Dearborn Muslims Approach Summer with High Spirits and a Renewed State of Being

Picture Credit: Suhaib Mutawakel

Most Dearborn schools have been out for about a week and some college spring classes have come to a close. The city celebrated the end of the Holy month of Ramadan and celebrated Eid Al-Fitr on Saturday for some and Sunday for others. Muslims dedicated a month to not only fasting from dawn to dusk, but to the blessed act of giving and to strengthening their relationship with their Creator.

Mosques were packed with children enjoying the hours past curfew spent running around in the prayer halls and in long lines at ice cream trucks while their parents stood in congregation with others in prayer. Canned food drives were prevalent across the city urging individuals to help provide some food for underprivileged local citizens. Countless of fundraisers were held during the late nights of Ramadan and huge sums of money were planted in different causes locally, nationally, and internationally. Dearborn consists of several nationalities rooted back “home” in the Middle East and this month is taken advantage of spending to assist the different hardships the Muslim-majority countries face.

The spirit of Ramadan awakens a sense of remembrance in Muslims towards the worship of God through acts of prayer and supplications while in some immigrants and refugees, a sense of reminiscence of observing Ramadan in the Middle East with family and friends. Dearborn is a new home for the influx of refugees and immigrants and this Ramadan was many of their first in the States. The reproduction of an Islamic-influenced city overseas here in Dearborn comforted many with a sense of longing for home but also adjusting to one here among the many different bodies residing in the same perimeter.

The transition from a slightly windy, rainy, and breezy spring to a warm and sunny summer sublimely occurred in the midst of Ramadan slowly preparing Dearborn’s residents with a humid summer to celebrate and tan in after a month of being nocturnal and still pretty pale. New restaurants and coffee shops are hitting top new places to try on some summer bucket lists. Residents are readily approaching and accepting summer now after religious and educational obligations have been met and take on the next few months with a renewed energy and a daring streak charged with excitement and new experiences.