Wisam Raheem sets the table for his family during Ramadan in Missoula, Montana, on Tuesday, April 8, 2024. Wisam moved to the US and applied for asylum from the United Arab Emirates with his wife and kids in 2017. He was forced to leave his home in Iraq after he worked with an American company during the US-Iraq war in the early 2000s.
Zina and Wisam Raheem mix ingredients for a batch of cookies during the evening breaking of the fast, called Iftar, in Missoula, Montana, on Tuesday, April 8, 2024. Wisam and Zina moved to Missoula from the United Arab Emirates and applied for asylum with their two kids in 2017.
Wisam Raheem drives six hours from Missoula to Spokane to look for specific ingredients and brands at a Middle Eastern market on Saturday, March 9, 2024. Most families from the resettlement community make the long drive monthly because certain foods are not available in Montana.
The drive from Missoula to Spokane is precarious during winter, but an important connection for many families from the resettlement community. It takes six hours, crossing northern Idaho, and travel over four mountain passes round-trip.
Wisam loads up his shopping cart with halal meats, yogurt, olives, and treats before Ramadan at the Middle Eastern Market in Spokane, Washington on Saturday, March 9, 2024. Wisam makes the six hour drive to Washington because many of the foods are unavailable in Montana.
Wisam and his brother-in-law Ammar Omar opened Kamoon & Ragheef in January 2022. Their restaraunt serves Arabian cuisine, including shawarma, flat bread, baba ganosh, falafel and hummus in Missoula, Montana.
Wisam Raheem, owner of the restaurant, and Yahyah Shikh Saleh, a Syrian refugee who recently resettled in Missoula with his family, prepare dinner for customers at Kamoon & Ragheef in Missoula, Montana on Monday, February 3, 2024. Wisam employs refugees from the resettlement community at his restaurant as they reinvent their lives.
Yahyah Shikh Saleh, originally from Syria, poses with his children at his home in Missoula, Montana on Tuesday, February 25, 2024. Yahyah is currently learning English and works at Wisam's restaurant, Kamoon & Ragheef.
Kamal Laksic prepares a room for Friday prayer for the local Muslim community in Missoula, Montana, on Friday, March 7, 2024. Of the approximately 500 people who have resettled in Missoula since 2016, some are from Muslim countries like Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.
Members of the Missoula Muslim community squeeze into a small room for worship at the University of Montana on Friday, March 7, 2024. The community, which is partly made up of refugees and asylees, has struggled to find a suitable space to worship in Missoula, Montana.
Folks from the Missoula Muslim community spill out into the hallway during Friday Prayer at the University of Montana on Friday, March 8, 2024. The Muslim community, which is partly made up of refugees and asylees, has struggled to find a suitable space to worship in Missoula, Montana.
Kamal Laksic washes his hands and feet in a small closet as part of ritual purification before praying on Friday, March 8, 2024. Laksic serves as the Imam for the local Muslim community.
The Imam, Kamal Laksic, leads a round of Quran jeopardy for kids with giant candy bars for the winners during Iftar in Missoula, Montana, on Saturday, April 6, 2024. The local Missoula muslim community provides a wider sense of family for many resettlement families who have relatives overseas.
Community members gather to eat during Iftar, the evening breaking of the fast, during Ramadan in Missoula, Montana on Saturday, April 6, 2024. The local Missoula muslim community provides a wider sense of family for many resettlement families who have relatives overseas.
Chef Grace Mussiwa prepares dinner for Soft Landing's United We Eat program at the First Methodist Church in Missoula, Montana on Monday, March 11, 2024. Grace is a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She's working on becoming an accountant while her husband Paul studies computer science.
Yucca is peeled by a United We Eat volunteer at the First Methodist Church in Missoula, Montana on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. United We Eat uses food as a way to create bridges between chefs from all around the world eager to share their culinary traditions and local residents excited to try global cuisine.
Chef Grace Mussiwa and a UWE volunteer share a giggle during day two of dinner prep at the First Methodist Church in Missoula on Monday, March 11, 2024. Grace is a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She's working on becoming an accountant while her husband Paul studies computer science.
A volunteer hands an excited customer the Beef a la Tomate dinner cooked by Chef Grace Chef Mussiwa in the basement of First Methodist Church in Missoula on Wednesday, March 12, 2024. The United We Eat program highlights community exchange and provides a supplemental income for chefs from the resettlement community.
Kamar Mardelli, a Syrian refugee, prepares to teach an Arabic class for kids from the resettlement community at the Missoula Public Library on Sunday, April 27, 2024. Many of the kids are fluent in English, but some have partially forgotten how to speak Arabic over the last few years.
One of Kamar's students practices writing her Arabic letters and accents during class at the Missoula Public Library on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Kamar teaches about a dozen students once a week for a few months during summer.
Kamar Mardelli, a Syrian refugee, practices pronunciations with her students from the resettlement community at the Missoula Public Library on Sunday, April 27, 2024. Many of the kids are fluent in English, but some have partially forgotten how to speak Arabic over the last few years.