Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan (CIOM) Reorganizes After Achieving 501(c)(3) Status

By Adil James, Muslim Media News Service (MMNS)

Warren–September 17–The Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan (CIOM) sponsored an iftar this past Monday at the Islamic Organization of North America on Ryan Road in Warren.

The purpose of the meeting was to coordinate CIOM members. The event was a success because it involved many of the most prominent Muslim leaders in Southeast Michigan and many of the most powerful mosques, including the Bloomfield Muslim Unity Center, the Detroit Muslim Unity Center, the Islamic Center of America on Ford Road in Dearborn, CAIR-Michigan, the Tawheed Center in Farmington, and many other local mosques, crossing sectarian boundaries and embracing many diverse groups of people, Masjid Al-Falah in Hamtramck, the American Muslim Center in Dearborn Heights, and IAGD in Troy, among others.

The meeting began at about 6:30 pm with an opening prayer and introductions and welcomes to all, and a brief introduction to CIOM.

Chris Lovelace opened the meeting by repeating the verse of “holding fast to the rope of Allah,” and emphasized that unity does not mean uniformity but unity means different people working together.

The CIOM meeting heralded the formation of a new website.

Lovelace and Ghalib Begg (CIOM’s Chairman of the Board) explained that CIOM is a bridge-building organization, working with other religious organizations, and Begg explained that the purpose of the website is to bring the community together.

Before the meeting concluded CIOM agreed on the formation of its committees and Mr. Begg described the financial situation of the organization, which is currently fairly meager–owning about $1,000 according to Mr. Begg.

The meeting was a success if only in that it brought such disparate sectarian and ethnic, not to mention different community mosque groups, together under one roof for an iftar during the 10 days of mercy at the beginning of Ramadan.

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