The Yemeni People of Dearborn Michigan
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Yemeni people are of Arab descent.
They have emigrated in masses from Yemen to the United States (mainly Detroit) since the 1970s due largely to employment opportunities in the auto sector.
The state of Michigan has the highest concentration of Yemeni Arabs in the United States (250,000).
The Yemeni are highly concentrated in Dearborn, MI and seclude themselves to their neighborhood called “Southend.” Yemenis do not integrate socially within the community of Dearborn outside of their Southend community.
Yemeni women in Dearborn are far less visible than their male counterparts. This is due to the restrictions that Yemeni women face under Muslim Shia law.
Women are prohibited from leaving Southend unless they are with their family or attending school.
1st generation Yemeni-American children struggle between two identities; conforming to the American way of life and adhering to the strict regulations of the Muslim religion.
Yemeni teenage girls are often expected to marry at a young age, as young as 14. They are sent to their homeland of Yemen to get married, forbade from listening to music, wearing makeup and must wear headscarves.
High school is often a means of escape for these girls as it gives them a chance to evade the restrictions that are placed on them at home.
Dearborn is home of both the Islamic Center of America and the Dearborn Mosque
The Dearborn Mosque was founded by the American Muslim Society it broadcasts a “call to prayer” daily through loudspeakers in which a Muslim prayers is broadcast for all to hear loudspeakers and can be heard in the surrounding area.
The Islamic Center of America is the largest Mosque in the United States.