Al-Islah Mosque ( bn, আল-ইসলাহ জামে মসজিদ), also known as the Al-Islah Islamic Center or the Al-Islah Jame Masjid, is a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

following the Sunni tradition in

Hamtramck, Michigan Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion that borders the fellow enclave city of ...

. It was founded in 2000 by immigrants from

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, of which a large community exists in Hamtramck. Al-Islah Mosque is currently expanding to a bigger building next door.

History

The founders of the mosque,

Bangladeshi Americans Bangladeshi Americans ( bn, বাংলাদেশী মার্কিনী, Bangladeshī Markinī) are Americans of Bangladeshi descent. The majority of Bangladeshi Americans are Bengalis and form the largest group of Bengali Americans. Ban ...

, were followers of Allama Abdul Latif Chowdhury. It first opened in a storefront on Joseph Campau in 2000 and moved into a former medical clinic in 2001. In 2004 the mosque purchased an adjacent building so it could establish a

madrassa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

(Islamic school). The mosque attracted national attention in 2004, when it requested permission to broadcast its

call to prayer A call to prayer is a summons for participants of a faith to attend a group worship or to begin a required set of prayers. The call is one of the earliest forms of telecommunication, communicating to people across great distances. All religions ...

. This upset many of the non-Muslim residents of the area, which has a large and long established

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

population. Proponents pointed out that the city was already subject to loud bell ringing from the local church, while opponents argued that the church bells served a nonreligious purpose. Though nothing prevented the mosque from broadcasting the Adhan, to begin with, the city council nonetheless added an official "okay" in May 2004. Later that year, the city amended its noise regulations to limit the volume of all religious sounds. Prior to this, other mosques in the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

area had been using loudspeakers to broadcast their calls to prayer without incident.

References

External links

*Angel, Cecil.
Hamtramck call to prayer dispute is largely forgotten

Archive
. ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

''. March 16, 2006. Asian-American culture in Metro Detroit Mosques in Michigan Buildings and structures in Wayne County, Michigan Culture of Detroit Hamtramck, Michigan Mosques completed in 2000 2000 establishments in Michigan Bangladeshi-American culture Islam in Metro Detroit Sunni mosques in the United States {{US-mosque-stub

History

See also

References

External links