Coming to America: Arab-Americans in Detroit

Did you know that the founder of Kinkos was a Muslim or that the founder of Bob''s Big Boy was also a Muslim?

And did you know that one of the first Arab American immigrants to America in 1511 became a slave and later a chief guide for a Spanish expedition exploring new territory in the southwest. There's a statute honoring him in El Paso, Texas.

Finally, did you know that greater Detroit is home to one of the largest and most diverse Arab-American communities in America.

Students can learn all this and more about Arab immigration from an excellent online exhibit at the Arab American National Museum called Coming to America.  You will need flash player to launch the exhibit.

I'm creating a webquest from the exhibit for my religion students.

Four other other resources include

• A terrific essay from Michigan radio explaining why so many Arabs came to Detroit called What explains Michigan's Large Arab American Community?
• An interesting five minute report summarizing Arab Americans in Detroit from Detroit News 7. You can see it below.
•  A documentary about football and Detroit's Fordson High School. It addresses how Muslim football players deal with their fasting requirements and their obligation to their football team.
• Ramadan in Schools, from the New York Times.