A student prays at Edsel Ford High School in Dearborn.

DEARBORN — The call to prayer has sounded and the Friday prayer lecture has started. Muslim students are gathered in an empty classroom in Edsel Ford High School (EFHS) to observe their Friday service and pray. 

On Fridays, when the bell rings for lunch, about 30 students attend the congregational prayer in a classroom and are led by one of their own, EFHS junior Yassin Mohamed. 

“The lectures I give are centered on the importance of learning and good character,” said Mohamed, president of the Muslim Student Association (MSA). 

Edsel Ford’s MSA asked Principal Scott Casebolt for permission to have congregational prayer in an empty classroom. According to Edsel Ford high school graduation specialist Kareem Naimi, the idea proposed by the students proved to be successful after it was put in practice. Prior to having Friday service in the empty classroom, about 60 students would leave the school to pray at local mosques. Friday lectures, known as khutbahs, are followed by the Jum’ah prayer at 12:00 p.m.  

“The students have a constitutional right to pray and Dearborn schools understand the desires of parents and students to have their religious freedom,” Naimi said. “When students used to leave school to pray, they had to come back within two hours, missing two periods of class. It was affecting their attendance.  Having Friday prayers in school allowed a balance to maintain an educational integrity and the students’ right to pray.”

Friday is a holy day in Islam. Muslims are religiously mandated to attend noon prayer at the mosque on Fridays. 

 “Now because Friday prayers are on school premises, Muslim students have no excuse to leave school for religious reasons. And we will not have to skip class,” said junior Jamal Ahmed. MSA students spoke with Muslim religious scholar Shiekh Salah Al-saway and he gave them religious permission to hold Friday lectures in school at 11:35 a.m., at an earlier time than neighboring mosques.

“We do it during lunch time, so it will not cut into any students’ class time,” said Mohamed. Muslims pray five times a day. Noon prayer is the only required ritual during school hours. After fifth hour, some EFHS Muslim students head to an empty corner in the nurse’s office. With the exception of Friday when they pray as a group, they each pray individually on allocated rugs. Students have five minutes to perform noon prayer before sixth hour begins. 

The First Amendment says that the government cannot pass any laws establishing or favoring a religion or prohibit people from practicing their religion. 

This is a student-led activity, the staff and administration have no part in this, said Naimi. He added that the Friday lecture and prayer last around 15 minutes, which allows time for the students to eat lunch. As of now, EFHS Muslim students have had six congregational Friday prayers, and they plan to continue in the future.