The Arab American News
Author's Posts
The new freedom agenda: Will push meet pull again?
In his June 2009 Cairo speech to the Muslim world, President Obama paid lip service to the need for greater Middle East democracy. But since then he has done very little concretely to back this up in terms of quiet pressure for democratic change on the part of allies like Egypt, Jordan or Morocco. Indeed, the administration's ramping up...Sharing Jerusalem: Key to wider peace
Jerusalem is not just a city in historic Palestine or Biblical Israel. This city arguably holds all the knots of the conflict between Arabs and Israelis. Jerusalem invokes issues of identity, history, demography, borders, refugees, settlements and security. A Palestinian man smokes a cigarette beside Israeli soldiers after...
Ask an Arab!
February 27th, 20100 NPR features comedians Maysoon Zayid and Dean Obeidallah as they open up and answer questions from passers-by about magic carpets and plural marriage.Check out the full story with video here. ...Unfulfilled promises: Guantanamo and torture
Last April we polled across the Arab World asking what Arabs thought was the most positive early action President Obama had taken to improve U.S.-Arab relations. High up on the list (barely topped by the decision to leave Iraq) was the president's pledge to close Guantanamo and ban torture. That this issue would out-poll Obama's early...Dollars for death, pennies for life
When the U.S. military began a major offensive in southern Afghanistan over the weekend, the killing of children and other civilians was predictable. Lofty rhetoric aside, such deaths come with the territory of war and occupation. Haitians line up during food distribution at the Cite Soleil neighborhood in Port-au-Prince...Spring is around the corner, so keep healthy the remainder of winter
In many areas of the country, the snow and wintry conditions will linger into spring. And yes, the risk of contracting colds, especially those "change-of-season" colds, will arise. When cold weather hits, you prepare your house by checking the furnace and making sure your car has the proper fluids. "Winterization" applies to your car,...Don’t let aches and pains slow you down
We all know the feeling that comes with the first great day of spring. When the sun is shining, the air smells sweet and fresh and the temperatures are warm, we all feel the urge to get outside and throw off the confinement of the winter months. Whether you're an avid athlete, a dedicated gardener or someone who's been meaning to get...Director of Oscar-nominated movie visits UM-Dearborn
Most movie directors are perfectionists by nature, so it's no surprise that Robert Kenner had a few regrets about scenes that didn't make it into his critically-acclaimed documentary "Food, Inc." UM-Dearborn Provost Catherine A. Davy, L, helped bring Robert Kenner, the director of the critically acclaimed movie Food, Inc., to...UM-D Student government approves divestment resolution
The University of Michigan—Dearborn's student government body passed a resolution on Tuesday calling for investigation into ethical implications of University investments in companies that do business in Israel. Yusif Barakat, who was displaced from his Palestinian home as a child after Israel was established in the 1940s,...Dingell to seek re-election
DEARBORN — U.S. Rep. John Dingell announced this week that he will seek re-election. U.S. Rep. John Dingell poses with Arab American leaders in 2009. "Congressman Dingell cited Michigan's economic woes and the need to fight to protect the interests of working families as the key factors in his decision," his campaign...Darany to run for state representative
DEARBORN — City Councilman George Darany announced this week he will run for state representative. Dearborn City Councilman George Darany He will try to replace Rep. Gino Polidori, D-Dearborn, who will have exhausted term limits and will not be on the ballot. Polidori currently represents the 15th District, which includes all...Judge Hultgren to seek fourth term
DEARBORN — Judge William Hultgren last week announced he will run for a fourth term in 19th District Court. Dearborn Judge William Hultgren Hultgren served as Dearborn city attorney for 17 years before being elected to his first six-year term as judge in 1992. He ran unopposed in 1998 and 2004. Hultgren's campaign said that...Stand up and be counted
With more than $400 billion in federal grants at stake, the importance of local residents filling out the upcoming 2010 census forms is as clear as day. And with just ten questions to fill out on the census forms, which will be sent out on March 15 and take only about ten minutes to complete, standing up and being counted in 2010...Al Sultan serves mouth-watering dishes
GARDEN CITY – While the restaurant business has changed dramatically in recent years, the success of Al Sultan Restaurant in Garden City since its opening in 1997 is proof that things like attentive customer service, quality food and good value never go out of style. The restaurant, which rests on the first block of Garden City...
Film producers seeking Arab American actors for ‘Detroit Unleaded’
February 21st, 20100 A film production company is seeking Arab American actors for the upcoming full-length film "Detroit Unleaded." Local filmmaker Rola Nashef premiered the original short-film version of Detroit Unleaded in 2007. The film garnered international attention and was screened at 23 festivals, winning three awards for "Best Short Film"......
U.S. starts normalization processwith Damascus in earnest
WASHINGTON (IPS) — After months of delay, the administration of President Barack Obama is taking major steps to engage the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as part of a broader regional strategy designed in major part to isolate Iran, escalate the fight against al Qaeda and other radical Sunni groups, and encourage peace...Young Western Muslims fight misperceptions
NEW YORK (IPS) — Islamophobia is rising in the West, and sectarian clashes have undermined unity in the Muslim world, but there is hope from within, says a group of young Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow (MLTs) working to address the problems. MLTs speak at the 2006 Copenhagen forum. "There is a lot of misinformation out......
Nasrallah throws down the gauntlet
(UPI) — Amid growing fears of another Middle East war, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah has thrown down the gauntlet for Israel by vowing to hammer Ben-Gurion Airport if Beirut's Rafiq Hariri International is hit, as it was in their last conflict in 2006. Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters listen to their leader Sayyed Hassan...Hariri rally ‘marks March 14’s end’
A rally on Sunday marking the fifth anniversary of the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister, was partly staged to revitalize the waning Lebanese anti-Syrian front, but its conflicting political speeches all but officially declared the end of the March 14 coalition. Lebanese supporters of...
Frail boy-king Tut died from malaria, broken leg
February 20th, 20100 CAIRO — Egypt's famed King Tutankhamun suffered from a cleft palate and club foot, likely forcing him to walk with a cane, and died from complications from a broken leg exacerbated by malaria, according to the most extensive study ever of his more than 3,300-year-old mummy. The findings were from two years of DNA testing and CT...Scandals, assassination plan rock Palestinian Authority
RAMALLAH (IPS) - The Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah is fighting a tidal wave of fresh allegations, including sexual harassment, an internal power struggle and embezzlement. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (C) speaks to the media after a cabinet meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah February 15, 2010. Abbas......
Europeans press Israel over Dubai killing row
February 20th, 20100 Interpol, the international police agency, has placed 11 members of an alleged hit squad suspected of assassinating Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior Hamas commander, at a luxury Dubai hotel last month, on its most-wanted list. The suspects: (From left to right, top row): Evan Dennings (Irish), Gail Folliard (Irish), James Leonard...
Scholars protest full-body scanners
February 20th, 20100 A national group of Muslim scholars last week issued a statement declaring the use of new airport security full-body scanners in violation of religious virtues. A computer screen shows a scan of a security official in a RapiScan full-body scanner being trialed at Manchester Airport in Manchester, northern England January 7,......
U.S. wins six medals, three gold in one day
February 20th, 20100 VANCOUVER — Lindsey Vonn struck gold for the United States this week, surviving a crash course in downhill skiing to beat compatriot Julia Mancuso to give the USA a 1-2 finish in an opening women's Alpine race on an icy course that contributed to a string of wipe-outs. Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. reacts after crossing the finish...
Sayed headed for the Big House
February 20th, 20100 DEARBORN — As one of the most successful sports programs in the state's history, Fordson High School has sent players from many positions to play in college. Sayed (with football) capped off one of the best receiving careers in Fordson history this past week as he agreed to become a preferred walk-on for the University......
