The Arab American News
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Dearborn to pass new hookah lounge laws
January 23rd, 20150 DEARBORN – The Dearborn City Council is in the process of adapting a new ordinance that will only permit hookah lounges with a state exemption to conduct business, following a six month moratorium that banned new smoking establishments from opening within city limits. The move is a response to the influx of hookah lounges that...
Local educators back Obama’s proposal for free community college
January 23rd, 20150 DEARBORN — Millions of Americans may have the opportunity to attend community college tuition-free under a proposed plan by President Obama to expand the access of higher education for the lower and middle classes. The Universal Community College Plan would provide two years of free community college for students if they maintain a...
PART FOUR: MEDC was involved in state environmental group’s permitting process
January 23rd, 20150 Malek Ali, a resident of Dearborn's southend, forwarded this photo of what she described as a "devastating" air pollution violation that occurred at AK Steel's facility on Dec. 20. Residents complained about the "unbearable" odor from the facility that day. DEARBORN — A series of emails between the Michigan Economic Development...
Detroit-Windsor Tunnel reopened after bomb scare
January 23rd, 20150 DETROIT — Chairman Gary Woronchak has announced committee appointments for the 2015-16 Wayne County Commission, which for the first time in 12 years will work alongside a new county administration and new county executive. Commissioners Joseph Palamara (D-Grosse Ile Twp.), Raymond E. Basham (D-Taylor), Burton Leland...
Community organizations pay tribute to Dr. King
January 23rd, 20150 DEARBORN — Arab and Muslim American community organizations paid tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the national holiday dedicated to him, Monday, Jan. 19. The Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights held an interfaith dinner on Sunday, Jan. 18 to honor King's legacy. The event was attended by Muslim, Christian...Four men arrested after woman found dead on side of road
DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Four men are in police custody after a woman in her 40s was found dead on the side of the road in Dearborn Heights on Monday. Westland Police Sgt. Robert Wilkie said the woman was believed killed in that city and that tips helped lead police to the men. According to investigators, a man went to Westland Police and...U.S. top court rules for Muslim inmate over prison beard ban
Arkansas inmate Gregory Holt.WASHINGTON — An Arkansas policy prohibiting inmates from having beards violated the religious rights of a prisoner who had wanted to grow one in accordance with his Muslim beliefs, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday. The justices, on a 9-0 vote in a closely watched case involving prisoner...U.S. tributes, protests mark MLK Day
NEW YORK — Tributes to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. were held across the United States on Monday, with observers linking the federal holiday to a rallying cry in recent protests over police brutality: "Black lives matter." King's 1960s dream of racial equality was being viewed through a lens focused on the deaths of...Obama strikes defiant tone with Republicans in big speech
WASHINGTON — President Obama struck a defiant tone for his dealings with the new Republican-led Congress on Tuesday, calling on his opponents to raise taxes on the rich and threatening to veto legislation that would challenge his key decisions. Dogged by an ailing economy since the start of his presidency six years ago, Obama...Justice Department preparing to clear Ferguson officer
Darren Wilson.WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department is about to close the investigation into the shooting death of an unarmed Black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, and clear the White police officer involved of any civil rights charges, The New York Times reported this week. The newspaper quoted law enforcement officials as saying...Lessons that Hollande failed to learn from Bush’s blunders
Francois Hollande.Francois Hollande is not a popular president. No matter how hard the "socialist" leader tries to impress, there never seems to be a solid constituency that backs him. He attempted to mask his initial lack of experience in foreign affairs with a war in Mali, after his country enthusiastically took on Libya. While he...The Israeli strike against Hezbollah an act of aggression
When Israel killed five Hezbollah fighters on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights on Sunday, Jan. 18, the Zionist state violated several international treaties, beating the drums of war in a region already suffering from violence and chaos. The Israeli attack, which also claimed the life of an Iranian general, was a deliberate,...Netanyahu gambles by challenging Obama in Congress
Boehner is inviting Netanyahu back just four years after his last address to Congress.I know what America is," Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli settlers in 2002 in a hot-mic moment captured on video by Israel’s Channel 10. “America is a thing you can move very easily, move it in the right...
Woman files lawsuit against Dearborn Heights Police for forcing her to remove hijab
January 23rd, 20150 Malak Kazan (left), with Attorney Amir Makled, is filing a lawsuit against the city of Dearborn Heights for forcing her to remove her hijab. Photo credit: Samer Hijazi DEARBORN HEIGHTS — A 27-year-old Muslim woman is filing a lawsuit against the Dearborn Heights Police department for forcing her to remove her hijab when she...
Saudi King Abdullah dies, his brother Salman succeeds him
January 23rd, 20150 RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah died early on Friday and his brother Salman became king, the royal court in the world's top oil exporter and birthplace of Islam said in a statement carried by state television. King Salman has named his half-brother Muqrin as his crown prince and heir. "His Highness Salman bin Abdulaziz Al......
Tunisian blogger jailed for “defaming the military”
Tunisian protestors shout slogans in front of the military tribunal in Tunis on January 20.TUNIS — A Tunisian military court sentenced blogger Yassine Ayari to a year in prison Tuesday for defaming the military, in a case that has been criticized by human rights groups. The 33-year-old was arrested on Dec. 25 on his return from...Bahraini activist sentenced to six months over a tweet
Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, pauses during a conference at the Swiss Press Club in Geneva June 18, 2014.MANAMA — Prominent Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab was sentenced to six months in prison for a tweet posted last year, which was considered insulting to the Gulf Kingdom’s Ministries of Interior......
Egyptian court frees Mubarak’s sons
January 23rd, 20150 Gamal Mubarak, son of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, reacts inside a cage in a courtroom at the police academy in Cairo May 21, 2014.CAIRO — An Egyptian court ordered the release of the sons of ousted president Hosni Mubarak on Thursday pending a retrial, their lawyer said, as rare protests erupted days before the...
Freedom of speech stutters when it comes to Israel
January 23rd, 20150 Freedom of speech is a prerequisite to all political rights in a democracy. Without it, "we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter," as George Washington once said. The terrorist attacks on the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris on Jan. 5 sparked countless statements in defense of freedom of speech, no matter how controversial or offensive...
Dearborn Fire Department looking to attract Arab Americans
January 23rd, 20150 DEARBORN — The Dearborn fire chief and city officials are trying to encourage Arab youths to pursue a career as firefighters to increase the diversity of the department and help it better connect with the Arab community. "In any public service department you want people representative of the community," Chief Joseph Murray...
Secretary of state promotes community service to waive driving fines
January 23rd, 20150 DETROIT — About 168,000 people could perform community service instead of paying hundreds of dollars for some driver responsibility fees, which are driving fines issued by law enforcement. The move benefits both drivers and the agencies that serve Michigan communities around the state, Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said at the......
State of the State: Gov. Snyder describes a ‘river of opportunity.’
January 23rd, 20150 LANSING — Michigan will create an environment in which all residents can succeed, regardless of their stage in life, through a strategic realignment of government services and unparalleled public-private collaboration, Gov. Snyder said during his fifth State of the State address Jan. 20. The governor outlined his vision for focusing...Saudi prince: U.S. should stop Syria, not ISIS
DAVOS — U.S. policymakers should concentrate on eliminating the threat posed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad instead of "Islamic State" militants in Iraq and Syria, according to an influential member of the Saudi Arabian royal family. Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the reason......
Iraqi PM warns low oil prices could hurt fight against terror
LONDON — Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Thursday he feared lower revenues from falling global oil prices could hurt his country's military campaign against "Islamic State." Speaking after attending a meeting of members of the U.S.-led coalition against "Islamic State" in London, Abadi said allies could help by potentially...Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi resigns
SANAA — Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi resigned on Thursday, a government source said.Just before, Prime Minister Khaled Baha offered his government's resignation to Hadi, saying it did not want to be dragged into "an unconstructive political maze".This was an apparent reference to a stand-off between Hadi and......
