1,800 Attend ILMFest Detroit; First Sold-Out World Wide

By Noor H. Salem

Saturday December 7th definitely marked history for the Al-Maghrib Institute. More than 1,800 attendees gathered in the Adoba Hotel of Dearborn, MI for the day long ILMFest event- The festival of knowledge.

The grand ballrooms were packed from corner to corner, facing the stage lightened with purple lights. This is the first ILMFest that sold out a week in advance, and these events have been occurring in various cities across the globe. Historically, it’s the first ILMFest that didn’t have to put an “onsite registration” line the day of the confrence. Attendees all the way from Florida, North Carolina, Illinois, and Ohio came to attend this one day event.The hall way was filled with about 20 vendors, many coming from out of state too. Some were selling products, advertising for their companies, or selling tickets to an upcoming event.

7 speakers flew in from out of state, leaving their families to come join this remarkable conference. The event began 10 AM with a few local speakers. Boona Mohammed was the host, and did a remarkable job keeping humor in the air. Every speaker gave words of wisdom on refocusing your life, keeping the audience at awe. There was a lunch break, in which the majority ran out and grabbed lunch. At this time, the speakers and a few VIP members from the community were invited for a private lunch in one of the halls in the Hotel. Right next to that hall, was the Shuyookh VIP Room- themed and decorated nicely for them to feel at home. A fruit and snack arrangement awaited them, along with drinks, dates, nuts, and sabaya trays.

“This has been the best ILMFest I’ve attended,” said Sheikh Omar Suleiman in the VIP Room, as volunteers and speakers gathered post the conference. Over 60 volunteers, both female and male, previously dedicated months of preparation to host this one day conference. Whether it was being hospitable to speakers, preparing lunch, setting up the hall, or selling tickets, every individual but in effort and dedication to make sure thing went smooth. After the conference, the hall emptied out quickly. Volunteers had a meeting with the shuyookh, discussing pros and cons of the day. Speakers were impressed at this ILMFest, compared to other ones they have attended. They felt the day went smooth, ushering was very organized, and overall nice set-up. After a light dinner with the shuyookh, volunteers began cleaning up the hall. Some volunteers stayed past 2AM doing last minute clean up. At the end of the day, every individual gains his/her reward- and we ask that it is accepted from each and every speaker, volunteer, and attendee.

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