Sarah Kominek
Author's Posts
Arab American teen with Lafora body disease passes away at home
November 7th, 20190 ANN ARBOR - Arab American teen Haitham Breadiy, who was diagnosed with Lafora body disease, passed away last week at the age of 17, his family confirmed. Azeza Kasham, Haitham’s mother, told The Arab American News that her son passed away in his sleep at home. “He was unresponsive,” Kasham said. “We called an ambulance and...
Egyptian American artist uses digital medium to represent her spiritual journey
October 6th, 20190 Rowaida Omar, a 22-year-old Egyptian American artist, draws digital sketches she says are a reflection of what she sees in her life and surroundings. She said she’s been drawing since she was a young child. As she grew up, she turned to a digital medium for convenience of use and sharing her art online. “It just kind of grew...
Dearborn-based comedy series “Not For Profit” debuts trailer
September 13th, 20190 DEARBORN — A new Dearborn-based comedy series, “Not For Profit”, debuted its preview trailer Saturday evening at the Arab American National Museum. Iman Saleh, co-creator, writer and actor in the series, told The Arab American News that the “mockumentary” follows the story of three Arab American, Muslim women working at a...
Arab American teen with Lafora body disease moves with family to wheelchair accessible home
May 3rd, 20190 ANN ARBOR — An Arab American family has obtained a wheelchair accessible townhome for their son and brother, Haitham Breadiy. Doctors diagnosed Haitham with Lafora body disease in April 2017. The family saw his condition deteriorate in a period of about three months as he lost the ability to walk or speak in complete...
Second annual Ramadan Suhour Festival expands at new venue
May 3rd, 20190 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — The second annual Ramadan Suhour Festival in Dearborn Heights makes its debut at the Hype Center on West Warren Ave. Hassan Chami, who organized the first event last year, said it’s common for people and vendors to congregate outdoors during Ramadan. “I thought, ‘Since this is going on and everyone’s...
Muslim American posts viral photo in front of anti-Muslim protest
April 30th, 20190 WASHINGTON D.C. — Shaymaa Ismaa’eel, a 24-year-old behavioral therapist on the east coast, posed Saturday April 20 in front of anti-Muslim protesters outside the Islamic Circle of North America convention she attended. Ismaa’eel said when she first saw the protesters she didn’t want to have anything to do with...
Ramy Youssef creates conversations with Muslim, Arab comedy on Hulu
April 26th, 20190 BIRMINGHAM — Ramy Youssef, Egyptian American writer and actor, joined comedian David Merheje for an interview with the AANews on Tuesday April 23. 28-year-old Youssef created the new, self-titled Hulu comedy series “Ramy”, which was released on Friday April 19. He said using his name and face for the character makes the...
Jordanian American author and immigrant writes murder mystery novel
April 12th, 20190 ROCKVILLE, MD — “They Called Me Wyatt”, coming out in June from California Coldblood Books, is a murder mystery set in Jordan and the United States that deals with issues of immigration, race and the need for belonging in a new land. “I originally wrote it as a short story," said author and journalist Natasha Tynes. "I shared...
U of M graduate student seeks participants for Dearborn-area health study
April 5th, 20190 DEARBORN — A University of Michigan graduate student is asking for participants for a “photovoice” research project to observe what Dearborn residents feel affects their health in the city. Fatima Hassan, who is working on her master's degree in public health, said she’s excited to recruit Arab Americans for the study...
Palestinian DJ Fatin plays for NYC’s immigrant community
April 5th, 20190 BROOKLYN, NY — Fatin Jarara, or DJ Fatin, is a Palestinian immigrant and a unique voice in the New York City DJ scene. Jarara recently DJ-ed on March 30 for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s Gaza 5k and dabke party at Prospect Park in Brooklyn. She said she normally focuses on private events such as weddings,...
Community Foundation announces funding for U.S. Census engagement programs
March 31st, 20190 DETROIT — The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan announced its “Southeast Michigan Counts” initiative to support local organizations to promote U.S. Census participation in April 2020. The Community Foundation plans to provide grants of $5,000-$30,000 to organizations across Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, working...
Iraqi American author hopes to debunk stereotypes about arranged marriage
March 25th, 20190 SAN DIEGO, CA — For Huda Al-Marashi, an Iraqi American and Muslim author, wife and mother, the process of writing her memoir, “First Comes Marriage: My Not-So-Typical American Love Story”, took almost 10 years to finish. The book, which follows her story about her relationship with her husband of 22 years, was released last...
Community leaders reflect on meeting with Senator Gary Peters over vote on Anti-BDS bill, “terrorist watchlist”
March 15th, 20190 DEARBORN — A March 4 meeting between Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Arab American community leaders at the La Pita restaurant ended with the senator failing to mollify participants regarding his vote on the anti-BDS bill. At the meeting, Peters addressed his choice to vote "yes" on Bill S.1, which includes the controversial Combating...
Muslim-owned Verona fashion line to debut at Macy’s Fairlane
March 15th, 20190 DEARBORN — Macy’s at Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn hosts a launch party on March 16 for the Verona collection, a Muslim-owned, modest fashion brand. Lisa Vogl, an award winning fashion photographer and Muslim-convert who founded the Verona Collection, said although Muslim women were the original inspiration for the brand, the...
Orphans of War seeks volunteers to collect gifts for refugee foster children
March 7th, 20191 DEARBORN — Orphans of War, a Michigan non-profit organization working with the Muslim Foster Care Association and Samaritas, is asking for motivated volunteers to collect and donate Eid gifts for Muslim refugee foster care children. “We need people willing to write letters to local businesses,” said Maria Kabanni, founder of......
Fallout from Dearborn Historian debacle continues
March 1st, 20190 DEARBORN — Weeks after being fired from the Dearborn Historian, Bill McGraw, a former Detroit Free Press writer and co-founder of Deadline Detroit, said he still hasn’t been given an exact reason why he was fired. McGraw said he hasn’t heard from anyone at the museum for the last 11 days. “I have no idea who actually...
Dearborn Heights poet uses writing to heal from trauma
February 22nd, 20190 DEARBORN HEIGHTS— Sara Raad, a Dearborn Heights native and daughter of Lebanese immigrants, said she writes poetry to heal from past trauma. She reads her poetry at local events and posts it on her Instagram blog which has more than 11,000 followers. “I used to just write little poems here and there,” she said, adding......
Veteran journalist Bill McGraw discusses Dearborn historical magazine controversy
February 16th, 20190 DEARBORN — Veteran journalist and former Detroit Free Press writer Bill McGraw worked as a contributing editor for the Dearborn Historian, a quarterly magazine for members of the Dearborn Historical Museum, from May 2018 until the most recent edition of the publication resulted in his firing. In an interview with The AANews,...
Songwriter and singer Leila Milki releases new original song Feb. 22
February 13th, 20190 LOS ANGELES — Leila Milki, a first-generation Lebanese American music artist, will release her new original single and video on Friday Feb. 22. In “All That Remains", 25-year-old Milki collaborates with Brian Steckler and String Mob to bring a string quartet to life. “This project is deeply personal to me,” she said, adding...
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib speaks about explicit remarks, impeaching Trump and first month in office
February 8th, 20190 DEARBORN — U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit), sat down with The Arab American News on Saturday, Feb. 2 to discuss her first month in office and her explicit remarks in November about impeaching President Trump. She said she faced criticisms, received hate mail and a death threat before making the remarks and during her...
Femology Detroit’s Arab American entrepreneurs join with diverse group of women
February 6th, 20190 DETROIT — Femology Detroit, a women-centered business space and entrepreneurial group bringing together a diverse community, began just a little over a year ago. Meagan Ward, owner and co-founder of Femology Detroit, said the business space hosts monthly “social innovation” events focused on female entrepreneurship, womanhood......
Third annual Dearborn Restaurant Week returns Feb. 11
February 4th, 20190 DEARBORN – Dearborn Restaurant Week returns Feb. 11 with its third annual event with more than 30 participating restaurants. Sam Abbas, an organizer of the event and West Dearborn Downtown Development Authority chair, said he thinks there is no better thing to bring people together with than food. He said the event brings people...
Arab American elementary student visits Lansing as legislator for the day
January 25th, 20190 LANSING — State Rep. Abdallah Hammoud invited 9-year-old Mahdi Nassrallah to be a legislator for the day at his office and the capitol building in Lansing on Thursday, January 10. Mahdi, a fourth grade student at Haigh Elementary in Dearborn, presented Hammoud with his ideas to help the environment in Michigan, which included wind......
British Muslim convert’s memoir to be made into a stage play
January 22nd, 20190 Lauren Booth author, journalist and recent Muslim convert, announced Wednesday an initiative to turn her memoir, “Finding Peace in the Holy Land”, into a stage play. In an interview with The AANews, Booth, originally from Great Britain, said she converted to Islam in 2010. She said she didn’t lose her faith in Jesus, but...
Palestinian American artist exhibits paintings inspired by life
January 14th, 20190 DEARBORN - A Palestinian American immigrant living in Dearborn expresses her passions through her colorful paintings that she said imitate her experiences. 23-year-old Jenin Yaseen said she moved to the United Arab Emirates from Palestine, where she was born, when she was 10. She began studying at Rak International Academy in Dubai,......
