Share this story!            

A peep into rich history of Islam in Detroit

By Saadia Khalid

ISLAMABAD: Depicting the history of Muslims’ arrival in Detroit and their settlement there, an exhibition of photographs titled ‘Building Islam in Detroit’ started at the National Art Gallery (NAG) here on Friday.

Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) organised the exhibition in collaboration with US embassy.

Detroit, Michigan, is home to one of the largest, oldest Muslim populations in the United States (US) where the first mosque was built in 1921 and since then there had been tremendous growth in Muslim heritage in the city.

The mosques captured are ideal examples of this creative process, as they are sites at which Muslims give collective, material expression to their belief.

The mosques are also work of art where sacred words, images, and sounds combine to produce spaces of unusual beauty. The photographs depict mosques as a place where Muslim comes together to worship and to strengthen their community through communal prayer.

The pictures also present the social world of mosques where celebrations like fasting, pilgrimage and Eids are made during these special occasions.

The PNCA, executive director, Jamal Shah said that the true spirit of Islam inspired the spaces and institutions depicted in the photographs. “Islam seeks a balance in everything and it has not forbidden art, as it could be seen in different forms in the pictures,” he said.

US Embassy Envoy Sada Cumber said that the Muslim community in Detroit developed in 1890s and was able to nurture an Islamic society there.

“In Detroit, the diversity of the Muslim world and the diversity of America are blending to produce new communities of faith, and this process has been unfolding for much longer than most Muslims, and most Americans, realize,” he said.

The PNCA, acting director general, Shahnaz Hamid said that the exhibition provided an opportunity to peep into the historical richness, diversity, and influence of Islam in Detroit.

Talking to Daily Times Professor Khwaja Masud said that the photographs were a wonderful portrayal of Islam in its truer sense. “God is beautiful, therefore, the places of worship should also be beautiful,” commented Masud. “If people living abroad can introduce new trends and innovations in religious places then why cannot we do it here in Pakistan,” he said, adding that if the modern architecture was followed in other buildings then why it could not be followed in mosques.

Home | Islamabad

Share this story!