Hassan Khalifeh
Author's Posts
Local Iraqis support protests for reform in homeland, but fear ‘chaos’
July 21st, 20183 DEARBORN – After a successful ousting of ISIS insurgents and a democratically-held election, Iraq’s situation seemed to be on an uptick. But in the midst of a transition in government, ongoing political corruption, a worsening economy, few jobs and scarce electricity have sparked massive protests across the oil-rich county’s south,...
AAPAC endorses candidates in key primary races
July 13th, 20181 DEARBORN – Several key races are brewing that could alter the course municipalities and the state are taking as they face challenges like improving public education, fixing dilapidated infrastructure and lowering insurance premiums. After a passionate debate on Tuesday, July 11, The Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC)...
Residents look to Dearborn government to curb pollution as MDEQ’s powers go up in smoke
July 13th, 20180 DEARBORN — Residents concerned that large factories in the city's industrial Southend are worsening air quality are turning to the City Council, in hopes it would enact ordinances to more immediately force the corporations to commit to environmentally friendly practices. At a town hall co-costed by the Michigan Department of...
Amnesty International’s ‘I Welcome’ campaign brings locals and refugees together
July 6th, 20180 Human rights organization advocates for building longer tables, not walls DEARBORN – About 80 percent of people surveyed worldwide say they would welcome refugees in their country, community or home, according to a 2017 Amnesty International survey of 27,000 people across 27 countries. Yet, most leaders of those nations...
Meet the candidates aiming to become first Muslim Congresswomen
July 6th, 20180 Progressive and unorthodox candidates for Congress have been racking up major victories in the past few months, sending shockwaves and turning heads in a political arena long-dominated by White Republican men with deep pockets. On June 26, 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated a 10-term Democratic incumbent in the primaries...
State senate candidates for third district share views on key issues
June 30th, 20181 DEARBORN - Two state senate candidates for the third district, State Rep. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit) and Wayne County Commissioner Gary Woronchak, are competing in the August Democratic primary to replace term-limited State Sen. Morris Hood III (D-Detroit), who represents a district of about 215,000 residents in Dearborn, Detroit and...
Dearborn places tough conditions on hookah bar after parking lot shootings
June 29th, 20180 CORRECTION: Although its unfortunate to make errors in a story, The AANews cares deeply about reporting the facts and issue corrections when necessary. This article has been updated to attribute quotes to the names of two current City Council members, instead of members who left the Council earlier this year. An earlier version also...
AG candidate Dana Nessel promises to fight Trump, open hate crimes division
June 29th, 20180 DEARBORN – On June 27, Plymouth-based attorney Dana Nessel, who won the Michigan Democratic Party’s nomination for attorney general in April, spoke to Arab American supporters and local officials at a fundraising event held at La Pita Restaurant in Dearborn, reaffirming her commitment to “tenaciously” champion civil and immigrant...
Arab American family receives prestigious regional business award
June 24th, 20180 DETROIT – Giving back pays off. The Hasan family, owners of the Detroit discount store Nice Price, has received the Southwest Detroit Business Association’s (SDBA) Bagley Award for Generational Investment. Since its doors opened in 1998 by Khalid Hasan, an immigrant from Jordan, the family-owned business has thrived as a staple...
Michigan officials, activists condemn anti-BDS bills as Gaza protest persist
June 23rd, 20181 DEARBORN – As grisly images from “Right of Return” protests along the Gaza-Israeli border become increasingly harder for the American public to ignore, lawmakers across the U.S. are reacting with anti-BDS bills that seek to hamper efforts to boycott the nation’s most significant ally in the Mediterranean – shifting the...
Fordson High School graduate to attend Harvard this fall
June 16th, 20180 DEARBORN – Fatima Taj, a Fordson High School graduate with a 4.48 GPA and served as class valedictorian, is something of a renaissance woman. The Harvard-bound 18-year-old served as president of Fordson’s book and art club, was a member of the Key Club, the Link Crew, the Teen Grant Making Initiative, the varsity tennis team and...
Candidates for 13th Congressional District debate school funding
June 16th, 20186 DETROIT – Democratic candidates for the 13th District participated in a forum on June 11 at Detroit’s North Rosedale Park Community House that focused primarily on the role charter schools play in uplifting Detroit’s youth and reducing poverty and crime. The forum drew a sizable and passionate audience, many of whom explicitly...
Detroit gas station shooting stirs racial tensions, reignites talks between Arab and Black Americans
June 8th, 20182 DETROIT — A bullet fired on Mother's Day on the city's west side put a Black man in his grave and has unearthed decades-old turmoil between African American residents and Arab American businesses. A scuffle between a gas station clerk and the unarmed customer at a Citgo gas station was stopped short when Rami Ali Jaber, son of the...
How a Syrian refugee family rediscovered the blessings of Ramadan in Michigan
June 1st, 20180 DEARBORN — Farah, a 9-year-old girl flaunting a colorful dress, proudly hands a drawing she made to a woman who’d just gifted her a toy doll. Farah, whose name translates to “joy” in Arabic, said she loves drawing and would someday day like to teach art. Mohammed, her 6-year-old brother, sports a black bandana. He’s...
State Senate candidate Sylvia Santana’s eligibility goes to appeals court
June 1st, 20180 DEARBORN — A lawsuit to remove State Rep. Sylvia Santana from the ballot in her run for the third State Senate district this primary election is moving to the Michigan Court of Appeals, after a Wayne County Circuit Judge ruled in Santana's favor on March 29. The seat is currently held by State Sen. Morris Hood and encompasses......
U of M-Dearborn to host traveling “Halal Metropolis” exhibit, highlighting Muslim American contributions
May 25th, 20180 "When our trust and connections to one another break down, we are all the poorer for it. One of the most tested and reliable ways in which we can ignite cross-community understanding and dissipate fear is through storytelling." - Zeyba Rahman, senior program officer for Building Bridges DEARBORN – Muslims have a storied...
Protesters reject ICA’s second statement about hosting Israeli officers, demand transparency and accountability
May 18th, 20180 DEARBORN — For the second week in a row, local Muslims protested the Islamic Center of America’s (ICA) hosting of Israeli officers last month, along with a group of military students from around the world. Requested by the State Department and organized by the mosque’s interfaith organization, the officers participated for the......
Dearborn woman aims to reinvent Ramadan cheer with moon-shaped trees
May 18th, 20180 DEARBORN — Celebrating Ramadan in the U.S. doesn’t come as naturally as it does in Muslim-majority countries. From fasting during long summer days to lackluster holiday cheer and enduring anti-Muslim sentiments, Muslim Americans have to try just a little harder throughout Islam’s holiest month. Samar Baydoun Bazzi, a 29-year-old...
Gaza massacre, Jerusalem embassy move ignite diverse local and global protests
May 18th, 20180 DETROIT – On the 70th anniversary of what is considered the greatest catastrophe in Palestine, drones painted the sky with trails of smoke grenades and snipers perched on the Israeli side of the Gaza border pelleted thousands who were protesting against those responsible for the historic tragedy – the Nakba, in Arabic. More than...
Lebanese Americans have mixed reactions to parliamentary election results, inspired by participation
May 11th, 20180 "The poor turnout was due to the limited time many voters had to register and prepare necessary documents, as they had not initially expected that elections would be held outside Lebanon." -Salim Sassin, a Free Patriotic Movement leader DEARBORN – Lebanese Americans in Metro Detroit are proud to have participated in their...
Local Muslims outraged over ICA hosting Israeli officers, demand apology
May 11th, 20180 "Many of the ICA's congregants are Arab Americans who have fled war and poverty caused by Israeli aggression in their homeland." - Suhail Bitar, whose relatives were slain during the 1996 Qana massacre DEARBORN – It was clear it wasn’t going to be a regular Sunday prayer service at the Islamic Center of America (ICA), the......
Local state senate race heats up as resident challenges candidate eligibility
May 4th, 20180 DEARBORN — A Dearborn resident is challenging State Representative Sylvia Santana’s eligibility to run for the third State Senate district, alleging that she has not paid late filing fees from her last election before filing to run this year. If confirmed, Santana’s name could not appear on the ballot this November. The third...
Arab American Women’s group grants $8,000 to local community service organizations
May 4th, 20180 BEVERLY HILLS, MI — There is strength in numbers, especially when working to make a tangible and positive impact. One hundred local Arab American women are acutely aware of that, so they gathered for their fifth annual philanthropy event at the Emile Salon & Spa on Sunday, April 29, to donate to organizations that work toward a......
Hamadeh Educational Services awards nearly $100K at first scholarship gala
April 30th, 20180 DEARBORN – As a community grows and becomes increasingly more diverse, so do the needs of its youth. Public schools aren’t for everybody, and many locals know that. Their support for unique ways of educating and supporting students was telling, as hundreds attended the Hamadeh Educational Services’ (HES) first scholarship...
Republican gubernatorial candidate slammed over anti-Muslim remarks
April 27th, 20180 LANSING – Republican gubernatorial candidate Patrick Colbeck outraged both Democrats and fellow Republicans when he claimed that one of his Democratic rivals, Abdul El-Sayed, is part of an organized plot to take over American political leadership positions and start a “civilization jihad.” Colbeck, currently a state senator from......
