The Arab American News
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Detroit city council appoints new president on heels of scandal
DETROIT — The City of Detroit announced on Tuesday that current councilwoman Saunteel Jenkins will replace Charles Pugh as city council president, after allegations surfaced against previous president Charles Pugh, claiming that he had inappropriate relations with a teen, who was a minor at the time. Pugh.Pugh hasn't made a...
Federal judges meet with religious and community leaders, encourage greater participation in jury duty
July 5th, 20130 DETROIT — Inside Chief Federal Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan Gerald Rosen’s chambers, sits a copy of the Quran, alongside the Old Jewish Testament. Both books are laid flat open to sections that discuss justice and the courts. The Quran was given to Rosen last April by Imam Mohammad Mardini of the American Muslim...
HFCC hosts delegates from Yemen universities, discuss potential student exchange program
July 5th, 20130 DEARBORN — On June 20, six delegates from universities in Yemen visited Henry Ford Community College (HFCC), under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, which was arranged by Graduate School USA.The delegates visited HFCC to learn about potential study partnerships between higher...U.S. walks tightrope in wake of Egypt coup
WASHINGTON — July 3's coup d’etat against the elected government of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has placed the administration of President Barack Obama in an uncomfortable position on a number of fronts.Most immediately, it will be pressed to decide whether Morsi’s ouster constituted the kind of military coup that requires a...Mixed regional reaction to Morsi’s removal
In an unprecedented move, the Egyptian army ousted President Mohamed Morsi after three days of mass protest— Reuters, TAAN on Wednesday, July 3. Army Chief Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, surrounded by the country's mainstream religious leaders, announced a "road map" that suspended the Constitution, ousted Morsi and named Supreme...
Assad says only an invasion would topple him, as the battle rages in Central Syria
July 5th, 20130 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he and his government would survive the civil war, having endured everything his opponents could do to topple him, and only the distant prospect of direct foreign military intervention could change that.After steady rebel gains in the first two years of civil war, Syria became stuck in a bloody...Palestinians: “Hope is all we have”
As the son of a Palestinian woman, I was raised hearing about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Recently, I was given the opportunity to visit Palestine for the first time with Project Hope, to witness, first-hand, the struggles that many Palestinians endure on a daily basis.When I first heard of Project Hope and the annual trip...
Emotions run high at pro-Assad rally in Dearborn
July 5th, 20130 DEARBORN — Last Sunday evening, hundreds of community members rallied at Dearborn's City Hall to call on the U.S. to cease from arming rebels in Syria, as the country's conflict continues to escalate, resulting in a death toll that the U.N. estimates could now be close to 100,000. The rally was spearheaded by the Syrian American...Local Sunnis, Shias reject sectarianism
DEARBORN HEIGHTS — On June 29, the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) sponsored a forum that was organized by the Imams’ Council of the organization at the Islamic House of Wisdom. Because both Shia and Sunni communities, organizations, and service institutions share a significant set of beliefs and values, an agreement...
Community unites to honor fallen Lebanese soldiers for bravery
July 5th, 20130 DEARBORN — The fallen soldiers of the Lebanese Army Forces who lost their lives late last month in clashes with extremist Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir’s militiamen were honored by community members, during a commemoration ceremony last Sunday at Henry Ford Centennial Library. The clashes between soldiers of the Lebanese...Lebanese Canadian singer dicusses his heritage and rise to fame
Karl Wolf performs at the LAHC reception.DEARBORN — Last week, Lebanese Canadian singer Karl Wolf, 34, paid a visit to Dearborn, where he performed at Byblos Banquet Hall, during a ceremony, sponsored by the Lebanese American Heritage Club (LAHC). Karl, whose birth name is Carl Abou Samah, has been active in the music scene since...
Youth group highlights community service at annual event
July 4th, 20130 DEARBORN — The Youth Leadership Committee (YLC), a sub-division of the Lebanese American Heritage Club (LAHC), held their 2nd Annual "Reclaiming the Arab American Spirit" dinner at Byblos Banquet Hall last Friday and highlighted a year of community service and outreach. LAHC members pose during the annual reception.The Keynote Speaker...
Duggan announces write-in campaign, Barrow continues to challenge his candidacy
July 4th, 20130 DETROIT — Just two weeks after announcing that he would drop out of the Detroit Mayoral Race, Mike Duggan has officially filed to run for the position once again, but this time as a write-in candidate. In late June, Duggan bowed out of the race after two courts had ruled that he did not meet residency requirements to run for...The Whistleblowers’ Protection Act protects whistleblowers
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article in The Arab American News, regarding the legal fragility of employment, given the at-will employment relationship in Michigan. In short, from a legal perspective, an employee has no expectation of continued employment, unless the employee has an expressed or implied contract, stating...
New Biggby location opens in Dearborn Heights, serves Halal
July 4th, 20130 Biggby coffee located in Dearborn Heights.DEARBORN HEIGHTS — A new Biggby Coffee location, which serves halal meat, opened in Dearborn Heights on Tuesday, July 2. Biggby is a Michigan-based coffee franchise with 140 branches operating across the country. The coffee company was established in East Lansing in 1995. In 2011, Biggby......
Arab American National Museum announces new director
July 4th, 20130 AkmonDEARBORN — On June 29, the Arab American National Museum (AANM) announced that Devon Akmon would take over as its new director. Akmon previously served as the deputy director of the museum and had been overseeing all daily operations, since the retirement of former director Anan Ameri in May. Akmon started working for...Local man charged with identity theft involving Connecticut victim
DEARBORN — On June 29, 2013, Mahdy Mohammad Qasem, a 35-year-old Dearborn Heights resident, was arrested in Dearborn, near the corner of Outer Drive and Pelham, after passing out behind the wheel and blocking traffic. He was initially arrested and booked at the Dearborn Police Department for “operating under the......
Cathy Square appointed as new Hamtramck emergency manager
HAMTRAMCK — Recently, Governor Rick Snyder appointed Pontiac City Administrator Cathy Square to serve as the new emergency manager for the City of Hamtramck, effective July 1. Following the governor’s confirmation that a financial emergency exists in Hamtramck, the city council unanimously supported a resolution to seek the...Michigan Supreme Court recommends removal of four judge positions from Wayne County Circuit Court
DETROIT — The Michigan Supreme Court announced that it has made recommendations that four Wayne County Circuit Court judge positions be cut, while other counties in southeast Michigan, including Oakland and Macomb together, should gain a total of six new judge positions. The cuts to the Wayne County Circuit Court, which were...Snyder visits Metro Detroit hospitals to gain support for Medicaid expansion
LANSING — Governor Rick Snyder visited St. Mary’s Livonia Hospital and Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak on Monday, July 1 and spoke to healthcare workers about putting pressure on their state representatives to agree to the expansion of Medicaid to cover an additional 400,000 low-income residents of Michigan.“Call your senators, call...Dearborn restaurant scammed out of $1,000
DEARBORN — The owner of Fuego Mexican Grill on Schaefer Road lost $1,000 to a swindler, who posed as a DTE Energy representative over the telephone on Thursday, June 27.The scammer called the restaurant in the middle of the establishment’s dinner rush, claiming that he works at DTE Energy. He told the owner, Sam Alvarado, that a work......
Former Oakland University basketball player claims religious discrimination
MICHIGAN — Jenna Bachrouche, a Muslim American, says that she faced religious discrimination by Beckie Francis, the former head coach of Oakland University’s women’s basketball team, when she played for the team, from 2010-2012. Bachrouche, a native of Farmington Hills, says that during her time on the team, Francis tried to...Arab Americans join thousands in NAACP Freedom March
DETROIT — Arab American activists joined thousands for the walk down Woodward Avenue on Saturday, June 22 in Detroit, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a march that Martin Luther King, Jr. led in 1963, where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream Speech,” before it was delivered in Washington, D.C. “We have an......
Mike Adray Memorial Golf Tournament raises more than $65,000 for scholarships
DEARBORN — Organizers of the 22nd Annual Mike Adray Memorial Golf Tournament recently announced that they raised over $65,000 in scholarship funding this past May at the Dearborn Country Club, making this year the Foundation’s largest fundraising event. Proceeds from the event are used to fund scholarships for deserving students...HFCC ranks as a top 100 associate degree producer for 2013
DEARBORN — Henry Ford Community College earned national recognition recently as one of the top 100 associate degree producers in 2013, according to the June 24, 2013 issue of Community College Week, a national publication. HFCC earned distinction in three specific categories: a rank of 26th in the Top 50 Associate Degree Producers......