Muslim Population in Michigan: Demographics, Rights, and Protections

Michigan is home to one of the largest Muslim communities in the United States, with an estimated 240,000 to 270,000 residents, roughly 2.4% to 2.75% of the state’s population. The Muslim population in Michigan is concentrated in the Detroit metropolitan area, most visibly in Dearborn and Hamtramck, and it is protected by overlapping state and federal laws covering employment, housing, hate crimes, religious dress, and the zoning of mosques.

How Many Muslims Live in Michigan and Where

Exact counts are inherently uncertain because the U.S. Census does not ask about religious affiliation. Researchers rely on surveys and community estimates, which put the state’s Muslim population somewhere between 240,000 and 270,000. Whatever the precise figure, Michigan consistently ranks among the top states in Muslim population concentration.

The Detroit metro area is the center of gravity. Dearborn appears to be Muslim-majority: 2020 Census data showed about 54.5% of its roughly 110,000 residents are of Middle Eastern or North African ancestry, and most of that population is believed to be Muslim. Hamtramck, a small city surrounded by Detroit, elected an all-Muslim city council and mayor, a distinction it maintained through the November 2023 elections.

The community is ethnically diverse. Immigration from Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and other Middle Eastern countries has been ongoing for more than a century, drawn initially by auto industry jobs. More recent arrivals include refugees from Iraq, Syria, and Somalia. Established neighborhoods in Dearborn and Hamtramck provide the social networks and institutions that help new residents settle, which reinforces the geographic concentration.

Michigan’s Civil Rights Statute

The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, enacted in 1976, is the state’s primary anti-discrimination law. It declares that the opportunity to obtain employment, housing, public accommodations, public services, and education free from religious discrimination is a civil right.¹ In practical terms, a landlord cannot refuse to rent to you because you are Muslim, an employer cannot fire you for observing Ramadan, and a business open to the public cannot deny you service because of your faith.

You have two paths if you experience discrimination. You can file a complaint with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, which can investigate, hold hearings, and order corrective action. You can also file a civil lawsuit directly in the circuit court where the violation occurred.² Available remedies include hiring or reinstatement with back pay, admission to housing or educational programs, damages for losses caused by the violation, and reasonable attorney fees. The Department can also impose civil fines.

Michigan’s Hate Crime Law

MCL 750.147b makes it a felony to use violence, cause bodily injury, stalk, destroy property, or threaten any of those acts based on the victim’s actual or perceived religion.³ Penalties escalate with the conduct:

Threats, first offense: up to 2 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
Violence, injury, stalking, or property destruction on a first offense, or threats on a second offense: up to 5 years and a fine of up to $10,000.
Aggravated offenses, including repeat offenses, group attacks, adult crimes against minors, and crimes committed with a firearm or other weapon: up to 10 years and a fine of up to $15,000.³

The statute covers both actual and perceived characteristics. Someone who attacks a Sikh man because the attacker mistakenly believes he is Muslim has still committed a hate crime under Michigan law.

Workplace Protections for Muslim Employees

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires employers with 15 or more employees to reasonably accommodate an employee’s sincerely held religious practices unless doing so would cause substantial hardship.⁴ Common accommodations for Muslim employees include schedule adjustments for daily prayers or Friday Jumu’ah services, flexible break times during Ramadan, and use of a quiet space for prayer at work.⁵

The Supreme Court raised the bar for what counts as too much hardship in Groff v. DeJoy (2023). An employer must now show the burden would result in “substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business,” replacing an older standard that let employers refuse accommodations for anything more than trivial cost.⁶ The Court also held that coworker hostility toward religion or toward the accommodation itself does not count as hardship. Coworkers being annoyed that someone gets a prayer break is not a legitimate business reason to deny it.

Religious Dress and Grooming

Title VII also protects religious clothing and grooming. An employer generally must allow a Muslim woman to wear a hijab or a Muslim man to maintain a beard unless it can show that an exception to its dress code would cause substantial hardship.⁷ Customer preference is explicitly not a defense. An employer cannot reassign a hijab-wearing employee to a back-of-house role because some customers might be uncomfortable; the EEOC treats that as illegal segregation based on religion.

One Setting Where Religious Dress Rules Bend: The Courtroom

Workplace and public-accommodation protections for religious dress do not extend everywhere. In 2009, the Michigan Supreme Court voted 5-2 to approve a revision to Michigan Rule of Evidence 611 that gives trial judges the power to require witnesses to remove head or facial coverings. The ACLU had argued for a religious exception, and the court rejected it. The case arose from a 2006 small claims hearing in which a Muslim woman was told to remove her niqab so the judge could assess her credibility while testifying. A Michigan judge presiding over a trial has discretion to require face coverings be removed during testimony.

Housing Protections

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on religion in the sale, rental, financing, and advertising of housing.⁸ A landlord cannot refuse to rent to you because you wear a hijab, steer you toward or away from a neighborhood based on your faith, or advertise housing in a way that signals a religious preference. Mortgage lenders and insurance companies are also covered and cannot offer worse terms because of your perceived religious affiliation.

The law contains a narrow exemption for religious organizations. A religious group may give preference to its own members when renting or selling dwellings it owns and operates for noncommercial purposes, provided membership in the organization is not restricted by race, national origin, or other protected characteristics. Outside that specific situation, housing providers must treat Muslim renters and buyers the same as anyone else.

Zoning Protections for Mosques and Islamic Schools

The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, passed by Congress in 2000, protects mosques, Islamic schools, and other religious institutions from discriminatory zoning decisions.⁹ Local governments cannot zone out religious buildings while permitting comparable secular gathering places like theaters, community centers, or lodges. The statute sets several specific prohibitions:

A zoning rule that places a substantial burden on religious exercise is illegal unless the government proves it has a compelling reason and is using the least restrictive approach.
If a zoning code allows secular assemblies in a district, it must also allow religious assemblies on equal terms.
Zoning decisions cannot treat one religion differently from another.
A jurisdiction cannot zone religious buildings out entirely or impose unreasonable limits on where they can locate.⁹

A religious institution facing a discriminatory permit denial can file a federal lawsuit or report the situation to the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, which enforces the statute through its Housing and Civil Enforcement Section.¹⁰ The DOJ can seek injunctive relief, though not monetary damages.

Federal Hate Crime Law

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (18 U.S.C. § 249) covers violent crimes motivated by the victim’s actual or perceived religion. Willfully causing or attempting to cause bodily injury based on religion is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison. If the attack results in death, or involves kidnapping or sexual assault, the sentence can rise to life imprisonment.¹¹ A conspiracy to commit such a crime that results in death or serious bodily injury carries up to 30 years. Federal prosecutors typically step in when state charges are inadequate, when the crime is particularly severe, or when local authorities are unable or unwilling to act.

Security Funding for Mosques

Mosques, Islamic schools, and other Muslim nonprofits that face heightened risk of extremist attack may be eligible for federal security grants through FEMA’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program. For fiscal year 2025, Congress allocated $274.5 million to the program, split evenly between urban area and statewide funding streams.¹² Eligible organizations can apply for up to $200,000 per site, with multi-site organizations eligible for up to $600,000 per state.

To qualify, the organization must hold 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status and demonstrate through its application that it faces a high risk of a terrorist or other extremist attack. Religious and spiritual organizations are one of the program’s prioritized categories. Allowable uses include security cameras, access control systems, reinforced doors and windows, security personnel contracts, active shooter training, and emergency response planning.

1
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code Section 37.2102 – Recognition and Declaration of Civil Right
2
Michigan Department of Civil Rights. Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act
3
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code MCL 750.147b
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 42 Section 2000e
5
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Fact Sheet: Religious Accommodations in the Workplace
6
Supreme Court of the United States. Groff v. DeJoy, 600 U.S. 447 (2023)
7
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Religious Garb and Grooming in the Workplace: Rights and Responsibilities
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 42 Section 3604
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 2000cc – Protection of Land Use as Religious Exercise
10
U.S. Department of Justice. Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 18 Section 249
12
FEMA. FY 2025 Nonprofit Security Grant Program Frequently Asked Questions