The Arab American News
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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......
The uncompromising Kucinich
October 10th, 20070 DEARBORN — In response to criticism for an outspoken visit to Syria and Lebanon in September, the wife of uncompromising Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich defended the trip in an interview with The Arab American News this week. "You have to focus on what you're trying to achieve. You can't let small-minded people stop...Arab medical association walks for cancer
DEARBORN — About 30 teams of walkers gathered at the Detroit Zoo last Saturday to raise money for all forms of women's cancer. The fourth annual Walk for Women's Cancer, sponsored by the National Arab American Medical Association (NAAMA) and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, attracted 1500 participants and raised more than...
Mideast trip caps film production
October 9th, 20070 For first-time visitors to the Middle East, the experience screams "exotic," even from forty thousand feet overhead. From the window of a Beirut-bound MEA twinjet, wreaths of mystery smoke creep upward from fires in Turkish Capadocia, the bronze needle of Cypress shines in the Mediterranean and the green fields of the Bekaa sprawl toward...Excuses keep on coming
The evolution of excuses for blundering into and maintaining the Iraq War is becoming comical. The first excuse was weapons of mass destruction. Do you remember the constant talk about weapons of mass destruction, "the worst weapons in the hands of the worst dictator"? Do you remember how President Bush said the sole reason for the......
Bizarre allegations about Toronto 18
Unorthodox decisions are raising questions about Crown's case Ottawa's abrupt decision to cancel a preliminary inquiry into Canada's most spectacular post-9/11 terror allegations and instead move directly to trial raises new and troubling questions. Everything about the case of the so-called Toronto 18 is shrouded in mystery....America’s diplomatic fig leaf
What do diplomats do when they don't know what to do? You guessed it, they propose holding an international conference. The device is useful on several grounds. It covers one's political nakedness with the fig leaf of an impression that something is being done. It creates a crowd to divert attention from one's isolation. And, last but......
Oakwood Breast Care Center offers free mammograms
Dearborn – The Center for Women's Health at Oakwood is supporting Breast Cancer Awareness month by offering free digital mammograms at the Oakwood Breast Care Center – Dearborn every Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. throughout the month of October for women who qualify. To qualify for the exam, you must be 40 years of age or older, uninsured...MPAC releases guide for responding to campus events
Los Angeles — The Muslim Public Affairs Council this week released a guide for Muslim student and community groups in response to an upcoming series of highly controversial and provocative events on college campuses organized by extreme right wing activist David Horowitz. Under the banner of "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" (IFAW),......
