The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is hosting its 63rd convention in Detroit during Labor Day weekend.  

It’s one of the largest annual gatherings of American Muslims in the U.S.  

Azhar Azeez is the CEO of ISNA. He says the last time the convention took place in Detroit was 2014. 

“We have a very strong base in Detroit. Many of our supporters and members are from Detroit and from the state of Michigan, and this is this has been a long-pending request to bring the convention back to this great city,” he says.

This year’s convention will feature topics of patience, perseverance, and God consciousness. 

“We have invited more than 150 speakers who will not only address spiritual and theological topics, but they will also address contemporary challenges that the American Muslim community is facing, whether it is Islamophobia, whether it is anti-Muslim hate rhetoric, whether it is issues related to religious freedom,” he says.

The keynote speaker is the former 13th president of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi. 

Other speakers include Michigan Democratic senator nominee Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud. 

Offerings include a Detroit Food Truck Fest, a mini auto show, and a showcase of 20 Michigan nonprofits.  

The Convention will take place Sept. 4-7 at the Huntington Place Convention Center in Detroit.  

Visit isna.net for the program lineup and registration.

Documentary photographer Syed Yaqeen is the founder of the American Muslim Experience documentary project. He created the project to preserve the stories of American Muslims through visual storytelling and conversations. 

“It’s just everyday lives of folks going through their struggles, kids going to school, people going to their work, and all of that is what the one thing that connects. And they happen to be Muslims,” he says.

Yaqeen began American Muslim Experience as a passion project around 2017. The multimedia platform became a nonprofit in December 2025.

Coming to Michigan

This week, the Pennsylvania-based photographer is visiting Hamtramck, Detroit, and Dearborn to gather pictures of people. 

“Michigan is so interesting because you can go in a half-mile drive radius and have every different ethnic background Muslims and their specific areas where there are specific people from parts of the world, but also in between you have the local and long term Black Muslim community, which are such a historic community, ” he shares.

Yaqeen says he was inspired to begin this project after noticing that American Muslims are portrayed negatively in the public eye. 

“When you think of a Muslim in America or a Muslim, who that person can be, and you might not imagine the person you’re seeing right now as what you think a Muslim is,” he says.

A diverse religious community 

He says American Muslims are among the most diverse Muslim communities in the world. 

Yaqeen, who has two sons, says he also wanted to create positive representation of everyday Muslims for his kids, and others.

“It’s definitely a learning process for myself, and I want to share that with the rest of the community, with everyone,” he says.

Yaqeen says the American Muslim Experience project is a way for Americans to learn about Muslims, but also for Muslims to see themselves in the public. 

“Even inside the Muslim community, it’s such a needed visual representation,” he says.

Yaqeen previously worked on the Muslims for American Progress by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), which featured Muslims from all walks of life. He says he got a taste of what this work could look like long-term.

“A lot of this misunderstanding comes from a point of where whoever has that negative idea so often, if not almost always, has never actually met someone who’s Muslim or don’t know anyone who is Muslim,” he explains.

“They just have this stereotypical idea in their head, and they go with it. So all of this work, I think ISPU’s work, and what I’m trying to do, comes back to that point that… get to know the folks.”

Contemporary archive in the making

American Muslim Experience is now a nonprofit. Yaqeen says the work will expand to include educational programming and community conversations.

“We’re hoping for it to be a place where a lot of different storytelling and… community events and all that stuff is housed in one place, so it’s easy to access,” he says. 

Yaqeen says this work is important for years to come.

“Not just a Muslim community, because you hear such negative talks most of the time. But then, when you’re on the ground with the people, you realize there is so much going on. They’re doing amazing work. They’re building community,” he elaborates.

He says American Muslims have played an important role in the country.

“We’re very much part of the history of this country, but also we plan to be part of this country going forward. So to you know have that documented, recorded, and preserved going forward, I think will be very important,” he says.

Yaqeen is collecting photographs and interviews this week. You can find him on Instagram @americanmuslimexperience to schedule a session.

Michigan is reporting the first two fatalities among people suffering from the disease cyclosporiasis. Officials say medical records indicate the people had significant underlying health conditions. Officials add the disease, which can cause cramps and explosive diarrhea, is generally non-life-threatening. Deaths from it are uncommon in the U.S.

The state reports more than 11,000 cases since June, although it’s not clear how many of those people may have already recovered from the disease.  

-Reporting by Quinn Klinefelter

Additional headlines for Monday, Aug. 3, 2026

American Muslim Experience

Documentary photographer and visual storyteller Syed Yaqeen is visiting Michigan this week as part of the American Muslim Experience— a documentary project to preserve the stories of American Muslims through visual storytelling and conversations. 

He says he began the project to document stories of everyday Muslims to counter negative stereotypes and showcase what it means to be Muslim in America.  

“Like the complicated lives of everyday people who again happen to be Muslim. So for them to be able to see themselves as young kids, students going to school, getting jobs, first job, learning how to drive-you know-all these little simple things that people tend not to think of when they are, I guess, put in a specific group.”  

Yaqeen says his focus is on documenting the present-day lives of American Muslims to preserve that for the future.  

He is taking pictures in Hamtramck, Detroit and Dearborn.  

People can contact him on Instagram at americanmuslimexperience to schedule a session. 

Language access failure

The city of Detroit has failed to translate information in emergencies as required through an ordinance created last year to translate public service announcements, says the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. 

Bridge Detroit reports that includes hazardous smoke and extreme heat warnings. City officials say they will make improvements to provide Detroiters whose first language is not English access to resources or information.  

Meanwhile Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield has tasked the Civil Rights, Inclusion and Opportunity (CRIO), Office of Immigrant Affairs, and Media Services departments to improve language access in the city. 

BridgeDetroit found much emergency-based information was only posted in English on the city’s website or Facebook. 

The city hopes to provide translated information in Spanish, Bengali, Arabic, and French. Meanwhile, residents can use Detroit’s alert system and choose a language of their choice to access the city’s website. 

Detroit has spent more than $362,000 on language access services in the past year.  

Blood donations at extreme low

The American Red Cross has issued an emergency appeal for blood donations.

Sydney Henry is with the Michigan region of the American Red Cross. She says blood donations typically drop in the summer, but this summer is worse than usual.  

That’s likely because of the extreme heat events and wildfire smoke that choked some states, especially Michigan. 

Henry says the Red Cross has less than a day’s supply of type O positive blood. That blood can be given to most people in an emergency. 

-Reporting by Tracy Samilton