The Arab American News
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Poll: 63 percent of Americans believe Blacks are responsible for their own condition
WASHINGTON — According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, 63 percent of Americans believe Blacks are responsible for their own inability to succeed.Those polled ranged from those who identified as "solid liberals" to those who identified as "steadfast conservatives." They were asked whether they believed that "racial...Charter One to change its name to Citizens Bank in 2015
SOUTHFIELD — Citizens Financial Group Inc.’s Charter One branches in Michigan will be rebranded as Citizens Bank next year as part of a broader strategy to unify all of its brands, the company announced on Monday. This change, also scheduled for Citizens’ Charter One branches in Ohio, will result in a uniform Citizens Bank...
Iraqi American man arrested while burning Qur’an in Dearborn
July 4th, 20140 DEARBORN — On Wednesday June 25, police arrested an Iraqi American who was trying to burn the Qur'an in front of the Karbalaa Islamic Educational Center on Warren Avenue. Ali Hassan Al-Asaidi.Ali Hassan Al-Asaidi, 50, of Detroit, also admitted to burning three Qur'ans at the Karbalaa Center on June 10, according to Lt. Doug...
Pregnant Arab American woman commits suicide
July 4th, 20140 Heba Serhan. DEARBORN HEIGHTS — A pregnant Arab American woman took her own life last week, according to Dearborn Heights police. Heba Serhan was married and had two children. She was expected to deliver a third child soon. The fetus also died in the tragic incident.Serhan attended Henry Ford College and Wayne State University...U.S. justices uphold firms’ religious objections to contraception
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that owners of private companies can object on religious grounds to a provision of President Obama's healthcare law that requires employers to provide insurance covering birth control for women.The decision, which applies only to a small number of family owned or other...ISIS’s appeal to young Muslims
An Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) loyalist waves an ISIS flag in Raqqa on June 29. As Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), declares himself the caliph of a new Islamic state larger in size than Great Britain, people in Baghdad wait for a fresh assault on the capital by his fighters,...N.Y. top court says cyberbullying law violates free speech
ALBANY N.Y.— New York's highest court said on Tuesday that a law designed to criminalize cyberbullying was so broad that it violated the First Amendment, marking the first time a U.S. court weighed the constitutionality of such a law.The 2011 Albany County law banned electronic communication intended to "harass, annoy, threaten...or...Our phones should be protected from Customs and Border Protection agents, too
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously last week that police officers cannot search the cell phones of suspects they arrest, without a warrant.Prior to the ruling, the police could search everything carried by the arrested suspect. But as Chief Justice John Roberts noted, "modern cell phones, as a category,...
Settlers torture, murder Palestinian boy in revenge attack after the killing of three Israeli youths
July 4th, 20140 Suha, mother of Mohammed Abu Khudair, shows a picture of her son on her mobile phone at their home in Shuafat, an Arab suburb of Jerusalem July 2. REUTERS/Ammar Awad RAMALLAH — A 17-year-old Palestinian boy from East Jerusalem was abducted and killed early Wednesday, July 2, in a suspected act of revenge for the killing of three...Iraqi Kurdish president asks parliament to prepare for independence vote
Iraq's Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani votes at a polling station during voting for Iraqi parliamentary election in Arbil, capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, north of Baghdad April 30, 2014.BAGHDAD — The president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region asked its parliament on Thursday, July 3, to plan a referendum on Kurdish...Saudi Arabia deploys 30,000 soldiers to border with Iraq
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia deployed 30,000 soldiers to its border with Iraq after Iraqi soldiers abandoned the area, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television said on Thursday, July 3. Baghdad denied the Saudi claim and said the frontier remained under its full control.The world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia shares an 800-km (500-mile) border...Four Tunisian soldiers killed in landmine blast
TUNIS— Four Tunisian soldiers were killed in a landmine blast during an operation against Islamist militants in the north of the country, TAP state news agency reported on Wednesday, July 2.Tunisian troops are battling militants from the hardline Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia and other al-Qaeda-linked fighters, especially since...Obama to reform immigration on his own, bypassing Congress
WASHINGTON — President Obama said on Monday he would take executive action to revamp the U.S. immigration system and move additional resources to protect the border after hopes of passing broad reform legislation in Congress officially died.Republican John Boehner, speaker of the House of Representatives, told Obama last week that his...U.S. privacy board says NSA Internet spying program is effective but worrying
Washington — The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA)'s data collection program has been an effective tool to enhance the country's security but some elements of the cyber-spying raises privacy concerns, a U.S. federal privacy watchdog said in a report.Privacy issues have become a hot topic since former NSA contractor Edward Snowden...Fresh gains and new enemies for Islamic State in Syria
DAMASCUS — Islamic State militants have taken control of most of eastern Syria as they build on the momentum of their advance through northern provinces of neighboring Iraq.The jihadist group, which claims authority over Muslims worldwide, has seized weapons from arms depots in Syria and Iraq, money from bank vaults in cities it has......
Coffee shop attacked in Lebanon for not closing during Ramadan
BEIRUT —A café open for customers during the day of the fasting month of Ramadan in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli was attacked by unknown gunmen with a grenade, wounding four people and causing material damages to the café.Two unidentified men on a motorcycle threw the bomb at Makiya café whose owner insists on opening his...Algeria’s soccer national team to donate World Cup bonuses to Gaza
Algeria's soccer players celebrate as they are welcomed by fans in downtown Algiers, after returning from the 2014 World Cup. REUTERS/Louafi Larbi Algiers — The Algerian national football team will donate their entire World Cup prize fund to the embattled people of Gaza.According to quotes attributed to Algeria’s star striker Islam......
Gunmen kidnap leading Libyan Islamist party figure
TRIPOLI — Gunmen kidnapped a leading member of a Libyan Islamist party affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, a party spokesman said on Monday, in a further sign of lawlessness crippling the oil-producing country.No group claimed responsibility for the abduction on Sunday night of Mohammed Hraizi. But kidnappings for political...Militants free 32 Turkish truck drivers seized in Iraq
ANKARA — Thirty-two truck drivers abducted by Islamist militants in Iraq three weeks ago arrived home in Turkey on Thursday, and Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu said efforts to secure the release of 49 more abductees were continuing.There were emotional scenes as the drivers were reunited with their families, with children and...Two police officers killed in bomb blasts near Cairo palace
CAIRO — Two Egyptian policemen were killed on Monday, June 30, trying to defuse bombs planted near Cairo's presidential palace by militants days before the anniversary of the army overthrow of an elected Islamist president.Islamist fundamentalists have repeatedly attacked police and soldiers with bombings and shootings since the...
Councilman Mike Sareini: “I never turn a resident down”
July 3rd, 20140 Mike Sareini, pictured right, discussing community topics with a resident of Dearborn.DEARBORN — "Busy people get things done."That’s the viewpoint of Dearborn City Council member Mike Sareini, who took office in January. He replaced his mother, Suzanne Sareini, who opted not to run again, after a 24 year tenure.Sareini, the father......
‘Halalywood’ comes to metro Detroit with film production of “American Sharia”
DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Hollywood is aiming to go halal and is using the metro Detroit region to get the mission accomplished.Last week, the production of the film "American Sharia" wrapped in Dearborn Heights after a month- long shoot around metro Detroit that employed dozens of Muslims and Arab Americans from California, New York and...
CAIR-MI welcomes zoning approvals for places of worship
July 3rd, 20140 WARREN/MACOMB COUNTY — Within the past week, the Council on American Islamic Relations of Michigan has advocated on behalf of two Islamic organizations regarding zoning approvals.CAIR-MI Staff Attorney Lena Masri represented the Muslim Community of Macomb before the city of Sterling Heights' Zoning Board of Appeals and was......
Immigration advocates rally for presidential action to protect families and halt deportations
July 3rd, 20140 A protester stands outside the McNamera Building.DETROIT — On Saturday, June 28, Michigan United held a spirited rally at the Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building, 477 Michigan Ave., calling on President Obama to halt deportations. The event, which featured faith leaders and immigrant families threatened by the broken immigration...
Duggan, Dabaja announce support for Warren Evans
July 3rd, 20140 L-R: Worthy, Evans, Duggan and Dabaja.DETROIT — More than 60 people crowded Warren Evans' campaign headquarters on Tuesday to witness Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan officially announce his backing for the former Wayne County Sheriff's bid for Wayne County executive.Evans is campaigning in a crowded field of candidates that include current......