‘Eid in Dearborn

By Ahmed al-Hilali, TMO

When it comes to Dearborn, people only know of one mosque: The Islamic Center of America. But on Eid, people were either forced to wait for room, or to go to any other mosque that will have space for prayer. At the Islamic Center, there were more people than they could handle. People came as early as 7:30 AM in order to get a seat for Salatul Eid. People had to wait 30 minutes on Ford Rd just to get in, and another 45 minutes to find parking space. People with very short patience levels decided to go to places like the Islamic Institute of Knowledge, Karbala Mosque, or even the Islamic House of Wisdom. The Islamic house of wisdom filled up as soon as the Islamic Center filled up. This is because of the sad fact that many people who live here in Dearborn put the Islamic Center as their top priority in a mosque, and their next choice would be the closest mosque from their house. Every marja’a except for Ayatollah Sayyid Sistani said that Eid-ul-Fitr is on Sunday, while he said Monday. But even Sistani Followers wanted to break their fast earlier, as they traveled out of Dearborn and broke their fasts as travelers. Even though this many people at once wreaks havoc, it really should happen every day considering the number of “Muslims” living in Dearborn.

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