Religion
Hassan al-Qazwini
born 1964 · imam, religious scholar
Karbala-born Shia imam who led Dearborn's Islamic Center of America for eighteen years and became one of Metro Detroit's best-known Muslim voices after 9/11.
- Born
Karbala, Iraq
age 61- Birth name
- Sayyid Hassan al-Musawi al-Qazwini
- Also known as
- Hassan Qazwini
- Detroit years
- 1997–
- Field
- Religion
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Al-Qazwini was born in Karbala in 1964 and grew up in exile in Kuwait and Iran after his family fled Iraq. The Islamic Center of America in Dearborn first invited him as a Ramadan guest speaker in 1993, and in 1997 he settled in Dearborn as its resident scholar. He led the congregation through its move in 2005 from Detroit into the large domed mosque on Ford Road, one of the biggest in North America. After the September 11 attacks he spoke at churches, colleges and universities across the country as an ambassador for American Muslims. In 2015 he left the center and founded his own congregation, the Islamic Institute of America, in Dearborn Heights. His memoir American Crescent traces his path from Karbala to Dearborn.
Highlights
- Resident imam of the Islamic Center of America, 1997–2015
- Led the move into the Ford Road mosque, opened 2005
- Founded the Islamic Institute of America in Dearborn Heights, 2015
- Author of the memoir American Crescent (2007)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · 1997–2015
Islamic Center of America
The Shia mosque on Ford Road, one of the largest in North America; its congregation began in Detroit and moved here in 2005.
Founded · 2015–
Islamic Institute of America
The Dearborn Heights congregation al-Qazwini founded after leaving the Islamic Center of America.