PART I
THE IMMIGRANT GENERATION
CHAPTER 1
Origins
The Islamic Center of New England was a long range dream of seven Lebanese Muslim families whose history began in the early 1900's when the first generation of immigrants settled in Quincy Point, Quincy, Ma. They were among the first wave of Muslim immigrants to enter America from the Middle East, in the years from about 1875 to 1912.
The seven families in this study responsible for founding the Center are: the Ameens, the Derbes, the El-Deebs, the Abrahams, the Allies, the Hassans (two brothers, Ismael and `Abduh), and the Omars (Awad).
Abdullah Abraham came to America in 1895. Selman Allie arrived in 1911, stayed for ten years, went back for a bride and returned to America in 1925. Mohamed Omar (Awad) arrived in 1913. Mohammed Ameen (Suliman) arrived in 1908, went back for a bride and returned in 1913. Ali Muhammed El-Deeb arrived in 1912. `Abduh and Ismael Hassan arrived in 1902. Touffiq Hesine Derbes came to this country in 1909.
Two of the seven Muslim families in this study were of the Shi i tradition, while the majority were Sunni Muslims. All of the Muslims, both Shi i and Sunni, came from the areas north of Tripoli, south of Beirut, or from the east in the Bekka Valley.
Reasons for Migration
To understand the reasons for their migration, it is useful to look at the example of one of the founders, a Sunni Muslim, Mohamed Omar Awad. At the age of 22, Mr. Omar left his village in the mountainous area north of Tripoli. He waited for fifteen days at the Greek port, Patras, until the Martha Washington arrived to take him to Ellis Island, New York.
Like other immigrants from rural areas of what now constitutes Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan, Mr. Omar was fleeing the long arm of the Turkish army. He stated that there was no reason for him to leave his home but for the threat of having to fight for the Turks in Yemen. He had six uncles who had gone to fight and never came back.
Historian, George Antonius, explains that the practice of recruiting troops from Syria to reconquor the Arabs of Yemen, introduced in 1880, "opened a long and costly chapter of enmity between Turk and Arab." The recruitment continued in spite of protests in Beirut. The Yemenese revolted in 1903 and again in 1911, ultimately forcing the Turks into a compromise.
In 1931, Mr. Omar came to Quincy to work at the Fore River Shipyard. The community of immigrant Muslims in Quincy were unable to fulfill their Islamic obligations. Those pertained to praying over the dead, reading from the Qur'an (the Muslim Holy Book), weekly congregational prayers, zakah (annual obligatory charity), etc. Reasons for a lack of community cohesion were illiteracy, poverty, and having no customary place to pay the zakah. Mr. Omar pushed for the group to get organized. Because he could read and write, he soon became a leader in the nascent community.