Recently, 40-year old Jameel Syed made a historic journey visiting 50 mosques in 50 states in a little over a month. He operated on minimum sleep only getting 3-5 hours a night while he traveled cross-country.
Instead of feeling tired, Syed said in an interview with NBC News, “I feel blessed, that I have the opportunity to go and raise the call to prayer across 50 states and 50 mosques is equivalent to winning a lottery ticket to a billion dollars. I feel extremely blessed and lucky to have touched the lives of so many people both Muslim and non-Muslim alike.”
Syed visited every state in an effort to find the Muslim heart of America, and to connect with non-Muslims along the way. In the home stretch, he went from Hawaii to Alaska, before returning to his home mosque, the Islamic Association of Greater Detroit in Rochester Hills.
As the muezzin, Syed is the person who delivers the call to prayer to the faithful, five times a day. On May 8, he arrived home for the final call of his trip.
The plan now is to make a documentary on the purpose of his journey.
The 50-Mosque Man, The Muaddhin Fall Tour 2015 is an interactive and visual presentation of the historic journey across America. The event will be held Saturday October 17 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Ming Hsieh Hall Room G21.