Hassan Khalifeh
Author's Posts
LAHC gives awards, $100,000 in scholarships at 30th annual gala
April 23rd, 20180 DEARBORN — Few could have anticipated that a cultural and heritage club that formed to accommodate a young local Lebanese American community would become a vital social service organization serving Metro Detroit. Its initial relationship with the community's youth was through a sports program, but 30 years later, the Leaders...
How could the citizenship question on 2020 Census impact Dearborn?
April 13th, 20180 DEARBORN – Even as the city looks to a new dawn of economic prosperity with a wide range of major investments, it could be dealt a blow two in two years. Residents, city officials and community advocates are anxious about the implications of a proposed question on the 2020 Census that would ask people if they’re citizens. They...
Lebanese embassy urges participation in parliamentary elections following community’s voting concerns
April 13th, 20182 Is voting for Hezbollah candidates considered material support? DEARBORN – Some Lebanese Americans who are seeking to vote in Lebanon’s May 6 parliamentary elections for the first time are concerned that casting their ballots will label them as supporters of terrorism and lead to their facing persecution and extra...
On Imam Ali’s birthday, Rev. Wendell Anthony urges Muslims to ‘stand up’ for justice amid rising Islamophobia
April 6th, 20180 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — On March 30, a day that marked the birth of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit Branch NAACP, spoke to a diverse, capacity crowd about "the voice of human justice" at the Islamic Institute of America. Anthony commemorated Imam Ali’s legacy of...
Dearborn student sues Beaumont for not preventing ER attack
April 6th, 20180 An emergency room nurse and two administrators at Beaumont in Dearborn told The AANews they had not heard about the incident or received any notification from the hospital until after the lawsuit was filed. DEARBORN – She went to the ER for a possible broken jaw and was punched in the face. A 19-year-old college student was...
Local basketball star joins professional Lebanese team
March 30th, 20181 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Mohamed Bazzi stood on his former high school's basketball court, dribbled a ball, studied the hoop, aimed and rejoiced as the ball effortlessly whipped through the net. A yellow and blue banner with his name and scoring achievement of 1,436 points in the 2015 season hanging from the ceiling next to the basketball...
Dearborn City Council denies request to rezone ‘holy’ block, halting proposed hotel development
March 30th, 20180 DEARBORN – After much deliberation and suspense, the City Council unanimously voted March 27 to deny the rezoning of a parcel of land that would have allowed for the development of a Holiday Inn Express within a few hundred feet from schools, a handful of churches and Dearborn’s largest mosque. The hospitality chain sought to...
Wayne County Sheriff’s chief of operations Mike Jaafar becomes first Arab American from Dearborn to graduate from FBI National Academy
March 23rd, 20180 STAFFORD, VA — The Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Academy graduated the first Arab American law enforcement executive. On March 16, Mike Jaafar, chief of operations of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, graduated from the FBI's National Academy, a professional course of study for U.S. and international law enforcement...Proposed hotel near Dearborn mosque sparks debate and division
March 23rd, 20180 DEARBORN – Tensions are high among community members over the proposed opening of a Holiday Inn Express hotel about 500 yards from Dearborn’s largest mosque. The hospitality chain seeks to construct a business-geared hotel in place of a church that has been vacant for three years, on a triangular block that’s home to the Islamic...
Local leaders and community reaffirm support for Dearborn’s Judge Sam Salamey
March 16th, 20180 DEARBORN – On March 15, a large crowd of community members and local elected officials came out to Byblos Banquet Hall in support of 19th District Court Chief Judge Salem Salamey’s bid to be re-elected to the bench. Salamey, a father of four, was elected Dearborn’s first Arab American judge in 2012. He is currently running...
Framing humanity: How an art student’s trip to Lebanon turned into an award-winning project
March 16th, 20180 DEARBORN — A young Syrian refugee girl had no idea when she was selling gum on the streets of Beirut, but the cryptic expression of fear and confidence on her face would become part of a visual story of struggle that aims to connect everyone with a story to tell. Mayssa Fakih, a 17-year-old art student at Mercy High School, an...
Judge dismisses Trustee Hussein Berry’s lawsuit over colleague’s appointment
March 9th, 20180 DEARBORN — A Wayne County Circuit Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a member of the Dearborn Board of Education against the school district over the appointment of its newest trustee. Trustee Hussein Berry filed the lawsuit on June 26 after the new trustee, Celia Nasser, was sworn in by 19th District Court Chief Judge Sam...
Pothole crisis? State legislature, city officials battle frail infrastructure with little funds
March 2nd, 20180 DEARBORN — The conversation around upgrading an aging infrastructure is taking center stage around the nation and especially in Michigan, where lead-contaminated water pipes have poisoned an entire city, mold grows in middle school classrooms and bad weather makes for deadly potholes. Weak roads, coupled with drastic thawing of...
New U.S. attorney promises protection of civil rights, community outreach
March 2nd, 20180 "Barbara McQuade did a fantastic job with community outreach. What I would like to do is continue with that tradition. I want to be accessible to people in the community." DEARBORN — In barely two months at his new job, Matthew Schneider, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, has set the tone of his...
How well is Dearborn prepared for a crisis? Students take charge in gun and mental health debate, as officials seek to avert tragedy
February 23rd, 20180 DEARBORN — The sounds of bullet shells discharging from the barrel of an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle at a high school in Parkland, Florida are still ringing in the ears of students and parents nationwide. After a troubled 19-year-old former student at Stoneman Douglas High School opened fire in the building shortly before the school......
PBS show starring celebrity chef to put Arab community in spotlight
February 16th, 20180 DEARBORN — Metro Detroit's Arab American community will be on display this summer with the launch of a new series on PBS called "No Passport Required", hosted by The Food Network's chef Marcus Samuelsson. The series is slated for six one-hour episodes that follow Samuelsson as he explores communities that reveal the best global...
Hamtramck City Councilman Saad Almasmari kicks off campaign for State House seat
February 9th, 20180 HAMTRAMCK — When Saad Almasmari made history in Nov. 2015 by receiving the most votes in the Hamtramck City Council race— making it the first City Council with a Muslim-majority in the U.S— he pledged to ensure proportional representation and that the city would handle resources well enough to move on from emergency......
Democratic gubernatorial race offers wide representation and diversity
February 9th, 20180 This gubernatorial election has a pool of Democratic candidates who represent a diverse range of backgrounds, including an Arab American, an African American and an Indian American. If any of them are elected, it would be first for the state. The fourth and leading candidate, Gretchen Whitmer, would be the state's second woman...
Dearborn Heights City Council considers medical marijuana shops
February 2nd, 20180 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — As federal officials and states remain in a tug of war on the legality of marijuana, cities across the nation where the consumption of the drug is permitted on some level are grappling with whether to allow dispensary stores in their neighborhoods. In Dearborn Heights, residents of the largely bedroom community...
Community and officials bid farewell to Detroit FBI head David Gelios
January 26th, 20180 DEARBORN — "Unparalleled" leadership, community outreach and the ability to fight crime are what local Arab Americans will miss about FBI Special Agent in Charge David Gelios. Those qualities are why former FBI Director James Comey named Gelios head of the Detroit division in September 2015, and what has helped Gelios form deep...
Dearborn, Dearborn Heights mayors outline shared vision at ‘Tale of Our Cities’ event
January 26th, 20180 DEARBORN — Major developments are underway that will change the face of the Dearborn/Dearborn Heights area for decades to come – plans that one city couldn't deliver on its own. On January 16, the mayors of both cities met with investors, developers, small businesses and officials across the county to share the progress......
Two years later, Project Green Light proving itself as beacon of hope in Detroit and beyond
January 19th, 20180 DETROIT — It was an obvious choice for Rafed White, owner of Dollar Center at Warren Avenue and Greenfield Road. In fact, he said it was "100 percent the best investment" he's made in his store. Two years after Mayor Mike Duggan and Police Chief James Craig announced Project Green Light, White and about 230 others, including...
Local leaders share their resolutions, hopes for the New Year
January 5th, 20180 Questions: 1. Where did you celebrate? 2. What is your personal New Year's resolution? 3. What are your hopes for the New Year? Bill Bazzi Dearborn Heights City Councilman 1. Celebrated with friends and family 2. To be the best I can be, and as I promised residents when I ran for election, to represent them and to do......
Elections: What to look for in 2018
January 5th, 20180 DEARBORN — This year, Michigan residents will have an opportunity to take part in setting new goals by shaking up the state's leadership, as numerous critical offices in both Washington, D.C. and Lansing become open. The primary election will be held on August 7 and the general election will be held on November 6. United States...
Families await judge’s decision to release Iraqi detainees for Christmas
December 22nd, 20172 DETROIT — Six months ago, about 30 heavily-armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers stormed into the home of Briana Moore and her husband, Ahmed Mohammed, a 52-year-old Iraqi American truck driver who'd served time in prison for allegedly stealing a rental car about a decade ago. "Are you going to kill my dad?" Moore......
