Qur’an Night, Fundraising Dinner Raise $300,000 for New Gym

 by Noor H. Salem

More than 500 attendees gathered to hear mesmerizing Qur’an recitations from Qari Shaykh Hassan Ali, Qari Shaykh Ahmad Mabrouk, and Qari Shaykh Abdulhamid Askam at the Islamic Cultural Association of Farmington Hills, MI.

The Qur’an Night is held annually at the ICA, and this year the vision was to fundraise for the new gym project. The construction for the project officially began a few weeks ago, and the community is extremely ecstatic and jubilant to see the work in progress occur.

The Islamic Cultural Association of Farmington Hills was founded by a group of families who hoped to establish an Islamic community that modeled their beliefs and values.  In 1987, the community purchased the Franklin Building and moved to its present location. Two years later, it established the prestigious Huda School which has flourished over the years. The ICA created a weekend Arabic School, Dar-al Huda. The ICA has continued to grow and expand, offering its members an Islamic environment where they can feel at home and raise their children with hearts at ease.  Since its inception, the ICA has held various school and family functions for the occasions that matter most to its members—such as Ramadan and Eid—as well as exciting activities for the whole family.  It has also prided itself in offering weekly Islamic and educational lectures and maintaining a youth program that has been going strong for years. The ICA hopes to continue to expand by offering more services that the community can benefit from, and this extraordinary gym project is no exception!

The Vice President, Ezzidine al-Bakkour, gave a very insightful presentation about the construction project. He showed the audience a detailed chart of the timeline, and all the mundane details of how much of the project will be complete by milestone. He left the audience at the edge of their seats in anticipation for this gym when he presented the blueprints of what this construction project will include; the basketball court, weightlifting room, the new wudu areas, and much more!

“Next year this Qur’an Night will be in the new gym,” said Imam Imran Salha, the Imam of the Islamic Cultural Association. The fundraising took place thereafter, and in a short matter of time, more than $300,000 was raised for this crucial and exciting project, one that happens to be truly unique in the area.

Dinner was enjoyed, and the event was a beautiful social that brought the community in southeast Michigan together. All for one purpose: to invest in the youth of the next generation.

It was an honor to interview Ghazal Almradi, an Executive Committee member and the head of the youth program coordinator at the Islamic Cultural Association for her thoughts on this exciting initiative:

In brief, what part of this gym construction project excites you the most?

The entire project is something I have been excited about! Our community has been waiting for a proper gym for our youth for many years. Given my involvement with the Islamic cultural association as a youth program coordinator I feel that this project will enhance the program and be a great benefit to our youth.

What do you envision this gym brings to the community?

I would envision increased youth attendance to our mosque given the space they have to play and pray. I envision our ladies in the community exercising in a private workout room, playing basketball, volleyball, etc. in a safe private space. I would envision growth of the community and events to serve all ages from diverse backgrounds. This project will be great service to the community at large.

How would you describe the way the youth feel as they see the project work in progress? 

Seeing the project come to life was the hope of many of our youth who became young adults. Since this project has been in the planning for many years, we hope that our youth will restore their trust in our community leaders as people who deliver and answer to their needs. So, I am sure that the youth will be watching the project with great excitement.

To learn more about the ICA or contribute to this project visit ica-mi.org

Noor H. Salem is an author, speaker, and Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, from Michigan. Noor works with clients in better understanding their bodies and healing with natural foods through her wellness practice, Holistic Noortrition. She presents various workshops, school lectures, group coaching classes, and community lectures on the topic of holistic health. Noor recently published her book, SUNNAH SUPERFOODS, a culmination of life-changing recipes and remedies, with a foreword by Dr. Waleed Basyouni. Her book consists of prophetic hadith, modern research, and delicious recipes, and is in the process of being translated into other language.