The Dearborn Mosque in the city's South End, nearly always filled to capacity, is undergoing a massive renovation that will add about 24,000 square feet of space--effectively doubling its size.

Meanwhile, on Ford Road near Evergreen, workers are busy building one of the largest mosques in North America. The new $15-million Islamic Center of America, a 65,000-square-foot mosque and community center, is expected to open some time next year.

Although exact numbers aren't available, it's estimated that about half of the 270,000 Arab Americans who live in Metro Detroit practice Islam-and they're running out of room to pray. What once was adequate space quickly is becoming cramped, religious leaders say.

"The mosques that are here were designed for the community 40 years ago," said Imam Hassan Qazwini of the Islamic Center. "Now, we're facing a tremendous need to expand. When we hold events in our center (on Joy Road in Detroit, just outside Dearborn), we're not able to accommodate the attendance."

Political and economic upheaval in countries like Iraq and Yemen has caused increasing numbers of Arab Muslims to move into the area over the last few years, experts say. In addition, Islamic families who already live in the United States are growing. "Kids who live here bring their parents over here, and parents are bringing their kids and other relatives over," said Imam Mohamed Musa of the Dearborn Mosque, which was built in 1938. "The families living here are getting larger all the time, and we need to expand with them."

Both mosque projects are being financed by private donations, because the Islamic faith prohibits practitioners from taking loans with interest.

The opening dates of both mosques are contingent on how much money is raised.

"Money talks," Musa said. "We were planning to open at the end of this summer, but we don't know if there will be enough money to finish the construction by then. We are hoping some members of the business community will donate money to the mosque."

Qazwini has been able to secure nearly $4 million toward the building of the Islamic Center but that's less than a third of the money necessary to complete the project.

"We are trying to solicit some businessmen who are capable of lifting this heavy burden," Qazwini said. "We are hoping that we may solicit new donors who believe in this cause and want to help."

The signs of increasing numbers of Muslims in Dearborn are everywhere, said Nasser Beydoun, director of the Arab American Chamber of Commerce in Dearborn.

"It's had an affect on the business community," Beydoun said. "For instance, the real estate market in the south end, near the mosque, is booming. They're building $200,000 homes in that neighborhood."

Further west, the number of stores catering to Arabs and Muslims has exploded, Beydoun said. "Within the last 10 years, 188 new businesses have opened up on Warren Avenue (most of them owned by Arabs)," Beydoun said. "It's amazing what's been happening in that area."

There are other signs of the increasing number of Muslims in Dearborn. One obvious manifestation of the increase is in the way local restaurants, stores and hospitals are preparing food to cater to the growing Muslim population:

• A McDonald's restaurant on Michigan recently became the first McDonald's outlet in the state-and the only McDonald's east of the Mississippi-to offer food acceptable to strict Muslim dietary laws. The restaurant at 14860 Michigan, east of Greenfield, now offers halal McNuggets. Halal is an Arabic word meaning lawful, or permitted. The meat is prepared according to the dictates of the Koran, much like kosher food.
• In June, Kroger began to sell halal chicken in some of its stores, including two Dearborn Kroger supermarkets.
• A Big Boy restaurant on Michigan near Miller now offers halal hamburgers.
• Oakwood Hospital officials say they are the first hospital in the country to strictly follow the religious, cultural and dietary needs of Arab and Muslim patients. The hospital has changed its cafeteria hours to accommodate those who are fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. The hospital also hired a full-time chef to prepare foods according to Islamic law, added Middle Eastern cuisine to the menu, and translated all menu items into Arabic.

"Dearborn has been a destination for Muslims for many years," Qazwini said. "Now, the new immigrants are mixing in with the old immigrants, and, like any growing community, our needs are changing."