High school scholarship awardees at the ICA – Photo by Bill Chapman.

DEARBORN — Reaffirming their gratitude, hundreds of community members attended the Islamic Center of America’s (ICA) semi-annual fundraising dinner on Saturday, May 7. 

From regular worshippers to local government officials and church pastors who packed the iconic mosque, it was clear to organizers that the ICA had achieved its objective – to unite the community and invest in its youth.

Kassem Ali, the ICA’s executive administrator, said that has always been the center’s role, but now its endeavor is to “pass the torch” to a new generation. The future of the ICA is in empowering the community’s youth and securing its role in education and preserving faith-based values, he said.

The dinner has been held twice a year since 2005, but last Saturday’s event was different. 

While donations from congregants totaled $3,770, $1,200 was awarded to local high school seniors, according to Mirvat Kadouh, chair of the Ladies of The Islamic Center of America.

“At the end of the day, this mosque is for the community and we just want to assure that our children have a place to come when they need it,” Kadouh said.

The scholarship awardees were chosen based on the strength of an essay about what they would do to further the ideas that Islam is a peaceful religion, academic scores and need.

Mallak Taleb, 17, a senior at Crestwood High School, who received a scholarship at the dinner, said she was “delighted and surprised” when they announced she had won. 

Taleb said she plans to use the funds to start an organization and to prepare for college. She plans to study biomedical engineering at Wayne State University.

Taleb praised the ICA for its commitment to the community and for the diversity of its congregants, who unite under the banner of Islam at the mosque.

Ali said the ICA has reinvigorated its commitment to the youth committee, adding more events and continuing its efforts to attract young people to its weekly Friday program and English language lectures. The program includes civil, social, educational and spiritual events planned throughout the year. 

Ali said he knows of families who have been attending the mosque since the 1950s, a continuity that he said has been the source of the ICA’s strength. 

Haider Koussan, co-owner of Greenland Market, said he and his family have prayed at the mosque and have been involved in its activities for 25 years, even before the current ICA was built on Ford Road.

“It’s one of the community’s most important institutions,” Koussan said.

He added that he was 14-years-old the first time he stepped foot in the ICA.

“When you grow up with it, it becomes part you, it becomes part of the family,” Koussan said.

The businessman has five children, all of whom he said have benefited greatly from their involvement in the youth program.

As today’s Muslim Americans strive to balance their daily routines and religious duties, Koussan stressed the importance of attending religious services.

“We have to stick together,” he said. “We’re here to live and die in America. Let’s keep our culture going and keep our difference to a minimum.”