With polls showing Islamophobia a problem at the same time more Muslim Americans are making a positive impact on local communities, Dr. Syed Mohiuddin figured it’s time to hold a national conference about Islam in Detroit.
Mohiuddin led the team that worked to help bring the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) 2014 annual conference: “The Generations Rise: Elevating Muslim American Culture” conference to Detroit for the first time in the organization’s 51-year history.
It will be held at Cobo Center Aug. 29-Sept. 1 and is expected to draw 20,000 people and generate $20 million in economic impact.
“It will elevate the positive contributions of the American Muslim community internally and externally and challenge the very ethos of the community to be more constructive and proactive in making a better Michigan and America,” he said.
Like a growing number of millennials, Mohiuddin — a 31-year-old internal medicine resident at Detroit Medical Center’s Sinai Grace Hospital — moved back to Detroit in 2009 to be part of the Motor City’s renaissance along with his wife, Atiya. He was born in Detroit but lived most of his life elsewhere in Ann Arbor, East Lansing and Boston as he pursued his education.
Along the way, Mohiuddin has taken on some significant community roles.
He is chairman of United Way for Southeastern Michigan’s Leadership Next. He is also on the board of the Michigan Muslim Community Council. Through his role there, he teamed up with ISNA to bring the convention to Detroit.
“It is so thrilling to be a small part of this transformation we are witnessing — one rooted in rebuilding neighborhoods, empowering all people, and giving everyone a chance to be a part of the new Detroit,” he said.
When he returned to Detroit in 2009, “I was deeply struck by the lack of people in the city (at that time).”
But an economic infusion by folks like Dan Gilbert has made a difference.
“That inspired me to think that Muslims also have a rich history in Detroit — be it immigrants from Henry Ford’s time or starting Temple One, which is now Masjid Wali Muhammad (a Sunni mosque), and was the first mosque of the Nation of Islam established approximately 80 years ago,” he said.
He began working on a bid to bring the annual convention to Detroit. He teamed up with the Metro Detroit Convention and Visitors Bureau, Islamic Society officials and Mayor Mike Duggan.
A survey by the Pew Research Center last year found 45% of Americans say Muslims face discrimination.
“We know there is a well-funded fear-mongering machine propagating myths for their own social and political gain,” Mohiuddin added.
“Islam is rooted in a term that means peace, and loving God, our neighbors and our family are the core values of the faith,” he said. “The positive contributions and stories of just how similar and normal the American Muslim community is has to shine through more.”
He hopes the upcoming convention will educate people and dispel some myths.
For more: http://www.isna.net/annual-convention.html Or mimuslimcouncil.com.