WE are Aimal Chohan and Abdul Khan, sixth-grade students at Woodhaven Upper Elementary school. Last year we participated in Michigan History Day 2024 at the regional and state levels.

We won the regionals and got two awards at the state level. We made an exhibit and presented about our masjid Umar Bin Khattab. The judges praised our presentation and encouraged us to spread the word about our project, our religion and the importance of masjids (mosques).

We are Muslims and our religion is Islam. Islam is one of the world religions that was started by our last prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him)¹. It is a monotheistic religion, which means the followers believe in one God who is called Allah.

In Arabic, Islam means “submission to the will of God.” People who follow Islam are Muslims. There are over four million Muslims in the U.S. A lot of Muslims, especially men, go to mosques to pray. A mosque or a masjid is a place for prayer, worship, meetings, and studying the sacred text called the Qur’an. Muslims pray five times a day.

There are over 241,000 Muslims in Michigan who attend 127 mosques. The two oldest mosques in Michigan are the Moslem Mosque of Highland Park (built in 1921) and the American Moslem Society (established in 1938).

Our families attend the Umar Bin Khattab Masjid. It was built in 1996 and named after Umar Bin Khattab, one of our prophets. Today more than 500 families attend our masjid. When Masjid Umar Bin Khattab was built, it was a turning point for Brownstown because many new Muslim families moved here. If the mosque wasn't here, our families would have moved to another town when they came from Pakistan.

The first Muslim family moved to Brownstown Township in 1973. Mr. Mushtaq Ahmad Bhatti was the first Muslim house owner in Brownstown. Later four more families were invited by Mr. Bhatti. These five families started the Islamic Association of Michigan. They organized classes and prayers in basements of their houses. They also invited more Muslim families to move to Brownstown. When the community grew bigger, they decided to build a mosque.

Mosques are open for everyone to come in and pray, learn or find peace. They allow Muslims to observe our religion and be happy. Our Imam Sohel believes, “Mosques allow Muslims to get closer to God, to improve our faith and to meet different people. It’s a place for peace where everyone is welcome.”

Our religious teacher Mrs. Mahreen Khan said that she ''feels at peace at the mosque. This is a place to pray and learn, to get help and have a family.”



¹ This phrase is recited every time the name of our last prophet is mentioned.