The Arab American News
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FBI reports hate crimes increase by 6.8 percent in 2015
November 18th, 20160 WASHINGTON — An FBI report released on Sunday, Nov. 13, revealed that in 2015, hate crimes increased 6.8 percent from the previous year. Crimes against Muslims saw the highest jump, a 67 percent increase from 2014, totaling 257 incidents compared with 154 in 2014. The number of hate crimes against Muslims in 2015 was the second...
Arab American National Museum empowers women through filmmaking program
November 18th, 20160 Young women participate in the Arab American National Museum's "Reel Stories" filmmaking program.DEARBORN — The Arab American National Museum is empowering young women through a filmmaking program that creates a diverse, collaborative setting, where innovation and commitment are key components to success. "Reel Stories:...
State Rep. elect Sylvia Santana looks to strengthen a diverse district
November 18th, 20160 Sylvia SantanaDETROIT — Sylvia Santana was elected to succeed her husband, Harvey Santana, in the Michigan House of Representatives for the oddly shaped District 9. That district covers a portion of east Dearborn and a bulk of Detroit, including the Warrendale area. Santana said she's gotten to know many of her...
Police searching for 7-Eleven robbery suspect
November 18th, 20160 DEARBORN — Police are asking for the public's assistance in identifying a suspect involved in an armed robbery at a 7-eleven store. On November 14, at approximately 1:30 a.m. in the area of Telegraph and Oxford, a male approximately 25-30 years old, with what is described as a "scraggly sculpted beard", entered the store. He...
Local Arabs and Jews join forces against bigotry
November 18th, 20160 MJF member Tamim Shaker with Jordan Weiss, co-chair of AJC's ACCESS-Detroit.DETROIT — Talk of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict often conjures unfavorable perceptions within many Arab and Jewish households – populations with a considerable presence in Metro Detroit. However, with large populations of both Arab Americans and Jews in...
Activists embrace grassroots resistance of violence in Palestine
November 18th, 20160 DEARBORN — It was heart-wrenching for Iyad Burnat, an activist from Palestine, to see his son unable to join his friends in playing soccer because of a protest they had chosen to lead. Recounting the moment his child was shot by Israeli soldiers during a non-violent resistance demonstration in the West Bank farming village of...
Grosse Pointe students and parents support principal’s comments regarding unity
November 18th, 20160 GROSSE POINTE — After Grosse Pointe South High School Principal Moussa Hamka, a Muslim, came under attack from a few parents following his message to students encouraging respect and unity after the presidential election, more than 100 parents and students showed their support at a school board meeting on Monday, Nov. 14. According...
Dearborn Federation of Teachers donate books to DPS students
November 18th, 20160 DEARBORN — For its fourth year of classroom book donations, the Dearborn Federation of Teachers donated a free book to every student in a classroom at Miller Elementary, Bryant Middle and Edsel Ford High School. This contribution is part of its ongoing effort to hand out "a free book for every student in Dearborn." Students stopped...
Republicans urge minorities to give Trump a chance, despite intolerant advisors
November 18th, 20160 DETROIT — President elect Donald Trump's offensive campaign rhetoric seems to be finding a very prominent and visible place on his cabinet. In the days since the jaw dropping election, Trump has appointed several right wing, anti-Islamic White-nationalists to his advisory team–paving a path for what can perhaps be a gloomy four...
Newlyweds forced to purchase their stolen jewelry back from pawn shop
November 18th, 20160 Surveillance footage of the couple who used Zainab's credit card at a Walmart in Roseville.DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Rachid and his newlywed wife Zainab were devastated after their home was burglarized in August and the culprits made off with jewelry— including a wedding ring— electronics and credit cards. But that distress turned into...Trump taps Islamophobe Lt. Gen. Flynn as national security adviser
WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump has tapped retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn to become his national security adviser, a source with knowledge of the matter has revealed.The source told NBC Wednesday evening that Trump had settled on Flynn, who was also being considered for the secretary of defense post.Earlier in the evening,...High school prep students tell minorities to ‘sit in the back of the bus’
NEW YORK - A group of girls from St. Francis Prep in New York City, suggested that minority students should sit in the back of an MTA bus last Wednesday. “Aren’t you supposed to be sitting in the back of the bus now?” one girl said, according to a Facebook post. “Like Trump is president!” The report was posted on Facebook by...Two charged for assaulting, holding Muslim woman at gunpoint
NOEL, Mo. —19-year old Fatima Mohamed decided to have a quiet dinner at a park near her work when she had a one hour break on October 3.But as the woman, who wears Islamic attire, was driving back to work, she was cornered by a group of people who forced her out of her vehicle, assaulted her, fired shots in her direction and...Minnesota high school students show up to class in hijab
Minnesota - Dozens of female students at a high school in Minnesota stood in solidarity with a Muslim student who was feeling outcasted by showing up in hijab. A couple dozen Duluth East High School students took it upon themselves to fight growing anti-Islamic rhetoric by wearing the hijab on Wednesday. "We want to stand in...Trump surrogate says Japanese internment camps a model for ‘Muslim registry’
WASHINGTON - One of Donald Trump surrogate’s claimed Wednesday that the forced internment of Japanese Americans during World War II provided a “precedent” for the next administration creating a registry of Muslims living in the U.S. Carl Higbie, a former Navy SEAL and booster of the President-elect, told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly......
Obama: Trump will get wake-up call when he takes office
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump is in for a quick wake-up call and will have to adjust his temperament when he confronts the realities of his new job on Jan. 20, President Barack Obama said on Monday. In a news conference at the White House, Obama said the freewheeling Trump could not be as outspoken as he was during the...
UN: Arab Spring cost more than $600 billion worth of growth
November 17th, 20160 NEW YORK — A new report from the United Nations suggests that the turmoil in the years since 2010 has left a heavy economic imprint in the Arab region — in particular, leading to a net loss of $613.8 billion in economic activity, or about 6 percent of gross domestic product from 2011 to 2015. The commission noted that it was not......
Turkey aims to fully secure borders early next year with Syria campaign
November 17th, 20160 ANKRA — Turkey aims to have fully secured its borders in the first half of next year, Defence Minister Fikri Isik said on Thursday, as Turkish-backed forces pursue a campaign to clear ISIS and Kurdish fighters from a strip of northern Syria. NATO member Turkey sent tanks, warplanes and artillery into Syria in August in support of...
Yemen’s Houthis say they want to end war, form unity government
November 17th, 20160 HODEIDAH — Yemen's Houthi group said on Wednesday it was ready to stop fighting and join a national unity government, raising hopes of a resolution to a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people. The announcement appeared to confirm the details of a deal set out by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry a day earlier that he said...
Sheikh who publicly supports Trump is a fraud
November 17th, 20160 DEARBORN — On Wednesday, the Supreme Islamic Shi'a Council of Beirut issued a press release declaring that the alleged Lebanese Sheikh Mohammad Haj Hassan, who is known for supporting Donald Trump, is not an Islamic scholar. The release stated that Haj Hassan, "has nothing to do with clergy, whatsoever", but is rather a distrustful...
Arab American Detroit police officer dies
November 17th, 20160 DEARBORN — Hadi Mahmoud, 30, a Dearborn resident and police officer with the Detroit Police Department, passed away Monday, Nov. 7. Federal investigations and an autopsy are being conducted to determine the cause of death, according to Eddie Jawad, Mahmoud's uncle. Mahmoud was stressed the past two or three months and something had......
Driving while veiled: Georgia aims to ban Muslim women off the roads
GEORGIA - State legislators are aiming to ban Muslim women from wearing a burqa and other head coverings that might disguise their face when they are driving.House Bill 3, filed by state Rep. Jason Spencer, R-Woodbine, would subject female Muslim garb under the state’s anti-masking statute — which originally was aimed at the Ku...
British woman faces jail time in Dubai for reporting gang rape
November 16th, 20160 DUBAI - A British woman who was allegedly gang-raped by two men in Dubai faces jail after police accused her of "extra marital sex". The 25 year old claims she was attacked by fellow British tourists in October while on holiday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).After she went to the authorities, she was arrested and charged with having......
Trump advisor pushing for Muslim registry
WASHINGTON - An architect of anti-immigration efforts who says he is advising President-elect Donald Trump said the new administration could push ahead rapidly on construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall without seeking immediate congressional approval. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who helped write tough immigration laws in...
Monroe teacher suspended following offensive assignment about ‘Miss Iraq Pageant’
November 15th, 20161 DETROIT (CBS Detroit) – A teacher in the Monroe County School district has been placed on administrative leave while school officials investigate a controversial assignment. A Facebook post shows that the high school teacher assigned students homework involving a Top 10 list allegedly by David Letterman. The “Top Ten......