Islamic Center of America - Timeline Event
Time Period
09-20-1963
Description
In the 1940s, Lebanese Muslims who had settled in the Detroit area of Michigan recruited an imam from Lebanon to be their religious leader.
As the congregation grew, they began to raise funds for a building that would include a domed prayer room, lecture hall, two classrooms, a kitchen and office space. The Islamic Center of America opened its doors in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, near the University of Michigan, on Sept. 20, 1963. With more Muslims moving to the area, the center was expanded, with additional classrooms, an enlarged social room and a minaret.
In addition to being one of the oldest Shi’a mosques in the U.S., the center also is regarded as a beacon for Islam in America. It currently has an estimated 10,000 adherents, 80 percent being of Lebanese descent, and the remainder mostly Iraqis and African Americans.
As the congregation grew, they began to raise funds for a building that would include a domed prayer room, lecture hall, two classrooms, a kitchen and office space. The Islamic Center of America opened its doors in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, near the University of Michigan, on Sept. 20, 1963. With more Muslims moving to the area, the center was expanded, with additional classrooms, an enlarged social room and a minaret.
In addition to being one of the oldest Shi’a mosques in the U.S., the center also is regarded as a beacon for Islam in America. It currently has an estimated 10,000 adherents, 80 percent being of Lebanese descent, and the remainder mostly Iraqis and African Americans.
Interactive Timeline(s)
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Religious Groups
Timeline Entries for the same religious group: IslamicIslamic: Other ARDA Links
Islamic: Religious Family Tree
Photographs
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Islamic Center of America- Flickr- photo by Dane Hillard (CC BY 2.0)
Islamic Center of America, old building- Hathi Trust- from Heritage of Faith by Detroit's Religious Bicentennial Task Force
Web Source(s)
https://web.archive.org/web/20170720060039/https://pluralism.org/profile/islamic-center-of-america-cj/The Pluralism Project, Harvard University, "Islamic Center of America" (Link updated [7.26.2023] to archived copy, original is no longer online.)
Web Page Contributor
Sandi DolbeeAffliated with: Former Religion and Ethics Editor, The San Diego Union-Tribune
