The Arab American News
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California high school selects Muslim student as prom queen
Zarifeh Shalabi SAN BERNARDINO - A California Muslim student, who lives a few miles from the site of the deadly San Bernardino shooting, received the symbol of teenage acceptance after she was crowned prom queen at Fontana's Summit High School.The Muslim prom queen attributed her victory to...
Canton Urgent Care doctor charged with 22 counts of fraud
May 3rd, 20160 CANTON- A doctor at Canton Urgent Care is facing 22 fraud charges for allegedly billing Medicaid and Blue Cross Blue Shield for services he didn't provide.On Tuesday, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced the charges against Dr. Bassel Altantawi, 45, of Farmington Hills. Altantawi is facing nine counts of Medicaid...Six killed in Palestine, Texas floods
PALESTINE, TEXAS - A grandmother and four of her grandchildren were killed and another person also died in floods in Texas caused by storms that unleashed tornadoes, damaging hail and torrential rains on several central U.S. states, officials said on Saturday.The woman and her grandchildren died in Palestine, Texas, 100 miles (160 km)...Judge kicks Muslim woman out of courtroom for wearing Hijab
Louisiana - An unidentified Muslim woman said she was humiliated by being told to wait outside a Louisiana courtroom to pay a ticket at a traffic hearing this week because she refused to remove her headscarf. However, Judge Raylyn Beevers, who confirmed the Tuesday incident at Jefferson Parish Traffic Court, said it resulted from a...
Trump supporter attacks Muslim woman at D.C. Starbucks
April 30th, 20160 WASHINGTON — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is asking the Metropolitan Police Department to preserve any surveillance video they may have of a Trump supporter attacking a Muslim woman. According to CAIR, a Muslim woman - who is African-American - was wearing a hijab outside of a Starbucks in Northwest, Washington on...
Answers needed from the Dearborn Police Department
April 29th, 20160 Police recruits with city officials - Photo: City of DearbornAs journalists, our responsibility is not to fix the government, but to point out the areas that need repairs. We can't patch the potholes in the streets. However, we can raise concerns about decaying roads.When we point to an issue and those in charge ignore it, the voices we...Local Arab actor lands key role in new “Criminal Minds” spin-off
New Criminal Minds spin-off features local actor Atif HashwiHOLLYWOOD— In his first major television role, Atif Hashwi, a Dearborn native, will guest star in the CBS series “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders”, airing on May 4.The show, which debuted in March, is a spin-off of the popular “Criminal Minds”, now in its 11th...Iranian Americans: Rich culture, common challenges
Iranian Americans gather at a Taste of Iran event in Detroit.DEARBORN — As local Arab Americans go about their lives, they may or may not be aware of a smaller and equally rooted neighboring community that shares their struggles, but strives to retain its unique identity – Persian Americans. The Arab and Iranian cultures are...
Survey reveals turmoil within Dearborn Police Department
April 29th, 20160 DEARBORN- A survey reported by 7 Action News, is painting an ugly picture of life inside the Dearborn Police Department.The survey was mailed out to 180 officers, lieutenants and sergeants who work for Dearborn police. Of the 180, 124 responded to the 78-page document. 109 members of the department...Michigan House votes to study marijuana limit for drivers
LANSING - Lawmakers are tackling the topic of driving while high. They're aiming to determine how much marijuana is safe in a person's system, while behind the wheel. The House is expected to vote next week to create a commission to research the threshold of THC for driving. Currently, a bill is up...Proposal to turn unfinished Wayne County jail into soccer stadium
DETROIT — Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert and Pistons executive Arn Tellem announced a $1 billion plan to turn Wayne County's unfinished jail site into a project that includes a Major League Soccer stadium. Detroit does not have a team the competes in the MLS. The planned site is essential for Detroit to secure an MLS franchise,...ACCESS honors Flint-area notable Arabs at annual dinner
Ghassan and Manal Saab (c ) with ACCESS officials.DETROIT — ACCESS recognized notable Arab Americans from the Flint area at its 45th annual dinner on Saturday, April 23. The social services organization gave its first "Champion of Justice" award to Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician who discovered elevated lead levels in the...
ADC-MI annual MLK banquet calls for unity, end to silence
April 29th, 20160 Dr. Mona Hanna Attisha accepts and award from ADC-MI and friends.DEARBORN — The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee of Michigan's (ADC-MI) 17th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Banquet reflected on an overwhelming year of hate rhetoric targeting minority groups across the country. The event, held Wednesday,...Local artist wants to present Bible verses in Arabic calligraphy
Fidel Charaf.With religious restrictions on various forms of artistic expressions, including music, sculpting and painting, calligraphy became the Islamic art. The walls, columns and domes of the world's biggest mosques are decorated by skillfully crafted words and sentences. Lebanese American artist Fadel Charaf is presenting bible...Fordson students win state contest, to compete in Boston for nationals
Aya Beydoun and Mariam Makki.DEARBORN — Two Fordson High School seniors won a state contest in Grand Rapids for displaying their Arab American heritage during a broadcast production assignment; and will now be moving forward to a national contest in Boston. Aya Beydoun and Mariam Makki submitted their assignment for the......
“Hairspray Jr.” revives performing arts at Dearborn’s public schools
"Hairspray Jr." performed by students from Dearborn Public Schools.DEARBORN — The performing arts are alive and thriving at Dearborn Public schools— a fact made evident by five packed houses at performances of the musical "Hairspray Jr." at Stout Middle School. The one hour and 40 minute spectacle involved the strenuous...
Federal agency to work with Dearborn Police to improve community relations
April 29th, 20160 DEARBORN — It's been a tough few months for the Dearborn Police Department. On top of criticism over the fatal shootings of two African American residents—currently under investigation by Michigan State Police and the Wayne County Prosecutor's office— the department is also facing backlash from the Arab American community......
Michigan church’s website hacked with ISIS propoganda
Raheel Siddiqui, of Taylor.WASHINGTON — Following the death of Muslim Marine recruit Private U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell is joining three congress members from California in introducing a bill to require the Pentagon to track and make annual reports on the problem of hazing in the military. Siddiqui, 20, died on March 18,...Superdelegates from the Middle Eastern perspective
Born in Lebanon, raised in Syria and a resident of Gaza and Ramallah as an adult, I covered elections as a journalist. The concept of elections was very simple in my pre-America experience: you go and cast your vote for the person you would like to govern you. But in the United States, I'm discovering, the concept is a lot more...Amal Clooney slams Donald Trump
Amal ClooneyAmal Clooney, the British-Lebanese human rights attorney who has been married to Hollywood actor George Clooney since 2014, says populist GOP frontrunner Trump doesn’t represent “U.S. values.”In a BBC interview, the 38-year-old criticized “the leading candidate on the Republican side” for proposing...Muslim immigrant gives 2,000 employees shares of billion dollar company
Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya.Chobani, the yogurt maker, is giving its workers a stake in the privately held company.The company is offering shares to employees that would amount collectively to 10 percent of Chobani’s future value in the event of a sale or an initial public offering, the Associated Press reported. The......
Yemen peace talks resume following world pressure
KUWAIT — Yemen's warring factions agreed on an agenda on Tuesday for U.N.-backed peace negotiations, delegates said, following heavy pressure from world powers.The talks to end fighting between the Iran-allied Houthis and supporters of Saudi-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi were launched last week but were...ISIS turns to selling fish, cars to offset oil losses
BAGHDAD — ISIS earns millions of dollars a month running car dealerships and fish farms in Iraq, making up for lower oil income after its battlefield losses, Iraqi judicial authorities said on Thursday.Security experts once estimated the terrorist group's annual income at $2.9 billion, much of it coming from oil and gas......
U.N. council voices alarm at Israeli statements on Golan Heights
Benjamin Netanyahu poses with ministers prior to a cabinet meeting in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights, April 17.The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday unanimously voiced alarm over Israeli statements about the Golan Heights on Syria's border with Israel, a declaration that elicited a sharp response from...Iraqi army makes modest advance south of Mosul
BAGHDAD — Iraq's armed forces backed by U.S.-led coalition air power captured a village in Nineveh province from ISIS on Wednesday, the first advance on the northern front since the offensive was paused three weeks ago.Mahana, sitting south of a main east-west road, became just the fourth village seized by the army in the......