Author's Posts
Khamenei says Iran will not abandon its missile program
June 7th, 20190 Tehran — Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday that Tehran has no plans to give up its missile program and be deceived by President Trump's offer of negotiations. Trump has condemned the nuclear deal between Iran and global powers signed by his predecessor, Barack Obama. Washington pulled out of this deal...
The Peoples Iftar brings together different political voices, emphasizes co-governance
May 31st, 20190 Dearborn – Fifteen community organizations and restaurants came together to host The People's Iftar dinner in the Annex of the Arab American National Museum on Wednesday. Attendees included council members from various Metro Detroit cities and other elected officials, local political activists, religious leaders and former...
Local resident reflects on occupation and liberation of southern Lebanon 19 years after Israel’s withdrawal
May 31st, 20190 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Abbas Youssef remembers the mood in his southern Lebanese village the day Israel fled and relinquished control of the region after 22 years of occupation. Israel was driven out by Lebanese resistance on May 25, 2000, a day known to many in the Lebanese American community as Liberation Day. The Guardian reported...
Michigan Muslim Community Council organizes Ramadan Fight Against Hunger campaign
May 31st, 20190 DEARBORN— The Michigan Muslim Community Council launched its annual Ramadan Fight Against Hunger campaign on May 26. The organization is planning volunteer events and food drives at several locations across southeast Michigan through the end of Ramadan. Dr. Muzammil Ahmad, a Beaumont-affiliated urologist and MMCC board member, told...
CAIR to reach out to Pennsylvania school district after release of racist active-shooter drill video
May 24th, 20192 PITTSBURGH – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has joined other anti-discrimination and Muslim rights organizations in condemning the Penn-Trafford School District for allowing a teacher to wear a keffiyeh while acting as a would-be shooter in an active-shooter drill. Video of the drill was produced by the school...
Bab El Hara Ramadan festival proves to be a satisfying success
May 24th, 20190 DEARBORN – Ali Hachem, owner of Dearborn’s Cheat Treats and purveyor of guilt-free, protein-rich baked goods, is proud of the city of Dearborn and its residents for organizing around this year’s Ramadan festivities. Hachem, a self-trained baker, organized a successful Ramadan festival of his own this year, in front of his...
After a year of harassment by their neighbor, Dearborn Heights Arab family sees some justice
May 24th, 20190 DEARBORN HEIGHTS – After almost a year of harassment by their next-door neighbors, Jamal and Hind Hourani and their 7-year-old son were finally offered some justice in the city’s 20th District Court this week. On Monday afternoon, Christie Ann Klein was found guilty of two separate counts of breaching of the peace at a bench...
Focus: HOPE to close its Inkster facility, affecting thousands of senior citizens
May 24th, 20190 Inkster — Focus: Hope is closing its Inkster facility. Stanley Davis, an Inkster resident and volunteer at Focus: Hope, is concerned that this will impact thousands of senior citizens in Wayne County who depend on food supplements from the facility to help them make it through the month. According to Davis, a "for sale" sign is...
New ruling in mahr case has ramifications for religious marriage ceremonies
May 17th, 20190 Southfield — A recent Michigan Court of Appeals opinion has significant ramifications for agreements between spouses in a religious wedding ceremony. Roquia Draper, a partner at Warner Norcross + Judd LLP in Southfield, who argued the case at trial and in front of the Michigan Court of Appeals, said that Islamic wedding ceremonies...
Dearborn teacher Zeinab Chami appointed to Governor Whitmer’s Educator Advisory Council
May 17th, 20190 LANSING – Governor Whitmer has appointed Zeinab Chami and other Michigan educators to sit on her Educator Advisory Council. The announcement was made on May 9. The council was created by Whitmer to review and make recommendations regarding legislation that will directly impact the state’s public education system. It will also...
Dearborn Heights City Council overrides mayor’s veto to refile lawsuit originally thrown out
May 17th, 20190 Dearborn Heights – The Dearborn Heights City Council voted 5-2 on May 14 to override mayor Daniel Paletko’s veto of their motion to approve the hiring of Southfield law firm Ottenwess, Taweel and Schenk, PLC to file a complaint against the mayor. The Council had filed a lawsuit against the mayor without a vote that was thrown out...
Removal of benefits from immigration fee waivers could impact low income applicants
May 17th, 20190 The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is seeking to remove the means-tested benefits option from its fee waiver request. The proposed change was put up for public comment on the Federal Register with an end-date for comments of May 6. The USCIS considers waiving a fee for certain applications or petitions when the...
Yemen American Benevolent Association holds annual graduation ceremony for Arabic Language School
May 10th, 20190 Dearborn – The Yemen American Benevolent Association held its annual graduation ceremony for its Arabic Language School on April 28. The ceremony was held at YABA’s center on Salina St. in Dearborn. Families and supporters of graduates filled the center, which was standing room only. Several notable guests were in attendance and...
Dearborn Heights Police Department focusing on diversity and inclusion
May 10th, 20190 Dearborn Heights – Dearborn Heights Police Department Deputy Chief Michael Petri finds that connecting with the city’s diverse population has benefits both for his department and the community itself. One of the ways the department has reached out and made this connection is by hiring officers that represent Dearborn Heights’...
New poll reveals opinions of Muslims in America, recommends ways to confront Islamophobia
May 9th, 20190 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding published its fourth annual report last week, entitled "American Muslim Poll 2019: Predicting and Preventing Islamophobia." The ISPU surveyed American Muslims, Jews, Catholics and Protestants, including White evangelicals, and non-affiliated participants, to......
U.S. soldier convicted of killing Iraqi soldier, pardoned by Trump
May 8th, 20190 Oklahoma – President Trump pardoned former U.S. Army Lieutenant Michael Behenna on Monday after he served five years in prison for killing an Iraqi soldier in 2008. Behenna was convicted of unpremeditated murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison for the killing of Ali Mansour Mohamed. Mansour had been suspected for his involvement...
Researcher seeks Arab American and Chaldean participants for study
May 8th, 20190 Dearborn – A research study is underway that seeks to examine the intergenerational socioeconomic mobility of Arab Americans and Chaldean Americans in Southeast Michigan. Bridget Smith-Botos, a graduate student researcher in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alabama-Birmingham is looking for participants for this......
Colorado school shooting: One dead, eight injured, two students identified as suspects detained
May 8th, 20190 Highlands Ranch, Colorado – Two students at STEM School in Highlands Ranch in Colorado opened fire at their school on Tuesday, killing one student and injuring eight others. According to AP, the two students walked into the school with multiple weapons and began shooting students in two classrooms. Deputies from a nearby police...
Jordanian man admits to smuggling Yemeni men across the border into Texas
May 3rd, 20190 San Antonio — Moayad Heider Mohammad Aldairi, a 31-year-old Jordanian man, has plead guilty to charges of aiding and abetting the smuggling of an undocumented immigrant for financial gain, and a separate count of conspiracy to bring in an undocumented immigrant for financial gain. According to the San Antonio Express-News, Aldairi...
Arab American artists featured in exhibit at Pontiac Creative Arts Center
April 29th, 20190 Pontiac – The Pontiac Creative Arts Center (PCAC) is hosting an Arab American Art Exhibition this month. The exhibit features prominent Arab American artists from the Metro Detroit area and displays multi media works, including painting, print making and glass work. Many of the 12 artists featured have had works displayed in...
After decades of her own struggle, Rehab Amer works to empower other families
April 26th, 20190 Dearborn – The story of Rehab Amer and her husband Ahmad’s struggle to keep their children is known to many. After decades of legal battles, and eventual successes bringing the Amer Law to the state of Michigan in 2010, Amer and her community partners want to inject hope and self-determination into families across the......
Dearborn Police participates in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
April 24th, 20190 Dearborn – The Dearborn Police Department is taking back unused, unwanted and expired prescription drugs on Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is the 17th opportunity in eight years that the Dearborn Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration has given residents to safely dispose of their unused prescriptions...
Breakthrough Towing accused of bad practices, customer harassment
April 23rd, 20190 DETROIT — The Detroit-based towing company Breakthrough Towing LLC has gained considerable media attention in the last year following numerous reports of predatory practices and customer harassment. Alongside stories in major local news outlets about these practices, the Michigan State Police has sent a cease and desist letter to......
The Michigan Muslim Community Council hosts 9th annual Michigan Muslim Capitol Day
April 17th, 20190 LANSING — The Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) hosted the nineth annual Michigan Muslim Capitol Day on Wednesday April 17, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the State Capitol. Hundreds from the Michigan Muslim community across the state attended the event and met their elected representatives. As a historic number of Muslims are...
Two Homeland Security officials resign within days of each other amid DHS overhaul
April 12th, 20190 WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, outgoing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced the resignation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Ron Vitiello, just days after her own. Nielsen resigned on Sunday after President Trump declared that he would look for “tougher” candidates to head the......
