The Arab American News
Author's Posts
Ramadan show captivates audiences
DEARBORN — Every night after dusk during Ramadan this year and last, Arabs around the world, Muslim or not, have been united, not by anything religious or nationalistic, but by a phenomenon known as "Bab Al Hara." The second installment of the addictive television series has had tens of millions of feverish Arabs flocking to living...Conference will address Islamophobia
ANN ARBOR — The University of Michigan’s newly formed Islamic Studies Initiative will host a two-day conference entitled, “Islamophobia/Islamophilia: Beyond the Politics of Enemy and Friend,” Oct. 19-20. This event, held in the Michigan League, will bring together a diverse group of scholars whose research has equipped them to think...Leaf collection begins in Dearborn
DEARBORN — The Department of Public Works’ Highway Division will be collecting leaves throughout the city in sections. Collection will start in Section 1 and then will continue in numerical order. Beginning October 15, you can call the Leaf Pickup Hotline at 943.2444 to find out when your section is scheduled for loose leaf pickup....‘Engaging the Other’: Dearborn conference will focus on race relations
DEARBORN — Scholars, religious figures and cultural leaders from around the world will come here for a renowned multicultural diversity conference on October 25, 2007. Entitled "Engaging the Other: The Power of Compassion," this international conference will focus on difficult issues of race relations, identity, stereotypes and...Ontario stands pat
In the Ontario elections held on October 10, the Liberals led by Dalton McGuinty returned to power. The results were not very different from those in the previous election, though the Liberals won this time with a smaller percentage of the vote. Funding for religious schools was the issue that had the attention of voters, apparently....Muslim Canadian suspect must keep ankle bracelet
Montrealer Adil Charkaoui, a terrorist suspect from Morocco wanting to avoid deportation, has failed in his efforts to get the courts to modify his bail conditions, including the wearing of a tracking ankle bracelet, banning from the internet, and a curfew. He was fingered by Ahmed Ressam, the so-called millennial bomber, who was...Canada: No-fly on steroids
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is proposing an extension of no-fly policies as they affect Canada. It wants lists of all passengers from Canada flying over U.S. air space 72 hours before take-off, along with personal information about them. This provision would affect Canadians heading for destinations in places such as...Vermont hurt by border tightening
A panel from the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has heard from Vermont businessmen that border restrictions are hurting business. A ski resort reported that a Montreal radio station reports on the border wait times, resulting in the discouragement of Canadian traffic. The problem is expected to get much worse once Department of Homeland...Canada: Insecure Quebeckers uneasy with diversity
Unease over non-Christian religious symbols has led the Quebec government to set up a commission to tour the province to try to get a perspective on how Quebec should deal with growing cultural and religious diversity. This unease reflects the province's distinctiveness as a French minority culture in an English country and continent, a...Ann Arbor theatre brings Shakespeare to Baghdad
It is easy to forget Baghdad as it once was and view it only as the tragedy it is today. But once upon a time, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates was the cradle of civilization. It was the land of Scheherazade and The Arabian Nights and before that, Gilgamesh. It is the dream of the Baghdad-that-was that inspires A2CT's...November talks must be inclusive
WASHINGTON (IPS) ? To succeed, next month's Israeli-Palestinian conference here should establish and endorse the contours of a permanent peace accord and secure the participation of Arab states that do not currently recognise Israel, including Syria, according to a letter sent Wednesday to President George W. Bush from a bipartisan group...Religious leaders reach out to each other
New York — Thousands of Americans crossed the lines of faith traditions to fast from dawn to dusk Monday to call for an end to the Iraq War. Prayer and fasting events were also reported in Canada, Australia and elsewhere, said Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana, associate general secretary at the National Council of Churches USA (NCC), one...
As Mideast realigns, U.S. leans Sunni
October 12th, 20070 The White House is re-embracing Sunni authoritarian regimes to counter the rise of Shi'i Iran. WASHINGTON — Americans are hearing much less from the Bush administration about democracy for the Middle East than they did a year ago. As Shi'i Iran rises, the White House has muted its calls for reform in the region as it redirects policy...Little Mosque hits the Middle East
CBC's "Little Mosque on the Prairie" is set to air in Israel and other corners of the Middle East, creating an interesting case of a Canadian sitcom exporting a message of religious tolerance to various trouble spots. In a series of recent deals, the show's producer, West Wind Pictures, has sold the broadcast rights to the Israeli...Muslims nationwide feed homeless
DETROIT — Community organizations in 19 cities across the country last Saturday worked to gather and help thousands of homeless and needy individuals for Humanitarian Day, an annual event organized by Islamic Relief, a California-based nonprofit. Detroit's event was held at Cass Park, where about 2,000 people were served in a line......
Evening applauds judicial community
DEARBORN — The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in Michigan will continue its unique tradition of honoring exemplary judges during its Annual Judges Night on October 16, 2007 at the Bint Jebail Cultural Center here. The event will mark the 6th year of this prestigious event, where select judges are honored for their...Accurate census count critical for Arab Americans
DEARBORN — As the 2010 United States census approaches, Arab American community leaders are expressing great concern over sampling figures that were recently released by the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. While the newly released numbers show an increase in Arab population since the 2000 census, many have found the figures......
‘The Kingdom’: Kill ’em all
Hollywood's first, and most violent, movie since 9/11 is "The Kingdom." This heavy-handed action film — black (bad Arab) versus white (good American) — displays the heroics of four F.B.I agents who fly off to Saudi Arabia and kill gobs of Arabs. No surprises here; for decades seeing reel Arab corpses pollute the silver screen has been a...Pro-Israeli pressure silences South African figure
Apparently no one is free from the Israeli lobby’s reach. Nobel Peace Prize winner and anti-apartheid hero Desmond Tutu was recently invited to speak at St. Thomas, a small Minnesota university. After school officials spoke with representatives from some pro-Israeli organizations, they canceled the talk. Last April, the Justice and...Election 2008: The Iraq factor
On November 4, 2008, the United States will elect a new president, a new House of Representatives, and a new third of U.S. Senate. The elephant in the room is the war in Iraq. Everyone knows it's there. Everyone knows it will be the biggest single factor determining the outcome of the elections. And no one is quite sure how to deal with...The evil that men do
Once again, the Bush administration is flimflamming the hapless Democratic majority in Congress into rushing an important piece of legislation into law without serious thought or debate about the implications. Although Congress passed a temporary extension of the FISA law in August that carries it through to February, the......
External meddling complicates Lebanon’s election
BEIRUT (IRIN) — Lebanon's tussling factions are headed for a stalemate, settlement, or war, and international actors as much as local ones will decide which, analysts say. The presidential vote which was to be held on September 25 was deferred until October 23 after lawmakers failed to find a consensus candidate. Opposition members of...
Nuclear flyover ‘mistake’ was really aborted attack on Iran
October 10th, 20070 Wayne Madsen Reports (WMR) has learned from U.S. and foreign intelligence sources that the B-52 transporting six stealth AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missiles, each armed with a W-80-1 nuclear warhead, on August 30, were destined for the Middle East via Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. However, elements of the Air Force, supported by......
Anti-Iran hawks win in Congress
WASHINGTON (IPS) — Amid growing speculation about prospects for U.S. military action against Iran, neo-conservatives and other hawks won a significant — if somewhat incomplete — victory in rallying the Democratic-led Congress to its side. In a 76-22 vote last week, senators approved a non-binding amendment to the 2008 defense...Mideast meet has ambiguous agenda
WASHINGTON (IPS) — As the George W. Bush administration prepares to host its much-publicized Middle East conference, Israeli experts gathered on Capitol Hill this week to discuss whether Washington's latest diplomatic attempts would pave the way for a solution to the long-moribund Palestinian-Israeli peace process. But with less than......
