About the Project
Halal Metropolis is a series of exhibitions that explores the facts, fictions and the imaginaries of the Muslim population(s) in Detroit and South-east Michigan as viewed through historical and archival research, documentation of current conditions, and explorations of future desires. The Halal Metropolis alludes to the established and growing Muslim population in Detroit and its metro area, one of the largest and most diverse Muslim populations in the U.S., whose visibility is both pronounced and extremely present in the city, yet whose narrative seems unusually silent in the larger Detroit story. The exhibition moves beyond wanting to simply illustrate or document the current state of this Halal Metropolis into exploring the congruent and contradicting ideas, aesthetics and cultures working to make the halal metropolis both a real and imaginary entity.
The Team
Sally Howell
Sally is Professor of History and Arab American Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Her books include Arab Detroit 9/11: Life in the Terror Decade (2011), Old Islam in Detroit: Rediscovering the Muslim American Past (2014), and Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging (2022). Howell's current research is about the political and cultural impact of Muslim visibility in metro Detroit.
Osman Khan
Osman is an artist interested in constructing artifacts and experiences for social criticism and aesthetic expression. His work plays and subverts the materiality behind themes of identity, home/land, social and public space through participatory & performative installations and site-specific interventions. He is currently a Professor at theStamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan.
Asma Baban
Asma Baban joined the Halal Metropolis team through the Center for Arab American Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, first as a research assistant then as a project manager. A big fan of interdisciplinary studies, she graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor in General Studies. She currently works at the Institute for the Humanities.
Razi Jafri
Razi is a Detroit-based documentary photographer and filmmaker whose work focuses on ethnicity, religion, culture, immigration, democracy, and the changing cultural landscape in America. He is currently completing a documentary film examining the complexities of Multiculturalism through the lens of the city of Hamtramck’s 2017 municipal elections called “Hamtramck, USA.” He is also the photographer for the Halal Metropolis project and has been documenting the Muslim communities of Metro Detroit for several years now.
Mohamad Jaafar
In his role at the Center for Arab American Philanthropy, Mohamad Jaafar spotlights moving stories of Arab American giving and supports Arab American donors with their strategic giving journeys. Mohamad highlights Arab American and Muslim American history and contributions through his multimedia work at the Center for Arab American Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Fatima Al-Rasool
Fatima Al-Rasool is the Public Programming Coordinator at The Arab American National Museum and has been with the organization since January 2021. Fatima has developed a wide variety of public programs from the ground up, reaching thousands of audience members. She previously held a role at the Center for Arab American Studies at University of Michigan-Dearborn where she coordinated research-based exhibition projects centering the voices of local community members. Fatima is proudly from the community she serves, and believes in the power of representation in the arts and humanities. She holds a B.A. in anthropology from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.