How Dearborn, Michigan became the heart of Arab America

THE NATIONAL
By Nick Leech
The Arab American National Museum at 13624 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, Michigan, the demographic and cultural heart of the Arab community in the United States.
DEARBORN---Two very different buildings stand on either side of Michigan Avenue in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, the historic home of Henry Ford and his eponymous motor company. Only 12 years old and funded from charitable donations, the grey building at 13624 Michigan Avenue could not be more different. Not only is it decorated with ornate turquoise tiles and geometric patterns on its facade, but it is also topped with a very Islamic-looking dome. To the uninitiated, the building looks like a mosque, but actually it is home to the strictly non-denominational Arab-American National Museum (AANM), the only national institution in the United States dedicated to the Arab-American experience. [More]