WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) released a booklet entitled “Being Muslim in America” in March.

The goal of the bureau is to provide foreign civilians and opinion makers information about U.S. policy, society and values, according to the State Department. This particular book provides information about American Muslims not only to foreign countries, but to non-Muslim Americans.

The front cover of the booklet features a photo of two Arab American girls from Dearborn playing basketball.

“They — along with the other men, women, and children in this publication — demonstrate every day what it is like to be Muslim in America,” the booklet reads.

“This publication is not embellishing the American Muslim community,” said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations. “It’s a portrait of people working and supporting America. ”

The booklet covers aspects of American Muslim life from careers to faith and includes profiles of young American Muslims, statistical data, history of Muslims in America and photos of famous Muslims, including comedians David Chappelle and Maysoon Zayid.

“It’s a good attempt at painting a balanced portrayal of who the American Muslim community is,” Walid said. “Over all it’s a good publication.”

The book can be viewed online in pdf format at: www.america.gov/publications/books.html.

CAIR-MI to hold community rights townhall

DEARBORN — CAIR-MI has organized a community town hall meeting to discuss civil rights challenges currently facing Michigan Muslims and Arabs as well as to field questions and concerns from community members.

Topics to be discussed include historical tension between civil rights groups, religious activists and the FBI; concerns related to the use of informants/agents provocateur and coercion; laptop seizures and detentions while re-entering the country.

Speakers will include Nihad Awad, CAIR national executive director; Ihsan Alkhatib, ADC-MI board member attorney; Rana Elmir, ACLU-MI communications director; and Dr. Irshad Altheimer, Wayne State University criminal justice professor.

The Community Rights Town Hall will be held on Friday, June 12, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Islamic Center of Detroit, 14350 Tireman St, Detroit, MI 48228.

University to host ethnic media forum

Publisher of The Arab American News Osama Siblani, L, and Latino Press Publisher Elias Gutierrez.

DEARBORN — Publisher of The Arab American News Osama Siblani is scheduled to participate in an ethnic media symposium hosted by the University of Michigan-Dearborn on June 12, along with Detroit Jewish News Publisher Arthur Horowitz, Latino Press Publisher Elias Gutierrez and publisher of the Michigan Korean Weekly, Tack-Yong Kim.
The event, June 12 at 10:30 a.m. in room 1011 of the Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems, 4901 Evergreen Road in Dearborn, will address the questions “Has Obama changed the face of ethnic media?” and “Are ethnic media oiling the wheels of our democracy?”

The Michigan Chronicle senior editor Bankole Thompson

The forum, led and moderated by Bankole Thompson, senior editor of African American newspaper The Michigan Chronicle, will address changes, prospects and challenges ethnic media face.
“We want people to be aware of what these papers do in the community and how important they are to people,” Thompson said. “When [they] speak, people listen. These are trusted sources in the community.”

Detroit Jewish News Publisher Arthur Horowitz, L, and publisher of Michigan Korean Weekly Tack-Yong Kim.

The symposium is the third in the Media Diversity and Social Change Lecture Series started by journalism professor Tim Kiska and student Janey Jones, both of the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
“We wanted to provide an opportunity for students to become familiar with diversity and connect to the media,” said professor Eric Bolling, director of multicultural affairs at UM-D. “What diversity means, what people who enter the work forces need to know, and what the university can do the prepare students for that work force…”

Bolling said that although the series was initially intended to include four lectures, the series will continue in an effort to get the university more involved in the community.

For more information, call 313.593.5320.

AILF applauds Holder’s reversal of no-right-to-counsel decision

WASHINGTON — The American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) last week applauded Attorney General Eric Holder’s withdrawal of a decision issued by former Attorney General Michael Mukasey that purported to unravel decades of legal precedent on the important role of and right to competent counsel in immigration proceedings.

Mukasey’s last minute legal opinion affected many thousands of people facing life-changing consequences — namely, deportation. Mukasey’s decision held that immigrants facing deportation have no legal or constitutional right to representation by a lawyer and have no right to complain or seek redress if their rights were violated because of incompetent representation.

Holder’s decision says that the Department of Justice will initiate rulemaking procedures on the right to relief for ineffective counsel in deportation proceedings. In the meantime, the decision says, the law will revert to the prior law, which provided an avenue for victims of ineffective counsel to reopen their cases.

AILF was one of 130 organizations that submitted a letter to Holder in February asking him to reverse Mukasey’s decision.

“We are very encouraged that Attorney General Holder appreciates the importance of immigrants’ rights in deportation proceedings,” said Nadine Wettstein, Director of AILF’s Legal Action Center (LAC). “Mukasey’s decision, if left in place, would have created years of confusion in the immigration and federal courts and would have resulted in potentially thousands of people being thrown out of the country without having had their day in court.”

For more information, contact Nadine Wettstein, director of the American Immigration Law Foundation-Legal Action Center, phone 202.236.0958 or nwettstein@ailf.org.

Bouchard to run for governor

EAST LANSING — Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, who is an Arab American, said Wednesday he’s the best prepared candidate in a crowded Republican field to balance the state budget and get the economy moving again as governor.

Oakland County Sheriff and Arab American Mike Bouchard

He criticized current state leaders for failing to do enough to trim Michigan’s budget to meet shrinking revenues, noting that state lawmakers still haven’t killed a job perk that gives them lifetime health care benefits after six years of service.
“Not only are they not making the tough choices, they’re making the wrong choices,” Bouchard said. “It’s going to take a backbone.”

The Oakland County sheriff held events Wednesday in Clawson, East Lansing and Grand Rapids as he formally kicked off his campaign. He said he waited to get into the race until Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson decided against a run.

A former state lawmaker, Bouchard told reporters in East Lansing that he knows how to make the hard cuts so state spending can stay within its budget without taxes being raised.

“I don’t think, based on all the folks that I run into, (that) they either have the interest or the ability to pay more taxes right now,” he said. “I am not raising taxes.”

He joins a crowded Republican field that includes Attorney General Mike Cox, Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, state Sen. Tom George and possibly Ann Arbor businessman Rick Snyder.

Teacher of the year named in Dearborn

DEARBORN — Nada Makled, an Arab American teacher at Lowery Middle School, was given a Teacher of the Year award by the Dearborn Chamber of Commerce on May 27 at an annual reception held at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center.

Lowrey Middle School teacher Nada Makled, right, poses with fellow teachers of the year Anne Joachim of Haigh Elementary School and Carolyn Allen of Dearborn High School, alongside school and chamber of commerce officials during an awards ceremony.

Makled, along with Anne Joachim of Haigh Elementary School and Carolyn Allen of Dearborn High School, were selected out of more than 200 nominees by the Chamber’s education committee.
Makled began teaching at Lowery in 1991.

“Her priorities are not only to teach so that we can pass a required quiz, but to help us relate the lesson to reason better about the world around us,” said student Marwa Harp, in her essay nominating Makled for the award. “No matter what the historical event or concept is though, my teacher succeeds in relating it to the present. By doing that, we not only grab the lesson better, but we become aware of our surroundings.”

The honorees received a $1,000 cash prize and a plaque recognizing their dedication and passion for teaching.

Karmanos Cancer Institute hosts annual survivorship celebration

DETROIT – The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute’s 5th annual Survivorship University Celebration of Survivorship event is scheduled for June 18, with a resource fair at 5:30 p.m. and a reception and award ceremony at 6:30 p.m. at the Silver Garden of Southfield, 24350 Southfield Road in Southfield.

The celebration recognizes cancer survivors who raise awareness of cancer prevention and help empower lives.

This year’s event theme is Music as Medicine. Renowned music therapist Deforia Lane, a two-time breast cancer survivor, is expected to speak on the impact that music has on cancer survivors.

Register for this free event by June 15. Call 1.800.KARMANOS or register online at www.karmanos.org.

Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Henry Ford Health System create partnership

DETROIT — As part of an innovative partnership, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO), Henry Ford Health System and conductor Leonard Slatkin will team up to bring a free community concert titled Music and Healing to Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital on June 10.

The performance, located in the Ravitz Foundation Main Atrium, begins at 7 p.m. Highlights of the all-string program include J.S. Bach’s famous Air on a G-string, Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings,” and a string orchestra arrangement of Copland’s popular “Hoe Down” from Rodeo.

From 5-9 p.m. the hospital’s Main Street shopping area, which includes the Live Well Shoppe, New Blooms and Sleep Well, will be offering discounts on selected products as well as food samples in the Demonstration Kitchen and a free drawing for two gift packages from Sleep Well and New Blooms. Additionally, Vita, the wellness center at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, will be offering five minute chair massages and Henry’s, the hospital’s café featuring healthy, tasty cuisine, will be open for dining. The hospital is located at 6777 West Maple Rd.

For free tickets or more information on Music and Healing, call Henry Ford’s events hotline at 313.874.6200 or email eventsmanagement@hfhs.org.