More than one hundred people came out to unveil an honorary street sign for the late Imam Abdullah Bey El-Amin on Woodrow Wilson Street this Saturday. On that street sits the Muslim Center, which El-Amin cofounded and where he served as an imam. 

 El-Amin was the first executive director of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan working alongside interfaith leaders. 

His daughter Zarinah El-Amin says she’s blown away by the reception. 

“I would have never even imagined that my father would have a street named after him in a big city like Detroit, but for his community members, right, that came together and saw fit that he had this honor, they did this.” 

El-Amin served as the Neighborhood City Hall Manager between 1994-2001 under then Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer. 

Detroit City Councilman Coleman Young Junior says El-Amin’s work outlasted him. “If you were homeless, he would help you get a house. If you were drug addicted, he’d help you get treatment.” 

The honorary street name is at the corner of Woodrow Wilson and Davison Street.

Additional headlines for Monday, Aug. 31

Detroit Month of Design      

This week kicks off the 16th annual Detroit Month of Design.

Kiana Wenzell is the co-executive director of Design Core Detroit and the director of Detroit Month of Design. This year’s theme is “Design Moves the Future.”

“Whether you’re moving forward, moving backwards, or just dancing and moving your body and getting the energy moving, let’s put our ideas into motion if we want to move this city in this region forward,” says Wenzell.

The month of design will feature 100 events in 30 days throughout the city featuring Detroit artists and creatives throughout September.

ISNA Detroit

The Islamic Society of North America is hosting its 63rd convention in Detroit during Labor Day weekend. It’s one of the largest annual gatherings of American Muslims in the U.S.

Topics include patience, perseverance, and God consciousness, civic duty and preserving stories of American Muslims as part of the 250th birthday of America.

Azhar Azeez is the CEO of ISNA.“We have invited more than 150 speakers who will not only address spiritual and theological topics, but they will also address contemporary challenges that the American Muslim community is facing, whether it is Islamophobia, whether it is anti-Muslim hate rhetoric, whether it is issues related to religious freedom, we will be addressing all these important topics.”

The program includes a knowledge retreat, a Detroit Food Truck Fest and a bazaar. There will also be a mini auto show, a family walk and a showcase of 20 Michigan nonprofits.

The Convention will take place Sept. 4-7 at the Huntington Place Convention Center in Detroit. Visit isna.net to learn more.  

Interfaith Buddhism Odyssey 

The InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit is hosting an opportunity for people to learn more about Buddhism. People can learn about mindfulness and have conversations about Buddhism. They can also take a tour of a temple, learn about traditions and share a meal.

The next Interfaith Odysseys will be hosted in Sept. 23 from 6-8 p.m. at the Midwest Buddhist Meditation Center in Warren, Michigan. 

Tickets are $35 for individuals and $50 for a family of two or more.  

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

A week ago, the Dearborn City Council moved its meeting to the public library because they expected a crowd. Police were outside in riot gear. Wayne County sent officers on horses. By the next morning, 22 people had been arrested from across Michigan, and from as far as New York and Tennessee.

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud told the council his own daughter didn’t go to daycare that day. Some businesses stayed closed. Sports practices were rescheduled.

What brought all this on was a man with a megaphone who told the council that Muslims had come here to steal, and that their time in this country was running short.

Jake Lang doesn’t hold office. But his words are not far from the ones spoken by people who do. Three weeks ago, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary. Within hours, a sitting U.S. Senator called him a terrorist. A sitting congresswoman called every Muslim holding public office in America “a Trojan horse.”

Last year, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, logged over 8,600 complaints nationwide, more than in any year since the group started counting in 1996. In Michigan, the chapter recorded nearly 500 — also a record, up 25% from the year before. These are complaints people brought to an advocacy group, not hate crimes confirmed by police. But they’re climbing, and they have been for three years running.

Amy Doukoure is the lead staff attorney for CAIR-Michigan, a nonprofit dedicated to combatting anti-Muslim hate locally. She spoke with host Robyn Vincent about why anti-Muslim hate is rising, and what can be done to stop it.

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