The Tragedy of Highland Park

Aysha Majeed   UNIQ+ Intern 

Aysha Majeed is currently studying BA History and Political Science at the University of Birmingham. Her principal academic interests are in South and West Asian history and the intersection between religion and politics. Aysha took part in the UNIQ+ research internship supervised by Prof John-Paul Ghobrial. 

For more information about the UNIQ+ Moving Stories internships, read the Faculty’s report. 

The “Moslem Mosque of Highland Park” began as a hopeful story of institutional innovation,

community cohesion, and belonging. Tragically, it quickly became a story of fragmentation, sectarianism and murder. The Highland Park Mosque represented the beginning of mosque-building efforts across the United States and the aspirations of Arab and Muslim immigrants in Detroit to establish communities and institutions. The first mosque erected in the United States was a temporary exhibit, a copy of Sultan Qaytbay Mosque in Cairo, during the Columbian Exhibition in 1893.[1] The Highland Park Mosque, however, was the first mosque to be built by immigrants, for immigrants, with the secondary intention of representing Islam to American viewers.[2] It was also the first to fail and be forgotten.[3]

To understand this episode, we must explore the origins of Muslim and Arab communities in Detroit before the First World War and the subsequent establishment of Highland Park Mosque in the 1920s. The Muslim community in Detroit was fragmented by social and religious divisions carried over from Ottoman Syria, but the story of the mosque’s decline highlights how other factors, such as personal and professional rivalries, contributed to the formation of sectarian communities in the diaspora. The story of the tragic murder of Hussein Abbas, a key supporter of Shi’i Shaykh Kalil Bazzy and one of the first financial supporters of Highland Park Mosque, provides a good indication of this. The murder signalled the end of the mosque project, leading to the sale of the building to the City in 1926.[4]

Muslims of Detroit and the Founding of Highland Park Mosque

By the 1900s, Muslims in the United States had begun to establish social, religious and political associations in major US cities, including Detroit, Chicago and New York.[5]  Detroit Muslims implanted themselves within the landscape of the city through institution-building. With the assistance of distinguished missionary Satti Majid, the Detroit chapter of the Red Crescent was established during World War I. The Red Crescent purchased $4,294 of land for 533 Muslim burial plots.[6] The community also established the Islamic Benevolence Society and aimed to build a mosque near the Henry Ford Factory. It is unlikely that any mosque existed before 1914.[7]  After World War I, Muslim immigrants established deep roots within the city and embraced Detroit as a permanent home.

In the early days of migration, Detroit’s Muslim community was predominantly male with a significant number of these men working in Henry Ford’s Highland Park Factory. As a result, the first institutions established were clubs, coffeehouses and spaces for men to socialise after work. The Ford Factory was instrumental in the creation of the Highland Park Mosque, strengthening bonds between Muslim immigrants and contributing to a sense of community and belonging. By the 1920s, the Syrian population had expanded and included many families. Although smaller than the Shi’i population, the Sunni Arabs in Highland Park included a higher percentage of families – with the majority from the Bekaa Valley.[8] While Bilgé argues that the ‘major sectarian rift was sustained’ in Detroit, the case of the Highland Park Mosque demonstrates that this was not always the case.[9] Muslim families began celebrating holidays, performing Friday prayers and other religious events within their homes. These spaces excluded single men, highlighting the need for a mosque in Highland Park. Construction of the mosque was supported by both the Shi’i and Sunni communities in Detroit. The Detroit Free Press estimates there were 15,000 Muslims in the city and suburbs of Detroit when construction began on the Highland Park Mosque.[10]

By 1920, the necessity of a mosque in Highland Park had become increasingly evident. Navigating the construction and survival of the Highland Park Mosque amidst sectarian tensions was obscured by uncertainty. Regardless, the community was eager to see the fruits of this project. Both a Shi`i and Sunni Imam, Kalil Bazzy and Hussein Karoub, facilitated the growth of Islam in Detroit. [11] Along with a coalition of supporters, Hussein Abbas, loyal supporter of Shaykh Bazzy, and Mohammad Karoub, older brother of Hussein Karoub, began discussing the construction and financing of a mosque in Highland Park in 1920.[12] Located on 242 Victor Avenue, construction began in January 1921 with an estimated cost of $45,000-$55,000.[13]

The Imams of Highland Park

The Highland Park community appointed a Sunni Imam (Hussein Karoub) and a Shi’i Imam (Kalil Bazzy) to lead the mosque. Not long after, an Ahmadiyya missionary (Muhammad Sadiq) joined this unique leadership structure. The first religious services at the Highland Park Mosque took place in June 1921, while the mosque was still under construction, marking the end of Ramadan and celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr.[14] Services were held in Arabic, but 16 nationalities were represented in the congregation with all three Imams in attendance.

Kalil Bazzy was unable to speak or read English when he arrived in Detroit from Bint Ijbayl in today’s southern Lebanon. Bazzy, like many immigrants, began his life in Detroit as a worker on the Ford automobile assembly line. He did not have a religious education or qualifications but was singled out by the Shi’i community for his piety.[15] Hussein Karoub’s education in Damascus was a point of anxiety for the Shi’i community who doubled their support for Shaykh Bazzy on the arrival of Karoub. In an interview with Alixa Naff in 1962 Bazzy suggested that the community was happy that ‘one of their own’ had learned how to perform Islamic rituals.[16] The rivalry between Bazzy and Karoub was not significant enough to prevent them collaborating in the Highland Park mosque project, but it did represent the early stirrings of denominational fragmentation in the Detroit Muslim community between a Shi`i milieu attached to Bazzy and a Sunni milieu attached to Karoub.[17] Shaykh Bazzy was initially side-lined in the Highland Park Mosque project but ultimately, it was his supporters who were eager to see the mosque survive when it ran into financial difficulties.

Hussein Karoub arrived in Highland Park with his brothers Mohammad and Osman a few months after Bazzy. The Karoub brothers travelled to the United States in 1912 and made their way to Highland Park in early 1914. The brothers secured jobs at the Ford Factory and were required to take classes in citizenship and English language in the evenings to qualify for the $5 daily wage.[18] Like Bazzy, Karoub was singled out for his piety, but he had also received some religious education in his native village (Marj al Angar, Bekaa Valley) and travelled to Damascus as an apprentice of Shaykh Bader Deen.[19]

The Karoub brothers had read about the arrival of an Indian missionary, Mufti Muhammad Sadiq, who was temporarily incarcerated at the US border, and had allegedly converted 20 of his fellow detainees to Islam. The brothers invited him to join them in Detroit.[20] Mufti Sadiq was the ideal candidate for the Highland Park project because he was a well-trained scholar of Islam who was fluent in multiple languages and had English skills surpassing the other clerics of Detroit.[21] Unlike Bazzy and Karoub, Mufti Sadiq was not an immigrant to the US but a missionary for the Ahmadiyya movement. A messianic reformist branch of Islam founded in nineteenth century India, the Ahmadiyya movement is considered heterodox by some Islamic scholars. Most of Detroit’s Muslims, including the Karoub brothers, were unfamiliar with the movement. Despite this, Mufti Sadiq shared the vision of Highland Park as a hub for Muslim life in the United States and Detroit.[22]

Mufti Sadiq established The Moslem Sunrise magazine to cover the progress of the Ahmadiyya Movement.[23] The magazine included a section on American converts and Osman Karoub appeared on this list. The Karoub brothers were directly confronted with Mufti Sadiq’s  mission and revoked their hospitality.[24] Syrian Muslims in Detroit challenged the leadership and judgement of the brothers for embracing Mufti Sadiq with open arms.[25] As a result, Mufti Sadiq relocated to Chicago and opened a new mosque.[26] After this incident, the number of worshippers began to dwindle significantly and by 1922, the building fell into disuse.[27]  The Detroit Free Press reported that the Highland Park Mosque became a tax burden for Mohammad Karoub when the city began to tax the property after it stopped being used for worship.[28] Supporters of Shaykh Bazzy contested the sale of the building and hoped to lead the mosque according to their own traditions.[29]

Murder of Hussein Abbas

Much to the dismay of the mosque’s early financial supporters, Mohammad Karoub was eager to rid himself of the burden of the Highland Park Mosque. Hussein Abbas lobbied city officials to block the sale of the building and advocated for the mosque to be turned over to a new association responsible for completing construction of the building, maintaining the facility and resuming worship within it.[30]  Abbas led an injunction which prevented Karoub from disposing of the property and as a result, tension emerged between Karoub and Abbas. [31] Ultimately, it was the Shi’i community lobbying and rooting for the survival of the mosque.[32]

Tragedy struck when Abbas was shot as he lay asleep a few weeks after the injunction had been filed. On his deathbed, Abbas implicated Ahmed Mohammed in the killing.[33] Abbas claimed that Mohammed was in love with his wife Munira Abbas. Authorities questioned Karoub, on request of Munira. Karoub helped them to locate Ahmed Mohammed who was still in possession of the murder weapon.[34] Both Munira and Mohammed were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.[35] In Mohammed’s confession, he implicated Karoub and stated that he had given him $1,000, a promise of money from the sale of Highland Park Mosque and a revolver to commit the murder.[36] Suspicion arose around Karoub’s alleged involvement in the murder due to his public dispute with Abbas. Karoub stood trial on first degree murder charges for the murder of Hussein Abbas but was acquitted of all charges.[37]

The murder of Hussein Abbas was the final disastrous blow in the Highland Park Mosque project. The Detroit Free Press suggested that signs of disintegration were glaringly apparent as less people attended services and the project was abandoned all together.[38] The dispute for the sale of the property dragged on for another year until the building was sold to the city of Highland Park in 1926.[39] Karoub divided the proceeds between the financial contributors of the mosque and withdrew from religious and political life in Detroit.

Conclusion

The story of the “Moslem Mosque of Highland Park” is one of triumph and tragedy. The mosque was a pioneering effort by Muslim immigrants in Detroit and served as a catalyst for mosque-initiatives across the country. Constructed in 1921, Highland Park rose swiftly but its congregation diminished just as quickly. Worship attendance dwindled in 1922. Its unique leadership structure, bringing together Imams from different sectarian traditions, reflected an attempt to foster unity among the Muslim community. However, it was this configuration that ultimately contributed to the mosque’s decline, deepening tensions between Sunni and Shi’i communities in Highland Park. Sectarian tensions were highlighted with the Shi’i community fighting to keep the mosque alive and Karoub’s insistence on selling. The murder of Hussein Abbas was surrounded by sectarian rivalries and property disputes. By 1926, the mosque was sold to the city, marking the end of its short but significant existence.

References

Primary Sources

‘Moslems Here Build Mosque: Highland Park Temple Will, It is Said, Be Only Worship Place of Kind in U.S.’ Detroit Free Press. 11 January 19210t1.

               ‘Moslems to Worship First in New H. P. Mosque Tuesday: Greater Detroit Mohammedans Will Celebrate End of Fast of Ramadan.’ Detroit Free Press. 5 June 1921.

'Moslems Celebrate Feast of Id-Ul-Filtr.' Detroit Free Press. 8 June 1921.

               ‘Will Raze Mosque in Highland Park: Builder to Erect Apartments on Site of Moslem Shrine.’ Detroit Free Press. 10 August 1922.

               ‘Seed of Islam Finds No Root: Mohammedan Apostles Fold Their Tents and Depart From Highland Park.’ Detroit Free Press. 24 September 1922.

               ‘Still Westward Mohammed Moves: Moslem’s U. S. Capital is Now Located in Chicago.’ Detroit Free Press. 1 October 1922.

               ‘Mosque Builder Bribed Him, Abbas Killer Says: Gave Him $1,000 Put Grocer “Out of the Way,” Convicted Man Swears.’ Detroit Free Press. 9 April 1924.

               ‘Faith of Islam Withers in Detroit Atmosphere: Mosque Erected in Highland Park Now Melancholy Ruin; Dissension Divides Moslem Congregation.’ Detroit Free Press. 20 April 1924.

               ‘Karoub Wins Delay in Abbas Slaying: Mosque Builder’s Examination Goes Over to Monday.’ Detroit Free Press. 16 July 1924.

Secondary Sources

Bilgé, Barbara. “Voluntary Associations in the Old Turkish Community of Metropolitan Detroit.” In Muslim Communities in North America, ed. Yvonne Y. Haddad and Jane I. Smith, 381–405. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1994.

GhaneaBassiri, Kambiz. A History of Islam in America: From the New World to the New World Order. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Howell, Sally. Old Islam in Detroit: Rediscovering the Muslim American Past. Oxford University Press, 2014.