The Arab American News
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Sectarianism is a dangerous game
August 19th, 20160 A protest after the murder of an imam and his assistant in New York - Photo by ReutersArab American immigrants have crossed thousands of miles, leaving behind family histories that stretch back generations, in search of opportunities, peace and freedom here. The land that had supported them for thousands of years became infested by...
Local renaissance woman strives to make art accessible
August 19th, 20160 Suha with her painting 'The Other Side'.DEARBORN — As henna and makeup artists continue to flourish in the community, more and more young women decide to put their talent to work and showcase it on social media, gaining fans around the world. Suha Suleiman, a freelance henna and makeup artist in Dearborn, is one of many who...
Mass transit in Metro Detroit closer to reality
August 19th, 20160 A rendering of the railway system in Pontiac, MI.DEARBORN — Last Thursday, the Southeast Michigan counties affected by a proposed regional mass transit plan ironed out the final kinks, guaranteeing the plan's placement on the November ballot. Voters from Wayne, Macomb, Oakland and Washtenaw counties will be able to choose whether they...
Planning commissioner made anti-Muslim posts before denying mosque
August 19th, 20160 STERLING HEIGHTS — The city claims it denied a mosque proposal last year because of planning technicalities, but anti-Muslim social media posts by a planning commissioner who voted against the Muslim house of worship painted a different picture. "Oh, no the terrorists are gonna attack, according to the media, this weekend. Come to the...Lutheran Church calls for ban on U.S. aid to Israel
Israeli soldiers look on as Palestinian homes are demolishedNEW ORLEANS — A sense of unease set in Albert Asfour as the tourist bus he was in rolled to a stop. Young Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint looked unhappy with the group leader and the handful of American students, who were heading to Jerusalem from Ramallah for an educational...Clinton aide meets community representatives in Dearborn
DEARBORN — Huma Abedin, vice chair for the Hillary for America campaign, met with Arab and Muslim American leaders on Aug. 11, to discuss issues that matter to the community. Community representatives included heads of organizations, small business owners, doctors, lawyers and other professions. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn)...Court of appeals panel upholds straight-party voting
CINCINNATI — An appellate Court panel rejected a motion by Michigan's Secretary of State to restore the ban on straight party voting after a U.S. District Court judge in Detroit ruled it unconstitutional. In December, the Republican-controlled legislature passed the measure, which would have barred voters from choosing all the...Muslim couple invites dozens of strangers over for dinner
WASHINGTON - A Muslim couple is inviting strangers to their home as part of an initiative called “Meal with a Muslim.”Amanda Saab, former contestant on “MasterChef,” and her husband Hussein Saab, have opened their door in Renton to Americans who may have questions about their faith. The couple resides in Renton, Washington. The...
Lack of stores with fresh foods linked to signs of heart disease
August 18th, 20160 Living in poor neighborhoods has been linked to increased heart risk and a new U.S. study suggests the lack of access to fresh, healthy foods may be to blame. "Previous studies have found relationships between neighborhood characteristics and cardiovascular disease," said lead author Jeffrey Wing of Grand Valley State University in...
Prescription drug abuse tied to increased risk of teen suicide
August 18th, 20160 Suicide is a leading cause of death for teens worldwide and the odds of suicide attempts may be higher when adolescents abuse prescription drugs, a Chinese study suggests. To explore the connection between suicide risk and misuse of prescription opiates and sedatives, researchers surveyed about 3,300 Chinese teens once when they were...U.N. warns of unprecedented ‘catastrophe’ in Aleppo
UNITED NATIONS — United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned on Tuesday of an unprecedented "humanitarian catastrophe" in Syria's Aleppo and urged Russia and the United States to quickly reach a deal on a ceasefire in the city and elsewhere in the country. Fighting for control of Aleppo, split between its government-held...Houthi shelling hits Saudi town, Yemenis die in airstrikes
Two children amid the rubble of a house destroyed by a Saudi-led air strike in Sanaa, Aug. 11.SANAA — Shells fired by Yemen's Houthi group killed seven civilians in southern Saudi Arabia, Saudi state television reported, while an air strike by an Arab coalition destroyed a house east of the Yemeni capital, killing nine family...Leaked German report says Turkey a hub for ‘Islamists’
BERLIN — On Wednesday, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere defended a leaked government report alleging Turkey was a hub for Islamist groups, a charge that has further strained tensions with Ankara, a key partner in efforts to stem mass migration. Turkey and Germany have had a series of disputes in recent months, just as the...U.S. will end federal use of privately-operated prisons
Obama during his visit to the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution outside Oklahoma City, 2015 (Reuters)WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department plans to phase out its use of privately-operated prisons, which it called less safe and less effective than government-run facilities, according to a memo released publicly by the...30,000 Muslim refugees accepted in U.S. in 2016
The U.S. has accepted more Muslim refugees than any other religious group during the current fiscal year, according to data compiled by the Pew Research Center. Nearly half of the more than 63,000 refugees who have been granted residency this year are Muslim – marking the highest number since fiscal year 2002 when self-reported data......
Scottish soccer fans wave Palestinian flags against Israeli team
Celtic fans with Palestinian flags. ReutersGLASGOW, Scotland — At a UEFA Champions League playoff soccer game between Scotland's Glasgow Celtic and Israel’s Hapoel Beer Sheva, the home fans raised Palestinian flags, defying warnings by the European football governing body. A Facebook page named "Fly the flag for Palestine, for...France defends burkini ban on beaches
The bans have provoked strong criticism from Muslim groups. ReutersPARIS — The French government has defended municipal bans on body-covering Muslim burkini swimwear but called on mayors to try and cool tensions between communities.Three Mediterranean towns - Cannes, Villeneuve-Loubet and Sisco on the island of Corsica - have banned......
Trump: Clinton is a bigot
WEST BEND, Wis. -- Donald Trump called Hillary Clinton a bigot in a speech Tuesday night and accused his Democratic rival for the presidency of pandering to “communities of color.”“We reject the bigotry of Hillary Clinton, which panders to and talks down to communities of color and sees them only as votes,” Trump said....Iraqi immigrant sues Whole Foods for harassment from co-workers
Emad Siddeeq, a Boston area resident and a former full-time employee at the Whole Foods Ink Block location, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Boston on Tuesday. He is accusing the Austin, Texas-based supermarket chain of not doing enough to stop harassment by co-workers that occurred "nearly every shift worked." The...
Attorney: Dearborn man who pled guilty had no intention of joining Hezbollah
August 16th, 20160 Mohammad HamdanDETROIT — Mohammad Hamdan, who pled guilty on Friday to lying to a federal agent, had no intention of joining Hezbollah and would not have broken the law before his contact with a government agent provocateur, his attorney said. Hamdan, a 24 year-old Dearborn resident, was arrested in 2014 while trying to travel to...Family of Muslim boy file $25 million lawsuit against school district
NEW YORK - The family of a 12-year-old Muslim middle school student has filed a $25 million federal lawsuit against the East Islip school district, claiming the seventh-grader’s civil rights were violated when school officials forced him to sign a false confession saying he was a terrorist.The family of Nashwan......
Man charged with double murder of imam and assistant
NEW YORK CITY — The man suspected in the fatal shooting of a Queens imam and his assistant was arrested and charged with murder, police said Monday night. Oscar Morel, 35, of East New York was charged with both men's murders and criminal possession of a weapon, the NYPD said. The charges come after police found a revolver they...
Man kills neighbor he called “Dirty Arab”
August 15th, 20160 TULSA -- A 37-year-old Arab American man was murdered last Friday following an escalated feud with his neighbor. Police said Khalid Jabara was fatally shot by his neighbor, Vernon Majors, 61, on his front porch.Residents in the area confirmed the suspect and victim had animosity for quite some time. Police said Majors had a criminal......
People offer to walk Muslims to mosques after Imam killed
The fatal shooting of a New York City imam and his associate in Queens has prompted people around the country to offer to accompany Muslim worshippers to and from mosques so that they won’t have to fear for their safety. Imam Maulama Akonjee, 55, and his assistant Thara Uddin, 64, were fatally shot in the...Imam, assistant fatally shot in the head in Queens, New York
NEW YORK - Police in New York say an imam and his assistant were shot dead as they walked along a street in the borough of Queens.The men were approached from behind by a man who shot them both in the head, a police spokesman said.Imam Maulama Akonjee, 55, moved to the city from Bangladesh two years ago, reports in New York said.Police......
