U.S.A

Muslim woman disqualified from boxing tournament because of hijab

November 21st, 20160 MINNEAPOLIS - The Council on American-Islamic Relations is speaking out after an Oakdale boxer was denied fighting in a match in Florida Sunday because she was wearing a hijab. CAIR says 16-year-old Amaiya Zafar was about to enter the ring at the Sugar Bert Boxing National Championships in Kissimmee when an official disqualified her...

Grand Rapids Taxi driver assaulted by Trump touting passenger

November 19th, 20160 GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Police are looking for several witnesses to a possible hate crime against a taxi cab driver in downtown Grand Rapids. The Grand Rapids Police Department said the Grand Rapids Taxi driver, Yemaj Adem, was picking up five women outside The B.O.B. on Monroe Avenue just before 2:30 a.m. Saturday when a man...

California woman with lupus robbed, called a ‘hijab wearing b*tch”

November 18th, 20161 CALIFORNIA - A California woman who is being treated for lupus was robbed and mistaken for a Muslim woman because of her headscarf. Nicki Pancholy, a non-Muslim who lost her hair from treatments for the chronic autoimmune, returned to her car after a hike and found her car window smashed with a note left on it.  “Hijab wearing...

Three teen girls charged with hate crime for attacking woman with “immigrant accent”

November 18th, 20160 BOSTON - Three 15-year-old girls  have been arraigned after they allegedly assaulted a woman they thought was an immigrant on an MBTA train Nov. 7, Suffolk County district attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office said. The girls — two from Dorchester, one from Mattapan — were all charged with assault and battery with a dangerous...

U-M student government rejects resolution to divest from Israel

November 18th, 20160 ANN ARBOR — After passionate discussions on Tuesday, Nov. 15, the University of Michigan's Central Student Government voted down a resolution to urge the university to divest from several companies that do business in Israel. The resolution, brought to the assembly by the group Students Allied for Freedom and Equality (SAFE), called...

The American spirit didn’t die on Nov. 8

November 18th, 20160 Eeman Abbasi speaks during a protest on the University of Connecticut campus against the election of Donald Trump. Photograph: Pat Eaton-Robb/APArab and Muslim Americans have many good reasons to be fearful of the Trump presidency. Donald Trump made fear and xenophobia a central part of his campaign. This was a valid reason for Muslim...

ISIS threatens New York Thanksgiving parade

November 18th, 20160 NEW YORK — New York City police sought to reassure residents and tourists on Monday that they would be safe attending the city's Thanksgiving Day parade despite the militant group Islamic State calling on its followers to attack the event with trucks. The largest U.S. city has prepared for such attacks in the past and will be...

Poll: Americans want Trump to focus on healthcare first

November 18th, 20160 WASHINGTON — A recent poll shows what priorities Americans would set on the new president, but it does not measure exactly what people want him to do. A Kaiser Health Tracking Poll found in late October that most Americans want cheaper prescription drugs and access to larger networks of doctors and hospitals. Only a minority, 37...

NBA star LeBron James giving $2.5 million to Muhammad Ali exhibit

November 18th, 20160 WASHINGTON — LeBron James is donating $2.5 million to support a Muhammad Ali exhibit at the Smithsonian's new National Museum of African American History in Washington, D.C., the basketball star and the museum announced on Thursday. The Cleveland Cavaliers forward said he was a longtime fan of Ali, one of the most beloved sports...

Fewer U.S. children lack access to healthcare

November 18th, 20160 As a growing number of U.S. children have gained health insurance over the past decade, fewer kids are missing out on things like physicals and dental exams, a recent study suggests. Steep declines in the number of uninsured have been well documented, largely as a result of growth in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance...

Trump team urges Israel right to tone down enthusiasm

November 18th, 20161 JERUSALEM — Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday said Donald Trump's aides were urging right-wing Israeli politicians to curb their public jubilation at his election as US president, Israeli media reported. Trump is seen as likely leading to a far more favorable policy toward Israel, though many analysts have...

Iraqi militia threatens ISIS’ supply route to Syria

November 18th, 20160 BAGHDAD — Iraqi militias said on Wednesday they had driven ISIS fighters from an air base west of Mosul, a victory which would threaten the group's supply route from Syria to its last major stronghold in Iraq. "The airport of Tal Afar has been liberated," Yusif al-Kallabi, a spokesman for Popular Mobilisation, a coalition of mainly...

Praying for Freedom: Why is Israel silencing the call for prayer in Jerusalem?

November 18th, 20160 As I was growing up, I was always reassured by the sound of the "Muadhin" making the call for prayer in our refugee camp's main mosque in Gaza. Whenever I heard the call very early in the morning, announcing in a melodic voice that the time for the "Fajr" (dawn) prayer was upon us, I knew it was safe to go to sleep. Of course, the...

Major retail stores to open early on Thanksgiving for Black Friday

November 18th, 20160 Thanksgiving is all about reuniting with family, friends and being grateful. But if you're one of those who'd like to indulge in the tradition of shopping after your meal — you're in for a treat. Several major retail stores and a few malls in Metro Detroit will open early for a few hours during Thanksgiving evening, before Friday...

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...