The Arab American News
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Suspect in rapes arrested
DEARBORN — A Dearborn Heights man was arrested Monday and arraigned Wednesday in 19th District Court on multiple charges related to the home invasion/rape of a West Dearborn mother on Sept. 5. Kenneth Gunther, 26, is also suspected of a second rape of a mother in Dearborn Heights that occurred Oct. 19, police said. Kenneth GuntherIn...Local doctor provides holistic healthcare
DEARBORN — Michigan is behind the rest of the country when it comes to alternative medicine, according to local acupuncturist Mostafa Belkhalfia. The state implemented laws regulating acupuncture just last year, becoming the 41st state to do so. Belkhalfia came to Dearborn from California after the laws passed, looking to offer a new...Public invited to Dearborn events
Christmas benefit party on Dec. 13 will raise funds for Dearborn Firefighters Burn Drive DEARBORN — The Dearborn Firefighters Burn Drive, a local charity organization created by members of the Dearborn Fire Department, is holding a Christmas benefit party on Thursday, Dec. 13, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. The charity fundraiser will be held...Hands off Iran or forget my tax money
I will not pay my income tax if we go to war with Iran. I realize this is a desperate and perhaps futile gesture. But an attack on Iran — which appears increasingly likely before the coming presidential election — will unleash a regional conflict of catastrophic proportions. This war, and especially Iranian retaliatory strikes on...Democrats face uphill battle in rolling back spy powers
The renewed Congressional debate over changes to the rules that govern the government's ability to wiretap and spy has set up a major confrontation between the White House and Congress and an internal battle between Democrats in the Senate. In August, Congress rushed through a temporary expansion of spying powers before they left for...
UN: Israel’s siege of Gaza breeds extremism and human suffering
November 23rd, 20070 Jerusalem — A senior United Nations official has issued an unprecedented appeal to British MPs to use their influence to try to alleviate the impact of "indiscriminate" and "illegal" Israeli sanctions in Gaza which display "profound inhumanity" and are "serving the agenda of extremists."In one of the strongest attacks on recent Israeli...Peace with justice banquet scheduled
DETROIT — The Central United Methodist Church of Detroit will hold its annual Justice and Peace Banquet here on Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center. The church is looking for sponsors to assist it in meeting the needs of many — seniors living on fixed incomes, the homeless who rely on the...
Top GOP contender alienates Arab Americans
November 21st, 20070 The leading Republican candidate for President, Rudy Giuliani, is not trying to win any friends in the Arab American community. He is ramping up "war on terror" rhetoric aggressively, opposing Palestinian independence and allying with some of the most stringent neo-cons, some of whom were discredited for their role in promoting the...Tight border security disaster
On November 11, the emergency call came in to Lacolle, Quebec. The local volunteer fire department was desperately needed to assist in putting out a fire across the border in nearby Rouses Point, New York. The six firemen from Lacolle piled into their fire engine and raced for the border, siren sounding and lights...Ashcroft’s lawyer: Arar belongs to al-Qaeda
During a U.S. Court of Appeals hearing on November 9, Maher Arar's lawyer David Cole, from the Center for Constitutional Rights, sought to re-start a suit to recover damages for Arar's extraordinary rendition to Syria, where he was tortured. A lawyer for former Attorney General John Ashcroft charged that Arar had "unequivocal...Dealing Syria out of rogue statehood
For decades Syria has played the role of a bad student at school, its leaders thinking that if you don't cause trouble, no one will pay attention to you. The Syrian regime meddled in Iraq, nurtured Palestinian militants opposed to peace with Israel and dominated its smaller neighbor, Lebanon. Syria's gambits in a tough part of the world...Afghan prisoner abuse again raised
After a row in Parliament, Canada reached a new agreement in May with Afghanistan to permit Canada to monitor captured fighters turned over to Afghan authorities. On November 14, Canadian officials reported on the seventh complaint by prisoners since the agreement was signed. The Canadian government has tended to downplay such...Secret negotiations between Canada and Israel
Israeli Minister of Public Security, Ari Dichter and Canadian Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day, have been developing a cooperative approach to terrorism and related issues, involving exchange of information, technology, and operations. The Israeli Ministry web site reported on these developments, but Day's office was caught off...Canadian heads investigation into Hariri killing
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Canadian Daniel Bellemare, former chief of Canada's Federal Prosecution Service, to head the investigation into the assassination of Rafik Hariri. He will only begin his work some time next year, however. As well as the Hariri killing, the investigation will also address several...Khadr trial begins under a cloud
Omar Khadr's trial at Guantanamo is on again. He is accused of being an illegal enemy combatant, having been involved in a firefight in Afghanistan while serving with al-Qaeda fighters when he was 15. He is now 21, still held at Guantanamo. At the trial, Khadr's lawyer Lt. Commander William Kuebler asked the judge what he......
Canadian Muslim is new ambassador
Arif Lalani is Canada's new ambassador to Afghanistan. He is a Muslim who came to Canada as a child when his family was driven from Uganda by Idi Amin. Lalani joined with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in prayer at the end of Ramadan. By Reuel S. AmdurJamal out on bail
After 17 months in jail, Abdul Qayyam Jamal was released on $100,000 bail on November 5. He is the oldest of the group arrested in the Toronto area on charges related to planned terrorist attacks. A charge of plotting a bombing was dropped, but two other charges remain: involvement in a terrorist act and leading terrorist......
Jahanagir defends religious freedom
Speaking recently at the University of Ottawa, Asma Jahanagir, U.N. Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, expressed cynicism about how religions treat women. She remarked sardonically that efforts at mutual understanding among religions might be possible because they can find common ground: suppression of women. All...Foreign language study increases across country
Study of Arabic language has grown 127% The Modern Language Association of America (MLA), the world's leading organization dedicated to language and literature study, released a comprehensive new survey showing significant increases in foreign language study at U.S. colleges and universities since 2002. The report, "Enrollments in...Preparing for the inevitable in America
Despite a tragic history of regular disasters — earthquakes, hurricanes, bridge collapses and fires — Americans seem unwilling to prepare for the inevitable. This may have something to do with the forty-year conservative assault on government and the resulting skepticism about things that can't be justified as fighting terrorism. But...The undeclared Palestinian civil war
The Palestinians have never been as divided and weak as they have been since this summer's infighting in Gaza. Their internal conflict is undermining international solidarity and distracting them from challenging the Israeli occupation. The Palestinian territories could explode at any moment. HAMAS accuses Fatah of conspiring against its......
Will ‘armloads’ of U.S. cash buy tribal loyalty?
The U.S. policy of paying Sunni Arab sheikhs for their allegiance could be risky. TIKRIT — Inside a stately guesthouse on the grounds of Saddam Hussein's palace in Tikrit on the banks of the Tigris, sheikh Sabah al-Hassani jokes that the initials "SH" of the former dictator etched on the walls are his. "I have a weakness for Cuban...A study in courage and honor
On Thursday, November 8, Hon. Benjamin Settle, a federal court judge, issued a preliminary injunction halting any further court-martial proceedings of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada and effectively ruling against the Army on virtually every issue in the case. This injunction not only extends the stay until the conclusion of the habeas corpus......
Presidential election tops international agenda
BEIRUT (AFP) — U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon warned Lebanese leaders Friday that their country stood on the brink of an "abyss" if they failed to put their differences aside to elect a new president by a November 23 deadline. "If the responsibilities are not shouldered, there might be a move to the brink of an abyss," the U.N. chief said after...The Sunni in Iraq’s Shi’a leadership
Baghdad — Tariq al-Hashemi says he cringes when he's described as Iraq's Sunni vice president. Mr. Hashemi, one of two vice presidents — the other, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, is Shi'i — says he is trying to reach out to all Iraqis. In September, he met for the first time with Iraq's most influential Shi'i cleric, the reclusive Grand Ayatollah Ali......