The Arab American News
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Yemen’s Socotra burns two tons of qat after island bans drug
YEMEN — Authorities on Yemen's Socotra island burned two tons of the mild narcotic drug qat on Saturday, a shipment seized from smugglers trying to defy last week's ban by the archipelago's governor, local officials said. Yemenis have chewed qat for centuries and although widespread, its use is seen as a social ill by some, sapping...Saudi court sentences Palestinian poet to death for apostasy
Ashraf Fayadh has been sentenced to death by a court in Saudi Arabia.RIYADH — A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced a Palestinian poet to death for apostasy, abandoning his Muslim faith, according to trial documents seen by Human Rights Watch, its Middle East researcher Adam Coogle said on Friday. Ashraf Fayadh was detained by the...Turkey downs Russian warplane near Syria border, Putin warns of ‘serious consequences’
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu speaks at a press conference about Turkey's right to respond to airspace violationsTurkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border on Tuesday, saying the jet had violated its airspace. It is one of the most serious publicly acknowledged clashes between a NATO member country and Russia for half...Police arrest two in shooting of Minnesota Black Lives Matter protesters
Black Lives Matter protesters at the north Minneapolis police precinct Photo: ReutersMINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis police said on Tuesday they have arrested a 23-year-old white man and a 32-year-old Hispanic male in relation to the shooting of five people near a city police station where demonstrators have gathered for more than a week...Robbers shoot Dearborn Coney Island employee in leg
Dearborn Coney IslandDEARBORN― According to police, two men robbing Dearborn Coney Island at dusk on Nov. 24 shot an employee in the leg.The employee was repairing a back door when two masked men forced him inside the diner and ordered him to hand over money from the cash register. One of the suspects shot the employee while he was...Driver attempts to run over Muslim woman in Cincinnati
CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Cincinnati) today called on the FBI and local law enforcement authorities to investigate an alleged attempt to run down a Muslim woman as a hate crime.CAIR-Cincinnati said the woman, a University of Cincinnati pre-med student who wears an Islamic...Dearborn Heights pedestrian struck in fatal accident
DEARBORN — A 57-year-old Dearborn Heights woman was struck by a vehicle while walking across Michigan Avenue to catch an eastbound bus. The driver of the vehicle, 47, of Woodhaven, was eastbound and crossing through a green light at Outer Drive when she hit the pedestrian. The accident happened at about 6 a.m. Tuesday, Nov....Man charged for leaving fake bomb at Virginia mosque
VIRGINIA - A man left a hoax explosive device at a mosque last week in Falls Church, Virginia, Fairfax County fire investigators say.Chester H. Gore, 27, was charged with using a hoax explosive device on Thursday at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center.Gore, who has no fixed address, caused an estimated $200 damage to a gate at the mosque,...Two men blocked from boarding Southwest plane because of box of baklava
CHICAGO - Two men were temporarily blocked from boarding a Southwest flight in Chicago last week when a passenger became nervous after overhearing them speak in Arabic.Maher Khalil and Anas Ayyad were carrying a small box of Baklava when the passenger at the gate became suspicious. "If that person doesn't feel safe, let...
DTE substation fire in Dearborn leaves thousands with no power
November 23rd, 20150 PHOTO: WDIVDEARBORN - A major fire that broke out Monday morning at a DTE Energy substation in Dearborn hand left over 6,000 people with no power.Fire crews responded to the scene just before 7 a.m. at a location off Warren Avenue just west of Schaefer Road. DTE said about 6,000 customers in the immediate area are without power because...
Refugees, ISIS drive community leaders’ discussion
November 22nd, 20150 Leaders met Saturday, Nov. 21 to discuss issues facing the community after recent terrorist attacksDEARBORN — After ISIS orchestrated attacks across the world last week, national attention shfted focus to both Muslims and refugees. Arab American political activists and religious leaders met with U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell...
Suspect arraigned for holding teenager hostage at knife point
November 20th, 20150 DEARBORN - On Friday November 20, 2015, Anthony Jamal Sharay was arraigned by the Honorable Judge William Hultgren in the 19th District Court. Sharay was charged with Home Invasion 1st Degree, Assault with the Intent to Murder, Great Bodily Harm, Felonious Assault and Unlawful Imprisonment and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. His...
Wayne County to pay $395,000 to settle Azzam Elder case
November 20th, 20150 DETROIT - Wayne County will pay $395,000 to settle a wrongful discharge case brought by Azzam Elder, who was deputy executive to former Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano.Commissioners approved a settlement today 14-1, with Commissioner Ilona Varga, D-Lincoln Park voting no, in the wrongful...
Son of local Beirut bombing victims to meet Christiano Ronaldo
November 20th, 20150 DEARBORN — The 3-year-old son of a Dearborn couple who were victims of the recent attack in Beirut will meet with his idol, Christiano Ronaldo, a player with the Real Madrid Football Club. Haidar Moustafa’s parents' lives were lost when two suicide bombs ripped through Borj El-Barajne, a suburb in south Lebanon. Goal, a...ISIS says ‘Schweppes bomb’ used to bring down Russian plane
ISIS' official magazine carried a photo on Wednesday of a Schweppes soft drink can it said was used to make an improvised bomb that brought down a Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula last month, killing all 224 people on board. The photo showed a can of Schweppes Gold soft drink and what appeared to be a detonator and switch......
‘Spider in web’ mastermind of Paris attacks killed in raid
The suspected ISIS mastermind of the Paris attacks was among those killed in a police raid north of the capital, France confirmed on Thursday, bringing an end to the hunt for Europe's most wanted man. Authorities said they had identified the mangled corpse of Belgian national Abdelhamid Abaaoud from fingerprints in the aftermath of...
Rev. Wright voices support for Palestinians, calls for unity at ADC dinner
November 20th, 20150 Rev. Wright speaking at the ADC dinner. Photo by Bill ChapmanDEARBORN — Rev. Jeremiah Wright, President Obama's former pastor, has long been deemed a controversial figure in mainstream America. His criticism of Israel and uncompromising views on racial equality have turned him into an outcast in the popular narrative and even drew......
Europe’s first female suicide bomber
PARIS — To her friends and neighbours she was the bubbly, outgoing woman who liked wearing large cowboy hats. But on Wednesday it became clear there was a far darker side to Hasna Aitboulahcen, when she achieved the dubious distinction of becoming Europe’s first female suicide bomber. The 26-year-old blew herself up...Calls for U.S. troops to fight ISIS misguided, say experts
WASHINGTON — Americans want the Obama administration to get tougher with the ISIS following the carnage in Paris, but many of the measures now being proposed could actually make the threat worse, counter-terrorism experts said. Republican presidential candidates, lawmakers and others are calling for deploying U.S. ground forces to...
Dearborn woman on delayed Spirit flight: Airline didn’t racially profile
November 20th, 20150 BALTIMORE — A Dearborn woman who was on the Spirit flight from Baltimore to Chicago before multiple passengers were removed for suspicious activity said the airline acted accordingly. On Tuesday, Nov. 17, Spirit Airlines confirmed that early morning flight number 969 from Baltimore to Chicago was halted just before take-off...These critical times require unity
A candlelight vigil at the University of Michigan-Dearborn for victims of terror, Nov. 23. Photo: Merinda ValleyWe live in critical times for our community, country and the world. Last week, terrorism struck mercilessly over three continents. Our homelands are suffering. Many Arab countries are turning into failed states ripped......
Ex-Inkster cop found guilty in beating of driver
William MelendezDETROIT — A former Inkster police officer was found guilty on Thursday of assault and misconduct in office in the beating of a Black motorist during a traffic stop caught on video. A jury in Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit found William Melendez, 47, guilty of a third charge of strangulation from the Jan. 28...
Community commemorates terror victims
November 20th, 20150 DEARBORN — The effects of the terrorist attacks in Beirut and Paris have been felt here. Thousands of Dearbornites call Beirut home and the suicide bombings in the Lebanese capital killed three local residents. Moreover, the Paris attacks sparked a wave of hatred against Arab Americans. The community held candlelight vigils and......
A city on-edge: Dearborn residents on high alert following threats
November 20th, 20150 DEARBORN — The community continues to be cautious in the days following online threats aimed at the Muslim population. In an ironic twist, a city that is often misconstrued and suspected of abiding by Sharia law and harboring terrorists, is now the city that many feel is a likely target. "There’s an overwhelming amount of phobia...
Detroit department directors highlight Arab Americans’ role in the city
November 20th, 20150 Beydoun.DEARBORN — Abdul El-Sayed, Detroit’s health department director, is the son of an Egyptian immigrant who settled in Michigan in 1978. He used to buy meat from the father of Fayrouz Saad, the director of Detroit’s Immigrant Affairs department. Mallak Beydoun, director of Constituent Affairs for the city, was Saad’s......
