The Arab American News
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US-backed forces move cautiously into ISIS-held Raqqa
June 12th, 20170 RAQQA —At Raqqa's eastern edge, a handful of Syrian fighters cross a river by foot and car, all the while relaying their coordinates to the U.S.-led coalition so they don't fall victim to friendly fire. This is their only way into al-Mishlab, the first district the Kurdish and Arab militias have swept into, in what the coalition...
Iranian attackers fought for ISIS in Syria, Iraq
June 12th, 20170 ANKARA — Iran said on Thursday that gunmen and bombers who attacked Tehran were Iranian members of ISIS who had fought in the militants' strongholds in Syria and Iraq - deepening the regional ramifications of the assaults. The five attackers raided Iran's parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum on Wednesday morning, in a rare...
Israel advances plans for additional 1,500 settler homes
June 12th, 20170 JERUSALEM — Israel has advanced plans for a further 1,500 homes in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, Peace Now, an Israeli non-profit organization advocating for a two-state solution, said on Thursday, the second such announcement in a week. More than 3,000 units have been advanced this week, a spokeswoman for the group...
UN: Yemen cholera passes 100,000 cases
June 12th, 20171 GENEVA — The number of suspected cholera cases in war-torn Yemen has risen to more than 100,000 since an outbreak began on April 27, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. The rapid spread of the disease through 19 of Yemen's 23 governorates highlighted a humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen after two years of civil war that...
U.S. intelligence contractor pleads not guilty to leaking charge
June 12th, 20171 AUGUSTA, GA.- A U.S. intelligence contractor accused of illegally leaking a classified report on Russian interference in U.S. elections to a media outlet pleaded not guilty on Thursday to an espionage offense, and a federal judge denied her request for bail. Reality Leigh Winner, 25, is accused of passing the top secret National...
Texas teacher let go for giving mock ‘terrorist’ award to student
June 12th, 20170 HOUSTON- A teacher at a Houston-area school is out of a job after presenting mock awards to seventh-grade students, including one for being "most likely to be a terrorist," the school district said on Wednesday. "We have concluded our investigation and the teacher responsible is no longer employed by the district," the Channelview...
Suspect in Oregon train stabbings claims self-defense
June 12th, 20170 PORTLAND- The man accused of murdering two men and wounding a third on a Portland, Oregon, train was led away from a courtroom on Wednesday by sheriff's deputies as he shouted that he had acted in self defense. Jeremy Christian, 35, had stood quietly in a glass-walled holding cell in the courtroom throughout a brief appearance until...
Comey says Trump fired him to undermine FBI Russia investigation
June 12th, 20171 WASHINGTON- Former FBI Director James Comey accused President Donald Trump on Thursday of firing him to try to undermine the agency's investigation of possible collusion by Trump's campaign with Russia's alleged efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election. In the most eagerly anticipated U.S. congressional hearing in years,...
First Institute of Arab and Islamic Art opens in New York
June 12th, 20170 NEW YORK — The city of New York had no institute to showcase the modern and contemporary art of Arab and Muslim artists. But, that changed this May when the Institute of Arab and Islamic Art opened with a four-woman show of work by Dana Awartani, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Zarina and Nasreen Mohamedi. For now, it is temporarily...
Muslim comedian shares six things not to say to those fasting
June 11th, 20171 In 2015, British Muslim stand-up comedian Bilal Zafar wrote an article for The Independent called “Six things you shouldn’t say to someone fasting for Ramadan.” “I have been fasting during the month of Ramadan every year since I was about 8-years-old and the experience has been changing for me in many ways, teaching me a lot...
Up to 100 girls may have been victims of female genital mutilation in Metro Detroit
June 11th, 20171 DETROIT —Up to 100 girls may have been genitally mutilated in the Metro Detroit area during a 12-year conspiracy. Three Metro Detroit doctors have been accused in the case. There is evidence showing that eight girls were mutilated, according to U.S. Assistant Attorney Sara Woodward. The country's first female genital mutilation...
Hamtramck sides with Paris Agreement
June 11th, 20170 HAMTRAMCK — On Sunday, June 4, Mayor Karen Majewski joined a group of 210 mayors from around the U.S. who have pledged to uphold the Paris Agreement, also known as the Paris climate accord. President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the accord last week. The group Climate Mayors (Mayors National Climate Action Agenda or MNCAA) is an...
Carrying concealed guns without permit passes State House, awaits Senate approval
June 11th, 20170 LANSING — Concealed weapons may now be carried without a permit or mandatory training under a controversial plan the State House approved on Wednesday, June 7. The House passed the four-bill package after a series of votes, prompting a debate about gun safety. Supporters said it would extend Constitutional rights to gun owners,...
Protesters rally against “Sharia Law” in dozens of U.S. cities
June 10th, 20171 SEATTLE- Protesters held rallies across the United States on Saturday to denounce sharia law, the Islamic legal and moral code that organizers say poses a threat to American freedoms, but critics believe anti-Muslim hatred is behind the condemnation. ACT for America, a self-described grassroots organization focusing on national...
Dr. Youssef Mosallam: The Fordson graduate who became its youngest principal
June 10th, 20170 By Stephen Martin DEARBORN — For Dr. Youssef Mosallam, one of the three executive directors of student achievement in the Dearborn Public Schools, education isn't just about test scores. "It's about, did you shape the life of young men and women that are now shaping the lives of others?" he said. Mosallam, 41, has been in his......
Ahmad Jibril doesn’t belong to Dearborn
June 10th, 20170 Local and national articles are alarming readers with tales of an insidious "Dearborn cleric" who is apparently "popular" and "inspirational" to ISIS members. The headlines, however, have it all wrong. He is neither a cleric nor has he ever really been visible in Dearborn. Furthermore, his obscurity can hardly award him with any...
American University of Beirut professor denied entry to US because of “extreme vetting”
June 9th, 20170 WASHINGTON — An associate professor at Lebanon's American University of Beirut said he was traveling to California for an engineering conference when he was unjustly barred from entering the US because of new “extreme vetting” measures. George A. Saad, 35, missed his presentation at the Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference......
Two Lebanese Americans charged with aiding Hezbollah
June 9th, 20170 DEARBORN — A Dearborn man whose home was raided by the FBI on June 1 was arrested in Livonia later that night on suspicion of links to Hezbollah, a U.S. designated terrorist organization, the Justice Department announced on Thursday, June 8. Both Samer El Debek, a Lebanese American truck driver who moved to Michigan from New York a...
Al Jazeera TV says it’s combating cyber attack, not intimidated by Gulf dispute
June 8th, 20170 DOHA ― Pan-Arab satellite network Al Jazeera is combating a large-scale cyber attack but all its entities remained operational, a company source told Reuters on Thursday. "There were attempts made on the cyber security of Al Jazeera but we are combating them and currently all our entities are operational," said a senior employee who...
At least 12 killed in ISIS attack in Iran, Guards blame Saudi Arabia
June 7th, 20170 TEHRAN- Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Iranian parliament and the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people in a twin assault which Iran's Revolutionary Guards blamed on regional rival Saudi Arabia. ISIS claimed responsibility and released a video purporting to show gunmen inside the...
Board of Education to interview seven applicants for vacant seat, five are Arab Americans
June 6th, 20170 DEARBORN ― The Dearborn Board of Education is seeking to fill a seat vacated by former Trustee Mariam Bazzi. Bazzi resigned on May 22 after she was appointed by Governor Snyder as a judge in the Wayne County Circuit Court. She was a Lead Prosecuting Attorney in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, and elected as a trustee in......
French counter-terrorism unit investigates attack on Notre Dame
June 6th, 20171 PARIS-The counter-terrorism unit of the Paris prosecutor's office opened an investigation on Tuesday, shortly after a man armed with a hammer attacked an officer outside the Notre Dame cathedral. Police shot the assailant who was described as "neutralized" by the interior ministry. The man, armed with a hammer, shouted "this is...
Police looking for man who robbed 13-year-old’s phone
June 6th, 20170 Dearborn — Police are still looking for a man who stole a 13-year-old girl's cell phone on Saturday, May 27 near Michigan Avenue and Middlesex Street. The suspect, described as a white or Arab male 25-40 years old with a thin build, walked up to the girl at around 7:30 p.m., forcibly stole her cell phone and fled the scene on......
Arab powers sever Qatar ties, citing support for militants
June 5th, 20170 DUBAI ― The Arab world's biggest powers cut ties with Qatar on Monday over alleged support for Islamists and Iran, reopening a festering wound two weeks after President Trump's demand for Muslim states to fight terrorism. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed diplomatic relations with Qatar in a coordinated...
UK police rush to three attacks in central London, at least one dead
June 3rd, 20171 LONDON- British armed police rushed to three incidents in central London on Saturday after a van plowed into pedestrians on London Bridge and reports of multiple stabbings in the nearby Borough Market area. Police sent out security advice to Londoners on Twitter saying "run, hide, tell" if they were caught in an attack. The BBC cited......
