The Arab American News
Author's Posts
U.S. DEA denies petition to reclassify marijuana
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Thursday denied requests to loosen the classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug with no medical use. The decision is the DEA's response to a 2011 petition by two former state governors who had urged federal agencies to re-classify marijuana as...
Muslim center sues Sterling Heights over denying mosque
August 11th, 20160 STERLING HEIGHTS — The Office of Planning had found that the American Islamic Community Center met all the technical requirements for building a mosque that was denied by the City of Sterling Heights last year, a legal complaint revealed. The AICC is suing the city, accusing officials of violating the First Amendment rights of...
Ibtihaj Muhammad makes history, despite early elimination
August 11th, 20160 RIO — Ibtihaj Muhammad made history in her Olympic debut for Team USA becoming the first American to wear a hijab during competition at the Olympics.The New Jersey native viewed her presence as an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than herself."I feel like this is a great opportunity and a great moment for Team USA to even...
Michael Phelps’ purple circles spotlight ‘cupping’ trend
August 11th, 20160 RIO — It wasn't just Michael Phelps' big win on Sunday that had people talking about the U.S. swimming star. It was also the dark purple circles on his shoulders.Phelps, who won the 19th Olympic gold medal of his career on Sunday and helped the U.S. men's team to victory in the 4x100 meters freestyle relay, is one...Study finds Michigan schools lack in special needs services
LANSING - A new study commissioned by the state legislature in 2015 has discovered that Michigan schools need to spend more money helping students with special needs. The findings were presented to the Board of Education this week, the same day the Board discussed a statewide initiative to make Michigan a Top 10...Woman allegedly told sons to shoot homeless man with BB guns
FLORIDA - A Volusia County woman is facing multiple charges after allegedly encouraging her juvenile sons to target a homeless man during a BB gun drive-by.Amina El-Zayat, 36, of DeLand, was with her three sons in a black SUV out to “scare” homeless people and “bums” away from her car wash.According to sources close to The...
Sterling Heights officials thought mosque petitioners could be terrorists
August 10th, 20160 STERLING HEIGHTS — While the Sterling Heights planning commission denied a mosque project last year because of technicalities, anti-Muslim protesters celebrated the decision as a triumph. Bias was also prevalent inside city government, emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request revealed. Although petitioners for the...DNC staffer may have been murdered for leaking emails
The whistleblowing organization Wikileaks wants to catch those responsible for the murder of Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffer Seth Rich and are now offering a $20,000 reward for information. Rich was fatally shot in the early morning hours of July 10 while walking to his Bloomingdale apartment in Northwest...Orlando shooter’s father attends Clinton rally
Hillary Clinton's campaign responded to criticism that she did not reject the support of Seddique Mateen — the father of Orlando shooter Omar Mateen — who made headlines earlier this week when he was seen sitting in the crowd at a Clinton rally in Kissimmee, Florida. Earlier in the day, Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump...
Will Smith speaks out against Trump, Islamophobia
August 9th, 20160 DUBAI — Will Smith was in the Middle East promoting the movie ‘‘Suicide Squad’ in Dubai when he made comments about Donald Trump and rising Islamophobia in the U.S.‘‘In terms of Islamophobia in America, for me that’s why it’s important to show up,’’ he said.He encouraged local film makers and producers to find more...
Trump says ‘Second Amendment people’ can deal with Clinton
August 9th, 20160 TrumpDonald Trump said Tuesday that if Hillary Clinton gets to pick Supreme Court justices, there's "nothing you can do, folks ... although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is."He added: "But I tell you what, that will be a horrible day, if Hillary gets to put her judges in, right now we're tied."Trump's ambiguous comments...Family of woman fatally shot By Dearborn Police file $10 million lawsuit
DEARBORN – A $10 million wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the City of Dearborn and an officer who was involved in the fatal shooting of a 31-year-old woman in January. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the family of Janet Wilson, the 35-year-old who was shot by an officer during a pursuit. Wilson was killed Jan....Suicide bomber kills at least 70 at Pakistan hospital
An injured man outside the hospital in Quetta, August 8A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed at least 70 people and wounded more than a hundred on Monday in an attack on mourners gathered at a hospital in Quetta, according to officials in the southwestern province of Baluchistan.The bomber struck as a crowd of mostly lawyers and...How soon we forget
Aimee Schoelles, former Dearborn School Board presidentWatching from a distance, it’s quite disheartening the things that have been said over the past few months in Dearborn. An organization and a man are being viciously attacked for asking legitimate questions during a highly contested election. Instead of answering these...Lebanese Olympics team refuses to share bus with Israeli team
RIO - The Lebanese delegation to the Rio Olympics refused to let Israeli athletes board a bus the two teams were meant to take to the opening ceremony on Friday. According to Isreali coach Udi Gal, when the Lebanese team realized that it was slated to share the bus with Israeli athletes, it asked the driver to shut the......
A victory with the taste of defeat
August 5th, 20160 Bazzi and Dabaja campaign volunteers at Dearborn High - Photo by The AANewsThe Aug. 2 primaries in Dearborn painted two opposing political pictures for the Arab American community. The first was bright and encouraging — Abdullah Hammoud, a 25-year-old Arab American Muslim, won the Democratic primary for state rep., defeating five...
Dearborn by the numbers: Passions, tenstion dominates the democratic process
August 5th, 20160 DEARBORN — The long primary season is finally over. The draining campaigning was not always positive. It escalated into personal attacks and animosity in the community. However, the passion, which turned into rage that bordered on madness, did not trickle down to the polling locations on Tuesday. Despite......
State report highlights immigrants’ contributions: Snyder calls for immigration reform
August 5th, 20160 Imad Mohamad at his naturalization ceremonyLANSING — At a time when nativism is on the rise and politicians are calling for building walls and shutting our doors to newcomers, a report by the state of Michigan reiterated that immigrants help move the economy in the right direction. The Michigan Office for New Americans and the...
Attorney General Lynch: Due process on Terrorist Watch list stalls
August 5th, 20160 DEARBORN — As Arab American community organizations and activists grow more frustrated over the ineffectiveness of talks with federal leaders about systematic discrimination, they reached out to top Justice Department officials for a helping hand. On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch made a special appearance at a...Israel legalizes imprisonment of ‘child terrorists’ as young as 12
JERUSALEM — Israeli lawmakers approved jailing children as young as 12 convicted of "terrorist offenses" in the wake of repeated attacks by young Palestinians, the parliament said on Wednesday. "The 'Youth Bill,' which will allow the authorities to imprison a minor convicted of serious crimes such as murder, attempted murder or...Courts reaffirm the right to vote against Jim Crow approach
Last week, a panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rebuked the North Carolina legislature for acting with "discriminatory intent" in passing restrictions on the right to vote that "target African Americans with almost surgical precision." The decision came as we approach the 51st anniversary of the Voting......
By attacking Captain Khan’s family, Trump sinks to new low
In 2004, Army Captain Humayun Khan was in the middle of a tour of duty in Iraq. While his unit was guarding the gates of their base, Captain Khan noticed a suspicious vehicle approaching their checkpoint. He immediately took control of the situation and ordered his fellow servicemembers to stay back. Captain Khan, however, moved...Next steps for Arab – Black solidarity
A mural featuring Trayvon Martin in Detroit.Since the tragic and senseless death of Trayvon Martin, we've participated in many events designed to bring together the Detroit area's Arab American and African American communities for the common goal of understanding and coalition building. These meetings occur on the backdrop of......
Dearborn man upstages soccer game with message about Islam
Hussein Aljabali rushes the field at an International Champions Cup at Michigan Stadium.DEARBORN — A 19-year-old resident is receiving massive attention after rushing the field with a positive message about Islam written on his body at the International Champions Cup, hosted at Michigan Stadium on Saturday, July 30. While soccer fans...Yemeni American wrestling champ talks virtues of athletics
MELVINDALE — To Faisal and Ameer Munassar, wrestling is more than a sport; it is a passion, a lifestyle. It represents a bond between a proud father and an industrious son, a dedicated coach and a victorious champion. Ameer Munassar, 19, of Melvindale, a Downriver community of 10,500 people, "got hooked" on wrestling when he......