The organization Global Detroit stated that the largest group of ethnic Albanians not in Europe is in

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the ...

. As of 2014, 4,800 ethnic Albanians live in

Macomb County Macomb County ( ) is a county located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Michigan, bordering Lake St. Clair, and is part of northern Metro Detroit. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 881,217, making it the third-most populous co ...

, making up the fourth-largest ethnic group in that county, and the highest concentration of Albanians in Metro Detroit.India leads all nations in sending people to Detroit

Archive
. '' Crain's Detroit Business''. June 1, 2014. Updated June 6, 2014. Retrieved on September 29, 2014. "Macomb has the highest current concentration of Albanian immigrants locally at 4,800, according to Global Detroit's data. That's the fourth-largest nationality of any group in the county."

History

In 1912 Albanians began arriving in the area. They had no peak migration period.Mayer, p
1
At the time there were groups in east Detroit, northwest Detroit, and

Grosse Pointe Grosse Pointe refers to an affluent coastal area next to Detroit, Michigan, United States, that comprises five adjacent individual cities. From southwest to northeast, they are: *Grosse Pointe Park *Grosse Pointe *Grosse Pointe Farms *Grosse Poi ...

. The early settlers originated from southern Albania, but they were recorded as being from Greece, Turkey, or from the country in which they boarded their boats to the United States. Many had initially lived in New York and New England but moved to Detroit by the 1910s. Frances Trix, the author of ''The

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

Journey of Baba Rexheb'', wrote that Detroit's Albanian community was more conservative than that of New York City, and that the "cohesiveness that crossed religious lines and that manifested itself in gatherings and in unusual generosity to Albanian cultural activities" was a factor special to Albanians in Detroit.Trix, Frances. ''The Sufi Journey of Baba Rexheb'' (UPCC book collections on Project MUSE).

The University of Pennsylvania Press The University of Pennsylvania Press (or Penn Press) is a university press affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The press was originally incorporated with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on 26 Ma ...

, September 5, 2011. , 9781934536544. p
128
As of 1951 Metro Detroit had about 3,000 Albanians. A wave of mass immigration came in 1992 with the

breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

and it continued in the 1990s. Some Catholic ethnic Albanians from Montenegro entered the United States from Mexico and settled in Detroit.

Economy

By 2012 many Albanians were operating Coney islands, or restaurants serving the

Coney Island hot dog A Coney Island hot dog, Coney dog, or Coney is a hot dog in a bun topped with a savory meat sauce and sometimes other toppings. It is often offered as part of a menu of classic American "diner" dishes and often at Coney Island restaurants. It is ...

.Yung, Katherine and Joe Grimm. ''Coney Detroit''.

Wayne State University Press Wayne State University Press (or WSU Press) is a university press that is part of Wayne State University. It publishes under its own name and also the imprints Painted Turtle and Great Lakes Books Series. History The Press has strong subjec ...

, 2012. , 9780814337189. p
2
Albanians in general operate many restaurants. Many Albanian immigrants are employees in fast food restaurants in Macomb County and Oakland County. Albanian TV of America, headquartered in

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

, transmits Albanian-language television shows.

Religion

In 1929 the St. Thomas Orthodox Church was established by Albanian Christians. Albanian Muslims assisted the Christians with their mortgage. For a period of time prior to 1949, Hussein Karoub provided pastoral services to the Albanian Muslims.Howell, Sally. '' Old Islam in Detroit: Rediscovering the Muslim American Past''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2014. , 9780199372003. p
147
In 1949 the first U.S. Albanian mosque opened in Detroit; The Albanian Moslem Society, organized in 1947, established it once it had recruited a cleric.Trix, Frances. ''The Sufi Journey of Baba Rexheb'' (UPCC book collections on Project MUSE).

, September 5, 2011. , 9781934536544. p
129
This cleric was Vehbi Ismail.

. ''Building Islam in Detroit'' Website.

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. Retrieved on September 29, 2014. Ismail accused Karoub of trying to sabotage him. The First Albanian Bektashi Monastery (Tekke) opened in

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) **List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Plac ...

in 1953. Baba Rexheb, an Albanian Sufi, established it. In 1963 the Albanian Islamic Center in

Harper Woods Harper Woods is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city had a population of 15,492 at the 2020 census. Harper Woods is a northeastern suburb of Metro Detroit and shares its southern and western border with the city of Det ...

opened. 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." ;Metro Detroit Albanian religious centers *Albanian Islamic Center of Michigan (Harper Woods, MI) * Bektashi Center of America (Taylor, MI) *Our Lady of Albanians Catholic Church (Southfield, MI) *St Paul Albanian Catholic Church (Rochester Hills, MI) *St Thomas Orthodox Church (Farmington Hills, MI)

Notable residents

Ekrem Bardha Ekrem Bardha (born 13 May 1933) is an Albanian American businessman, co-founder of the National Albanian American Council (NAAC), and former owner of Illyria Newspaper. He is currently serving as Albania's Honorary Consul in Michigan and is reg ...

- businessman * Emina Cunmulaj – model * Jasmina Cunmulaj – model *

Afërdita Dreshaj Afërdita Dreshaj (; born 19 July 1986) is an Albanian-American singer and model. Crowned as Miss Universe Kosovo 2011, Dreshaj represented the nation at the Miss Universe 2011 pageant and finished among the top 16. Life and career 1986� ...

- model *

JMSN Christian Berishaj, better known by his stage name JMSN (pronounced Jameson), is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, music engineer and mixer. His debut album, ''Priscilla'', was released in 2012; he wrote and ...

- singer * Elizabeth Ivezaj - Miss Michigan 2014 * Baba Rexheb * Suzanna Shkreli

References

*Mayer, Albert. ''Ethnic groups in Detroit, 1951''. Wayne University Department of Sociology and Anthropology, 1951. *Content re-posted to: Feinstein, Otto. ''Ethnic Communities of Greater Detroit''. Monteith College,

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

, 1970. *McGinnis, Carol. ''Michigan Genealogy: Sources & Resources''. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2005. , 9780806317557. *Trix, Frances. ''Albanians in Michigan'' (Discovering the peoples of Michigan).

Michigan State University Press Michigan State University Press is the scholarly publishing arm of Michigan State University. Scholarly publishing at the university significantly predates the establishment of its press in 1947. By the 1890s the institution's Experiment Stations ...

, 2001. , 9780870135842.

Notes

External links

Albanian American Student Organization
(AASO)

{{Albanian Americans by location

Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...

Albanian-American history Albanian-American culture in Michigan History of Detroit