives Detroit

mosque interiors an “off center” look. Purpose-built mosques

are aligned toward Mecca, but Detroit’s older mosques often

have two qiblas, since techniques for determining the

direction of Mecca changed in the 1970s, when local

Muslims stopped using map orientations that did not factor in

the curvature of the earth’s surface.


MEDIA

EARLY PRINT MEDIA

One of the earliest Muslim publications in Detroit was

Al Risalah (The Message), which began as a pamphlet in

1921, published by Imam Hussien Karoub. In 1936 Karoub

debuted Islamic Unity Magazine in Arabic and English. In

1940, he followed with Al Hayat (Life), also a weekly paper.

Finally, in 1948, Imam Hussien and his son, Mike Karoub,

came out with The Arab American Message, which is still

produced today by Mike’s son, Carl Karoub. In the 1950s,

Imam Vehbi Ismail founded an Albanian language paper,

Muslim Life, which became the flagship journal (in English)

of the Federation of Islamic Associations of North America.

Detroit’s early mosques also published pamphlets designed

to answer questions about Islam, a practice that continues to

From the earliest days of mosque building in Detroit, Muslims

have played an active role in local media. The opening of the

Highland Park mosque in 1921 was reported in both The Detroit

Free Press and The Detroit News, and these newspapers have

continued to cover Islam in Detroit over the decades. Mean-

while, Detroit Muslims were developing their own print media,

which included some of the best and oldest Muslim newspapers

in the U.S.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Detroit mosques began broadcasting

Friday services on local radio and cable TV. Today, satellite

television enables Muslims to consume media from their home-

lands and other locations outside the U.S. Global media are

flourishing alongside local newspapers, pamphlets, and maga-

zines, and demand for old and new media is growing among

Detroit Muslims.

In recent decades, mainstream media in the U.S. have become

increasingly hostile to Islam. Muslims are countering negative

stereotypes through print and broadcast media designed to

educate non-Muslims about Islam. These efforts link contempo-

rary Muslims to the media pioneers of Muslim Detroit, who

sought to inform America about their faith and to make a place

for themselves alongside other American faith traditions.

Imam Hussien Karoub at work. Courtesy of Carl Karoub.

Mohammed Karoub and Hussien Karoub. Courtesy of Carl Karoub

Sister Clara Varnada of Detroit with copies of Bilalian News, 1975. Photo by Shedrick El-Amin.

this day. While immigrant Muslims

published dozens of small papers

and journals, African American

Muslims launched Muhammad

Speaks, one of the largest

minority weeklies in the United

States. First published by the

Nation of Islam (NOI) in 1962,

Muhammad Speaks reached

800,000 readers nationwide at its

peak. In 1975 it became The

Bilalian News, and it has since

evolved into The Muslim Journal.


MEDIA

Osama Siblani, publisher, ArabAmerican News. Photo by Jim West.

Book sale, Young Muslim Association, Fordson High School.

Library and media center,American Moslem Society.

Sampling the local Arabic-English press. Photo by Jim West.

Today, Detroit is a center of Muslim print journalism. The

Muslim Commentary, The Islamic Times, and The Muslim

Observer are currently among the most popular Muslim

periodicals in the U.S. Each is produced in Detroit. A new

generation of Detroit Muslims is publishing magazines targeted

to young, Anglophone, American-oriented audiences, such as

The Ripple Effect, The Seeker, and Al Iman.

American Muslims are also building new media networks that

will attract non-Muslim audiences and fight stereotypes about

Islam. Radio Islam, produced in Chicago, is one such effort.

Bridges TV, launched in 2004, is a national network that

provides Muslim-oriented programming. Both of these ventures

raised investment capital in Detroit and consider Detroit a

primary market.

Finally, American Muslims are active Internet users. Many

Detroit mosques have busy websites that provide their history,

make sermons available for downloading, and enable

congregants to chat with their imams about spiritual and

personal matters. National websites track theological and

political debates and monitor civil rights abuses against

Muslims. Hundreds of listserves help Detroit Muslims share

information and participate in local and global conversations

about Islam.


SOCIAL WORLD OF MOSQUESMosques are buildings.

They are also communities.

In Detroit, where Muslims

are a minority population,

mosques have become

alternative social worlds, where

people can make and remake

themselves as Muslims in a

non-Muslim society. To thrive in

this new milieu, Detroit

mosques must provide more

than prayer space. Large,

vibrant mosques routinely

include daycare facilities,

private schools, basketball

courts, libraries, media

resource centers, banquet

halls, and shiny industrial

kitchens equipped to feed

SOCIAL WORLD OF MOSQUESSOCIAL WORLD OF MOSQUES

hundreds of guests at weddings, Muslim holiday celebrations, and community fundraisers. Even

very small groups of Muslims, who meet in apartments and converted houses, have dreams of

someday building a mosque with a social hall and classrooms where their children can study

Islam. Detroit’s first mosques, built in the 1920s and 1930s, already had these features.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Greater Detroit is home to over a dozen charter schools that teach Arabic, the language of the

Qur’an. In some cases, these charter schools are informally affiliated with a mosque, from whom

they lease their space. There are also five private Islamic schools, along with a constantly

fluctuating number of “weekend schools,” where young Muslims are taught Arabic and other

homeland languages as well as the history, principles, and practices of Islam. Evening lectures

and Friday night forums have become popular among Muslim teens and young adults. Larger

mosques offer “mainstream” forms of moral instruction, such as Boy and Girl Scout troops,

athletics programs that emphasize “character development,” and summer camps for youth.Eid al-Adtha celebration,Muslim Unity Center.

Doing homework,Karbala Islamic Education Center.

Al-Hoda School,Islamic Cultural Association.

Friday market,Muslim Center of Detroit.

Eid al-Fitr Celebration,Muslim Unity Center.

Kids gather for noon prayer,Muslim American Youth Academy, Islamic Center of America.


‘Ashura observances,Islamic Center of America.

‘Ashura observances,Islamic Center of America.

Preparing special soup for ‘Ashura,Islamic Center of America. Ramadan breakfast,

Karbala Islamic Education Center.

Senegalese Mourides celebrate the birth of Amadou Bamba, founder of their religious order. Photo by Mara Leichtman.

SOCIAL WORLD OF MOSQUES

Waiting to break the fast, Masjid Muàth Bin Jabal.

CELEBRATION AND COMMEMORATION.

The Muslim calendar is filled with days of celebration,

fasting, mourning, and pilgrimage. The major Islamic holidays

are Eid al-Fitr (Feast of Fastbreaking), which marks the end

of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice), which

commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son,

Ismael. On these holidays, Detroit’s mosques are abuzz

with activity.

People attend early-morning prayer services and meals,

lavishing each other with holiday greetings. Dressed in their

best clothes, pockets bulging with treats for children, the

crowds that gather for the major feast days routinely overflow

their prayer spaces, filling sidewalks and parking lots with

worshippers. In much of the Detroit area, public schools are

closed during the observance of these holidays.

In the Muslim enclaves of Dearborn and Hamtramck, holiday

decorations adorn business districts, and hajj banners are hung

on the front porches of Muslims who have returned from their

pilgrimage to Mecca. Other occasions, such as Àshura,

a period of mourning for the martyred Imam Husayn, are

somber, with Shià Muslims gathering to remember sacrifices

made for them in the past and to renew their commitment to

the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and his family.


AESTHETICS

SEEING THE SACRED WORD

Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of mosque decoration in

Detroit is calligraphy. Beautiful writing fills the mosques, and

most of it represents passages from the Qur’an or the sayings

of the Prophet Muhammad. Calligraphy is visible on almost

every surface, and on every material, of the mosque. It appears

on fabric, as banners, or it is woven into cloth, as embroidery.

It is carved into clay and stone, or it is chiseled into wood.

Sometimes, it is produced by a skilled artist who has studied

calligraphy for years. More often today, it is mass produced, or

computer generated, or downloaded. Always, calligraphy is a

necessary and living tradition among Muslims. Its importance is

taught and learned in the classrooms of Detroit’s Muslim

schools, where childish hands learn to shape sacred words in

pen, ink, and crayon. The use of English in mosque calligraphy

is a growing trend in Detroit, and many key texts are now

presented in translation or in English only. Because the Qur’an

was revealed in Arabic, and most acts of worship require Arabic

recitation, the principal calligraphic designs in Detroit mosques

feature Arabic script.

Mihrab decorated with calligraphy, American Muslim Center.

Calligraphy,Baitul Islam Jame Masjid.

Decorating the dome, Islamic Center of America.Photo by Sally Howell.

Arabesque,American Muslim Center.

Embroidered calligraphy,Islamic House of Wisdom.

Banquet entrance, Islamic Center of America. Photo by Andrew Shryock.

Stone al-Fatiha carving,University Islamic Center of Detroit.


AESTHETICS

The Muslim house of prayer is often a beautiful place. It

can be striking for its simplicity or for its ornate designs. In

some Muslim traditions, the mosque should be plain to help

worshippers concentrate on prayer. In others, the mosque

should be colorful and filled with decorative motifs that

inspire worshippers to praise God. Both traditions are amply

on display in Detroit.

Aside from the contours of its physical space, the beauty

of the mosque is created through color, calligraphy, and

ornamentation. Many people believe that Muslims cannot use

images of the human form, or creatures, or any other figural

representation in their art. This practice is more common among

Sunni Muslims than among the Shi`a, whose mosques often

contain pictures of the Twelve Imams, historical events, and

contemporary religious leaders. In both Sunni and Shia

traditions, however, there is heavy reliance on calligraphy and

arabesque shapes to adorn the mosque.

Because Detroit’s Muslim communities are so diverse, their

mosques are built and decorated in several distinct styles. What

is attractive to Bangladeshis might not impress Syrians, and the

designs featured in poor, working class mosques might seem

out of place in a mosque that serves wealthy professionals.

Likewise, American-born Muslims might be put off by the tastes

of immigrant Muslims.

Exterior mural,Baitul Islam Jame Masjid.

Floor mosaic,Muslim Unity Center.

Window with view of dome,Islamic Center of America.

Painting of the martyrdomof Imam Hussein,Karbala Islamic Education Center.

Interior decoration,American Muslim Center.

Prayer space and dome,Islamic Center of America.

Arabic and English calligraphy,Muslim Unity Center.

The images and objects shown on these panels are drawn

from multiple locations in Detroit. They will not appear

uniformly attractive to any particular set of viewers, Muslim

or non-Muslim, but they reflect a common desire to make the

house of prayer beautiful, both to the human eye and in the

sight of God.



ARCHITECTURE

Wuduu,Islamic Association of North America.

Qibla under construction, Islamic Center of America.

Dome,Islamic Center of America.

Dome interior, Islamic Center of America.

Haram,American Muslim Center.

Minbar, Masjid Mua’th Bin Jabal.

To function as a site

of communal prayer, a mosque

should have certain architectural

features.

The six shown here are among

the most common. Together,

they create the look and feel

of mosque space.

The QIBLA wall and MIHRAB.

These features define the orientation for prayer. The qibla wall

indicates the direction of Mecca, the holy city of Islam. The

mihrab, a prayer niche, is located in the qibla wall and functions

as the spiritual center of the mosque, where the imam (the

prayer leader) stands to direct the prayer. The mihrab’s

niche-like form once served an acoustic purpose, but is now

preferred for aesthetic reasons.

The HARAM (sanctuary).

Prayers are held in this space. The haram is directly adjacent to

the qibla wall. Its size and shape can vary, but it is usually

covered by prayer rugs or a single carpet that has prayer lines

(and sometimes individual prayer spaces) as part of its design.

The MIDA’A or WUDUU (washing area).

This space is for ritual cleaning before prayers. It can

be inside the mosque, typically near the entrance, or in

a separate space nearby. Worshippers physically and

spiritually cleanse themselves here before entering

the haram.

Minaret and dome, Albanian Islamic Center.Photo by Mucahit Bilici.

Minaret,Islamic Center of America.Photo by Jim West.

The MINARA (minaret).

This tower or column was originally used as a high platform

from which to broadcast the call to prayer. Although they can

still be used this way, most minarets in the Detroit area are

purely decorative.

The QUBBA (dome).

This feature differs in significance and appearance across

regions. The dome’s appeal is rooted in its association with

Persian and Ottoman societies, but today its popularity

among Muslims is nearly universal.

The MINBAR (pulpit).

This raised structure allows the imam to preach to the

congregation from a position visually accessible to everyone.

Now large and sometimes very elaborately decorated,

minbars were originally simple objects consisting of

three steps.


ARCHITECTURE

ADAPTIVE AND INNOVATIVE FEATURES:

Diverse innovations have occurred in mosque design over the

centuries as Islam has spread into new parts of the world

and Muslim architectural tastes have changed. In American

contexts, mosques have acquired many new features.

These include banquet halls, industrial kitchens, classrooms,

entire schools, gymnasiums, large parking lots, libraries, and

media facilities in which newsletters, websites, and TV

programs are produced. It is now common for non-Muslims

to visit Detroit’s larger mosques, which offer guided tours and

educational workshops for people who want to learn about

Islam. Some mosques have reception desks, where guests

are welcomed. Some have coffee shops, where people

socialize before and after prayers, and gift shops, where

visitors can buy souvenirs. In future, several Detroit mosques

hope to create small, on-site museums that explore the history

of Islam in America.

Children’s play area, Muslim Unity Center.

Library and media center, American Moslem Society.

Community dinner,Muslim Unity Center.

Kitchen with industrial bread oven,Islamic Center of America.

Parking lot,Islamic House of Wisdom.

Lecture hall, Islamic House of Wisdom.

Playground,Muslim Unity Center.

Classroom,Islamic Center of America.

Muslims in Detroit are optimistic about the future.

Anti-Muslim prejudice is widespread, but most local Muslims

believe they are confronting stereotypes effectively, both as

individuals and with the help of civil rights watchdog

organizations like CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic

Relations). While doing research for this project, we have

seen that Muslims welcome the scrutiny of non-Muslims:

“The more people get to know us, the more positive their

images of Islam will be.” Many Muslims have come to Detroit

from other American cities, and from other countries, to live

with fellow Muslims and practice their faith. They insist that,

even after the 9/11 attacks, the US is a place where they

enjoy religious freedom, often more than they experienced in

their home countries.

“What is the future of Islam in Detroit? What would you like

to see, 10 or 20 years from now?” We asked dozens of

people this question. Their answers were fascinating, and

they conformed to several recognizable trends:

UNITY: “I see a future where the Muslims are immersed in

each other, not separated by race or nation.”

TRANSCENDING (IMMIGRANT) CULTURE: “I want to see

an Islam that is less associated with immigrant culture, a

more spiritual Islam. When I talk to people of other faith

traditions, I don’t want Arab culture, or Pakistani culture, or

whatever … I don’t want that getting in the way.”

TRANSCENDING (AMERICAN) CULTURE: “We are

improving our knowledge of Islam. People moved away from

the true Islam here in America. Now we are moving back to

it. The education and leadership are better today. I hope we

will stay on the straight path.” ANXIETY ABOUT MUSLIM

YOUTH: “I want us to keep our kids close to the faith. We

need to give them activities and things to do to keep them off

the streets. There are a lot of bad things around them. We

are losing many of our kids.” PRIDE IN MUSLIM YOUTH:

“We need to make a smooth transition to the next

generation. We look at our children and we’re humbled.

They’re accomplishing so much. They are teaching us how

to be better Muslims. They have energy and confidence we

never had.” EXPANSION: “I think we will continue to grow.

There will be more mosques, bigger mosques. More

schools, too. I would like to see more people accepting

Islam. I think that will happen.” TRIUMPHALISM: “I see

American Muslims taking a leadership role in Detroit and in

the Muslim world. We’re at the center here. We understand

America better than anybody. We can be a link between the

East and the West.” INTEGRATION: “I want to see Islam

becoming something normal and accepted, a normal part of

American society, like Christianity or Judaism.”

School and social hall under construction, Masjid al-Burhani. Photo by Andrew Shryock.

Eighteen mothers pose with their babies, all born in 1979-80.Photo by Shedrick El-Amin.

The Wallace family at a street festival in Dearborn. Photo by Steve Gold.

Children celebrating Ashura at the Islamic Center of America.

FUTURES


FUTURES

Protesting civil rights violations against Muslim Americans.Photo by Jim West.

Demonstrating in support of Palestine.Photo by Jim West.

Swearing in as new American citizens.Photo by Jim West.

Christian, Jewish, and Muslim clergy join together to denounce mosque vandalism.Photo by Jim West.

Marketing real estate to Muslims.

Muslim section of Rosedale Cemetery.Photo by Mucahit Bilici.

Exercising the right to vote.Photo by Jim West.

FUTURE TRENDS

ECUMENICALISM: Muslims are creating new ties to

Christian and Jewish communities. IMMIGRATION: Muslims

continue to arrive from overseas; this flow is the impetus

for most new mosque construction. GATHERING IN

ENCLAVES: old Muslim enclaves in Dearborn are growing,

and new ones are taking shape in Hamtramck and Detroit.

DISPERSING INTO THE SUBURBS: Muslims are establish

ing their presence in middle and upper middle class

communities. CONVERSION: local mosques are filled

with converts, who are often the most active members.

POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT: Muslims are fielding candidates

for public office and organizing to present their interests

to policymakers and government officials. TOTAL ISLAMIC

LIFESTYLE: Muslims are creating their own media

networks, commercial districts, social service agencies,

healthcare facilities, banks, daycare centers, schools,

funeral homes, and graveyards.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

Detroit’s mosques are always changing. Congregations that

are now majority immigrant or convert will, over time, include

more people who were born in the US and grew up Muslim.

In the past, immigrants and American-born Muslims have

struggled to share the same mosques. Sometimes they

do not agree about what a mosque should be, how Islam

should be practiced, and in what language(s) it should be

taught. These disagreements are constantly producing

new mosques.

As long as the US pursues imperial policies in the Middle

East, conducting wars in and against Muslim countries,

Islam will be portrayed in American media as a dangerous,

alien faith. Muslims will be asked to “prove” they are

American, and this demand will affect the way mosques

are designed and managed and how Muslims interact with a

larger, non-Muslim society.

Muslims in Detroit also face internal social pressures – racism,

intolerance, political exclusion, and poverty – that have

complicated their building projects since the 1920s. According

to a newspaper story about the closing of the Highland Park

Mosque in 1922, the mosque failed for many reasons:

Islamites in the coffee houses and cafes of the city… said that

the Imam, Mufti Muhammad Sadiq, who has been called here

by Karoub, preached an advanced, reformed Mohammedanism

which they could not accept. Others expressed dissatisfaction

with Karoub’s financing of the mosque. Still others said the

impossibility of joining together various nationalities which

were politically hostile was the cause of the failure.

Detroit’s past and present are visible in this account.

Ethnic, racial, financial, and doctrinal conflicts are still part

of mosque life; they will continue to play their double role

as motivating forces and obstacles to be overcome in future

attempts to build (and renew) Islam in Detroit.


building islam in detroit - exhibit panels

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