A look back at Simon Baz, the Dearborn-based Green Lantern
DEARBORN — “In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might beware my power, Green Lantern’s light.” For decades, that oath has been spoken by Green Lantern, a DC Comics superhero who is also a member of an intergalactic police force called The Green Lantern...Eight celebrities outraged by Israel’s assault on Gaza
Stewart.Hollywood is not known as a bastion of pro-Palestinian sentiment. There has not been any hugely successful mainstream, major motion picture that accurately depicts the plight of Palestinians. Actress Vanessa Redgrave was harshly condemned for her remarks that criticized Israel in the 1970s.But that may be changing. Since...Poetry corner: Stage of Siege
Mahmoud Darwish portrays the Palestinian struggle against the occupation in "State of Siege," a long poem published as a book in 2002. The book is centered around pain, hope, love and joy in dealing with the Israeli "siege." While narrating stories of the struggle in prose, Darwish addresses the concepts of peace and war and looks for...Rihanna causes social media firestorm with #FreePalestine tweet
LOS ANGELES — Pop superstar Rihanna caused a social media firestorm this week when she tweeted "#FreePalestine" from her official account before deleting it eight minutes later.In those eight minutes the controversial tweet was retweeted more than 70,000 times, according to NY Magazine.Entertainment news website TMZ claimed that the...Amer Zahr’s new movie questions the absence of an “Arab” option on Census forms
DEARBORN — "We're not White." That's the name and thesis of Palestinian American comedian Amer Zahr's new movie, which premiered at the Arab American National Museum on Friday, June 27. However, the federal government disagrees with both the premise and the title of the film. "We're not White" examines the absence of an...‘Halalywood’ comes to metro Detroit with film production of “American Sharia”
DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Hollywood is aiming to go halal and is using the metro Detroit region to get the mission accomplished.Last week, the production of the film "American Sharia" wrapped in Dearborn Heights after a month- long shoot around metro Detroit that employed dozens of Muslims and Arab Americans from California, New York and...Arab American filmmaker among 2014 Kresge Artist Fellows Eighteen from tri-county area receive $25,000 awards for artistic vision, creative excellence
DETROIT — Lebanese American filmmaker Rola Nashef’s popular romantic dramedy, “Detroit Unleaded”, has earned her the 2014 Kresge Artist Fellowship.Seventeen metropolitan Detroit artists and one collective were awarded Kresge Artist Fellowships this year. Each of the 18 fellowships, for artists working in dance/music and a...
Dearborn father publishes children’s book on acceptance
June 26th, 20140 DEARBORN - Ferne Press announced last week that it has published a children’s book authored by a Dearborn father. The first-time author, Dr. Bashar Salame, 36, explores stereotypes and acceptance in "Let’s Change That! If Animals Can, We Can, Too.""Teaching our children about acceptance of others is the greatest gift we can give...Palestinian Canadian lands huge hit on U.S. music charts
Frontman of the group, Nasri Atweh (inset and below center), is of Palestinian descent. Nasri was born and raised in Toronto to Palestinian immigrant parents Along with guitarist Mark Pelli, drummer Alex Tanas and bassist Ben Spivak — who hail from the Toronto area, they formed the group Magic! in 2013.LOS ANGELES — Pop-reggae band...Dearborn expo features art of head wrapping
DEARBORN — On Sunday, June 8, more than 500 people attended an exposition of cultural and religious head wraps for both men and women at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Africans, and Arabs were all enlightened on the art of wrapping the head with stylish and colorful scarves. The...Poetry corner: Nothing pleases me
As a part of its continuing effort to share a portion of the literary wealth of Arabic poetry with the English reader, The Arab American News translates a poem by the legendary Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish.Nothing pleases me"Nothing pleases me,"Says the traveler on the bus-- Not the radio,Nor the morning papers, not the forts on the...Poetry corner: With a Beiruti
As a part of its continuing effort to share a portion of the literary wealth of Arabic poetry with the English reader, The Arab American News translates a poem by the legendary Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani.With a Beiruti Nothing remains except us in the restaurant,Nothing except the shadow of two heads leaning on each other...Nothing...Yemeni cuisine highlights diversity of Arab culture
Fawaz Algazali displaying arayes, harisa and coffee.HAMTRAMCK — Arabic food is as diverse as Arab people. While Levantine dishes like shawarma and hummus have become familiar names in American culture, a lesser known cuisine from the Arabian Peninsula has been flourishing in Metro Detroit. Yemeni restaurants are a growing option for...Fordson senior wins inaugural talent show for Dearborn high schools
Ali Jomaa after receiving the award.DEARBORN — Dearborn's got talent, and as much was made clear by the students who sang, danced, played music, performed magic tricks and spun basketballs during the city's high school talent show at the Dearborn Performing Arts Center on Tuesday evening.Fordson High School senior Ali Jomaa won the...Henna tattoo art business flourishing in Dearborn
DEARBORN — She stirred the henna mixture slowly with a wooden spoon, and continued adding water until it was thick enough. Making a cone out of wax paper, she scoops the henna with a spoon pushing it into the cone. After twisting the top and taping it, she punctured a tiny hole from the bottom tip. Now Huda Mohamed, a local henna......
AASA holds conference at the Arab American National Museum
DEARBORN — The Arab American Studies Association (AASA) held its inaugural triennial conference at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn last weekend, April 4-6.Arab American studies scholars, graduates and undergraduates from all across the nation attended a series of lectures and discussions at the conference, which was...ABC Family Pulls Plug On ‘Alice In Arabia’ Pilot
ABC Family will not go forward with its "Alice In Arabia" pilot, a project about an American girl kidnapped by her Saudi royal family and forced to live with them.The network released a statement and said, "The current conversation surrounding our pilot was not what we had envisioned and is certainly not conducive to the creative......
Several Arab countries ban Hollywood movie “Noah”
DUBAI - Three Arab countries have banned the biblical epic movie "Noah," while three more are expected to follow suit, a studio spokesman said Wednesday, March 12.Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates told Hollywood giant Paramount last week that the film, starring Russell Crowe, will not be released in their countries. Egypt,...HFCC aims to establish art history study abroad program by offering trip to Morocco
DEARBORN — Henry Ford Community College (HFCC) has collaborated with The Arab American Foundation for Multicultural Education and Students' Understanding (ARAMFO) to launch a study abroad course that will take a two week trip to Morocco this spring.The three-credit course is open not just to HFCC students, but also to all community...Katy Perry’s Egyptian themed music video angers Muslims, responds by removing ‘Allah’ symbol
One of the men who appears in the video is wearing a pendant with the word "Allah." Pop singer Katy Perry has come under fire from Muslims worldwide for a "blasphemous" act in her latest music video, "Dark Horse," reports Al Bawaba. Perry plays an overly stereotypical Egyptian queen who rejects suitors by zapping them with...The savage poem
As a part of its continuing effort to share a portion of the literary wealth of Arabic poetry with the English reader, The Arab American News translates excerpts of a poem by Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani. "The Savage Poem" was turned into a song by Iraqi artist Qadim Al Saher, who formed a partnership with Qabbani and continued to sing his......
Sphinx Organization hosts conference dedicated to furthering diversity in the arts
DETROIT — The Sphinx Organization, a Detroit-based national arts and youth development non-profit organization dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts, is hosting its second annual "SphinxCon" this year, entitled "Solutions 2014." Simon Shaheen will be featured as a speaker at the conference....New book features collection of passages from popular stand-up comedian’s blog, “The Civil Arab”
Amer Zahr, a popular stand-up comedian and well-respected writer, recently announced the release of his new book, “Being Palestinian Makes Me Smile.” The book is a collection of passages from Zahr’s blog, “The Civil Arab,” and is a combination of diary, biography, political analysis, and prose. The passages were compiled from......
Actress Scarlet Johansson snubs charity, supports Israeli company in West Bank
January 31st, 20140 LOS ANGELES — Scarlett Johansson is ending her relationship with a humanitarian group after being criticized over her support for an Israeli company that operates in the West Bank. Johannson.A statement released by Johansson's spokesman Wednesday, Jan. 29, said the 29-year-old actress has "a fundamental difference of opinion" with...Three Arab films nominated for Academy Awards
Three Arab films have made their way onto the Academy Awards’ nomination list this year. "The Square," directed by Jehane Noujaim and produced by Karim Amer, was nominated in the Documentary Feature category. This is the first Academy Award nomination for both Noujaim and Amer. Omar.The film depicts a unified front in Egypt......