The Arab American News
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Washington’s war drums drown out opportunities for peace in Syria
August 26th, 20120 WASHINGTON - As violence in Syria spikes after a short lull, the prospect of international military intervention appears to be growing by the day. Earlier this week, almost exactly one year after President Barack Obama first called on Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad to step down, Obama warned of “enormous consequences if we start...Local organizations tackle hunger issues during Ramadan interfaith event
DETROIT — On Wednesday United Way for Southeastern Michigan held a reception tilted "Ramadan 2012: Fight Against Hunger" at their headquarters in downtown with co-sponsorships from the Michigan Muslim Community Council, Muslims for Humanity, Zaman International, and No Kid Hungry Michigan. The reception addressed the current state of...
U.S. Vice President discusses plight of Iraqi Christians with local Chaldeans
August 26th, 20120 WEST BLOOMFIELD - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden made a stop at the Shenandoah Country Club here Tuesday where he discussed the plight of Iraqi Christians with members of the Chaldean community.Chaldeans are Iraqi Catholics, and the largest concentration in the United States resides in metro Detroit. More than half of Iraq’s...
Dearborn middle school program paves the way for future Arab American journalists
August 26th, 20120 DEARBORN — In the 2010-2011 school year, McCollough-Unis School allowed the Asian American Journalism Association (AAJA) to launch a project from the AAJA’s Executive Leadership Program for Unis Middle School students titled “The Living Textbook.” Jim Finkelstein, news editor for digital at the Detroit Free Press, talks...U.S. aircraft carrier heads to Mideast
U.S. Defense Secretary cites ‘threats’ from Iran, Syria in deploying USS John Stennis, its strike groupWASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday that the United States was preparing for "threats" from Iran and Syria's turmoil as an aircraft carrier headed to the region ahead of schedule.The USS John Stennis and its...
Poll: GOP really dislikes Muslims
August 26th, 20120 A new survey shows just how uncomfortable the Republican base is with Muslim and Arab peopleAnyone wondering why Rep. Michele Bachmann would launch a witch hunt against Muslims or why the Republican Party would add a plank to its platform opposing Sharia law need look no farther than a new poll conducted by the Arab American...
Lebanese Army given green light to end Tripoli violence
August 26th, 20120 TRIPOLI – Lebanon Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Thursday that the Lebanese Army has been given the “green light” to restore order in the northern city of Tripoli after three days of clashes left at least 12 dead and 70 wounded, including 11 soldiers, according to a report by The Daily Star. Mikati, who chaired a meeting of...
Rebuffing Israel, U.N. chief heads to Iran for summit meeting
August 26th, 20120 UNITED NATIONS — Brushing aside a warning by the Israeli government and rebuffing a campaign by pro-Israeli lobbying groups in the United States, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has decided to visit Iran next week to participate in the summit meeting of the 120-member Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), described as the world’s largest...
The human cost of war on Iran
August 26th, 20120 In late 2002, just prior to the launch of the U.S. “shock and awe” campaign against Iraq, I was invited to join a gathering of intelligence analysts at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to participate in an Iraq “war games” exercise. We were assigned specific roles and asked to “play out” various political...
Assessing the real risks in Syria
August 26th, 20120 For some time, Sen. John McCain and the Wilsonian neoconservatives have been beating the drum to escalate the U.S. intervention in Syria. Now, from the other side of the political spectrum, the Wilsonian progressives are calling for the same solution. The hawks on the left and right abhor each other on most policy issues, but in foreign...
Innovative educator Nawal Hamadeh: A pillar of the Arab American community
August 26th, 20120 Nawal Hamadeh had just completed the 9th grade before emigrating to the United States from Beirut, Lebanon in October 1971.Despite arriving to a new country with limited knowledge of the language, she would grow to become a pillar in her community by creating a world-renowned charter school system in metro Detroit, making her a true...
City of Taylor under scrutiny for apartment fire, several families left dismantled
August 26th, 20120 TAYLOR — Last week a major fire at the Park Place Apartment complex in the city of Taylor located on Eureka Rd. left a total of seven families displaced and homeless after the fire was put out several hours later. The incident is the latest in a string of controversies for the city, who earlier this month had already been under...New Detroit, Inc. seeks leaders to join Multicultural Leadership Series
DETROIT — New Detroit, Inc. is currently seeking applicants for its 2012 Multicultural Leadership Series which provides participants an up-close experience to increase their cultural competency by focusing on the culture and history of six communities of color in Southeast Michigan. Sessions begin Thursday, September 20, 2012.“The...Lebanese American Club Youth feeds the hungry in Ramadan
On Friday Aug. 17 the Lebanese American Heritage Club Youth Leadership Committee (LAHC-YLC) provided several unprivileged families with free meals at the Muslim Center in Detroit during Ramadan. "During an era of budget cuts, and with people losing their source of income and becoming vulnerable to facing hunger... such programs become...Lebanon needs a Spring of ideas
Lebanon and Syria are close and intertwined: demographically, geographically, culturally, politically and historically. Lebanon was carved partially out of Syria in 1920. Every other Lebanese person has a relative, a business partner or a friend in Syria.If the uprising in Syria is a process of genuine renewal, Lebanon is bound to......
Tilling the ground for the seeds of terrorism
After more than 10 years of war against al Qaeda and the accompanying global "war on terrorism," we have failed to learn that our actions create reactions. Our presence creates destabilization, then radicalization. Occupations create insurgencies. In Afghanistan, we have fueled the very insurgency we struggle to fight.Al Qaeda had...
Christian missionaries attract mixed reactions along Warren Avenue;say they’re not against Muslims
August 21st, 20120 DEARBORN-A group of five men demonstrated peacefully along Warren Avenue here today drawing mixed reactions from drivers and others who found it hard to avoid them, considering one man held up a large wooden cross featuring Christian teachings written in Arabic. The men are here from......
Dearborn Eid Festival Sunday, Aug. 26, thousands expected to attend
August 21st, 20120 DEARBORN-The annual Eid Festival is Sunday Aug. 26 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Centennial Library Soccer Field here, with no admission cost. The festival attracts thousands of people every year, and has hundreds of volunteers. It’s held in celebration of Eid al-Fitr, and is expected to include attractions such as live interactive...Two West Nile virus cases confirmed in Wayne County
WAYNE — The Wayne County Department of Public Health has confirmed two cases of West Nile virus (WNV) in Wayne County. Both individuals, an adult female and male, were hospitalized with WNV meningitis. They have since been treated and discharged.West Nile virus is a virus that is transmitted by mosquitoes. The majority of individuals...United Church members vote for boycott of products from Israeli settlements
Canada's largest Protestant church denomination, the United Church of Canada, voted on Wednesday to boycott goods produced in Israeli settlements on the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The decision came on Wednesday after nearly six hours of contentious debate according to a report in the Toronto Star. The group named the Israeli...Judge sides with FBI in OC Muslim spying suit
A U.S. federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against the FBI over the agency’s controversial practice of spying on California Muslims, arguing the disclosure of a potentially unconstitutional domestic spy program might reveal sensitive state secrets.District Judge Cormac J. Carney ruled that “the state secrets privilege may unfortunately......
U.S. Census sets goals to expand on ethnic categories, including Arabs
WASHINGTON D.C — This week the U.S. Census Bureau made an announcement that they are in the process of working on expanding their ethnicity categories for the 2020 census. During the last count held in 2010, the Bureau sampled an alternative survey to a small group of people which gave them the opportunity to detail their ethnicity and...
Arab community questions Dearborn’s hiring practices
August 17th, 20120 DEARBORN — A group of local leaders consisting of businessmen, attorneys and civil rights groups under an umbrella called The Congress of Arab American Organizations of Michigan (CAAO) has come together to launch an investigation on the city of Dearborn regarding hiring practices and procedures. The investigation, which was announced......
Huge turnout for Al-Mabarrat annual iftar fundraiser
August 17th, 20120 Group launches its Islamic school project in Dearborn Thousands gathered at the H.Y.P.E Recreation Center in Dearborn Heights Aug. 11 for Al-Mabarrat’s 26th annual fundraising dinner. Guests made generous donations to support a new Islamic school in Dearborn anticipated to open in 2013. DEARBORN HEIGHTS — During its 26th annual...
Armed Lebanese tribes kidnap Syrians, Turkish national
August 17th, 20120 BEIRUT - A Syrian citizen in eastern Lebanon was kidnapped by unknown gunmen on Thursday morning, taking to 11 the number of abductions inside Lebanese borders in one day. Masked gunmen from the al-Mokdad tribe, gather at the al-Mokdad family's association headquarters in the southern suburbs in Beirut. REUTERSThe man, who is believed......
