Research conducted by The University of Michigan-Dearborn Pluralism Project.

Description

The Islamic Institute of Knowledge is located in Dearborn Michigan, a middle-and working-class suburb of Detroit. The center sits along a commercial strip containing ethnic bakeries and restaurants, behind which is a residential neighborhood of single family homes. Sheikh Abd al-Latif, along with the center's current leader, Imam Abdul-Latif Berry and others, founded the Islamic Institute of Knowledge in 1983, in part in reaction to the Islamic Center of America which was largely run by American-born and English-speaking Muslims. At that time, the center was located in a cinder-block building on Jonathon and Warren in Dearborn. Most of those affiliated with it are of Lebanese descent, including the current imam, with many coming from the village of Tibneen in south Lebanon.

The Center

Now located in what was once the Holiday Bowl, a bowling alley, the building has been entirely reconstructed at a cost of well over one million dollars and was officially opened on March 15, 1998. It can hold over 1,500 people in the social hall, 2,000 for group prayer, and 250 in the main prayer hall. The center also contains conference rooms, kitchen, and a library with over 1,000 volumes. The Islamic Institute of Knowledge is currently building a school, the American Islamic Academy, with grades K-12. The elementary school is currently in operation, with plans to incorporate the high school grades in the near future.

Activities

The center's activities include the following: daily group prayer in the evening; group prayer in the afternoon on Monday afternoon; Du'a tawasul on Tuesday evening; Du'a Kumayl on Thursday evening; Friday group prayer; English lectures on Saturday. In addition to the services and lectures, there are classes in Arabic on Fridays and Saturdays; and on Friday evenings the are Albatoul, lectures for women.