“Just Like Us” premiere takes audiences on a Middle East comedy tour
DEARBORN — Life has been a rollercoaster ride for many people of Arab descent since the Middle East uprisings began, and one group of stand-up comics knows all too well.For Ahmed Ahmed, the star of the new documentary/comedy film "Just like Us," current events in the region have had a funny way of affecting his own plans even while he...Arab filmmakers hope “The Citizen” portrays immigrants in a new light
DETROIT — Director Sam Kadi and Egyptian Actor Khaled Nabawy have been hard at work since late May shooting their new film "The Citizen" in downtown Detroit, which wrapped production this week. The film tells the story of a male Arab immigrant who wins the green card lottery and arrives in the U.S one day before 9/11. The...Comedian’s Middle East documentary to be screened on July 8
Comedian Ahmed AhmedROYAL OAK — Egyptian-American comedian Ahmed Ahmed will be bringing his directorial debut film "Just Like Us" to Michigan on July 8, where the film will open at the Landmark Main Art Theater. The film, presented by Cross Cultural Entertainment and Cross Cultural Productions, opened in selected cities across...Families wanted for “Muslims in the Middle” film
While they are busy promoting this film, the producers have already begun plotting their next step. They are preparing a new project titled "Muslims in the Middle," with the goal to showcase Arab and Muslim families living normal lives in the U.S. Cross-Town Media is on the search for potential...First local showing of “Budrus”
LANSING — Michigan Peace Team is holding its first ever "Dinner and a Movie" fundraiser night. Join them June 18th to view the timely and inspiring film entitled "BUDRUS." This will be a first time showing in the Lansing area since its release in 2010. The film follows the...Arab Images on Film in TCM’s Race & Hollywood Initiative in July
Turner Classic Movies is preparing to launch Race & Hollywood: Arab Images on Film, a month-long movie event that focuses on the diverse portrayals of Arabs in cinema. Tuesday and Thursday nights in July, TCM host Robert Osborne will be joined by internationally acclaimed professor, author and...2011 Arab American Book Award winners revealed
DEARBORN — Established American literary luminaries and compelling new voices inspired by global events are represented among the winners of the 2011 Arab American Book Award presented by the Arab American National Museum. This national literary competition, the only one of its kind in the U.S.,...Multi-platinum band Coldplay endorses “Freedom for Palestine” musical collaboration
Iconic British rock band Coldplay recently endorsed an upcoming musical project called "Freedom for Palestine," which was released as a single by the War on Want and One World foundations recently. The adult alternative/art rock band referred fans to the "Freedom for Palestine" page on Facebook on...St. Mary’s Church announces fourth annual “SaharaFest”
LIVONIA, MI — The Basilica of St. Mary's Antiochian Orthodox Church announces their Fourth annual "Sahara Fest," featuring Arabic food, music and culture. The Sahara Fest will take place on June 2-5, 2011 at St. Mary's Church grounds, 18100 Merriman Road (between Six and Seven Mile Roads),...Arab rappers in solidarity with uprisings in Arab world
Many prominent Arab hip-hop artists inspired by uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa have released music in solidarity with protesters in the region. Though the messages of these new songs are not necessarily new to Arab hip-hop, the urgency and relevance of this new music has gained these artists increasing...Palestinians ask Subaru to act against spoof ad
The new Israeli ad imposed this scene in which a settler injured two boys, with the slogan: "See who will stand in your way." JERUSALEM — The Palestinian Authority Wednesday called on the Israeli branch of Japanese automaker Subaru to take action after an apparent parody advertisement showed one of their cars hitting...Controversy over film on Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Dearborn's Star Fairlane to show movie next Thursday UNITED NATIONS — Israel has complained to the United Nations for allowing the U.S. premiere of a controversial film on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the UN headquarters. A red-carpet showing of "Miral" by award winning American-Jewish director Julian Schnabel will be held...MSU documentary criticizes media coverage of imam’s killing
A 17-minute documentary film created by two Michigan State University (MSU) professors and a doctoral student condemns the media for its coverage of the controversial death of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah, a local community activist. Imam handcuffed after being shot 20 times by FBIThe film shows reporters immediately took the one...U-M poet, translator named among top in generation
ANN ARBOR — Acclaimed poet, teacher and translator Khaled Mattawa has been awarded a United States Artist Fellowship for 2010. The unrestricted $50,000 grant is one of 52 awards presented this year to visual, design, performing and literary artists from 18 states and Puerto Rico. Mattawa teaches in the Graduate Creative Writing...U-M poet, translator named among top in generation
ANN ARBOR — Acclaimed poet, teacher and translator Khaled Mattawa has been awarded a United States Artist Fellowship for 2010. The unrestricted $50,000 grant is one of 52 awards presented this year to visual, design, performing and literary artists from 18 states and Puerto Rico. Mattawa teaches in the Graduate Creative Writing......
Pushing us all off a cliff, for profit
When someone talks about pushing you off a cliff, it's just human nature to be curious about them. Who are these people, you wonder, and why would they want to do such a thing? How big is this particular cliff? According to the World Health Organization, climate change contributes — right now — to the deaths of 150,000 people...Professor’s lecture unveils hidden history of Islam and mathematics
Schoolcraft College math Professor Randy Schwartz is expected to give a lecture titled, "Islam and Mathematics: A Hidden History" at the University of Michigan-Dearborn on Thursday, Dec. 2 from 3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. inside the CASL building. The event is being sponsored by the Thaqalayn Muslim Association. Refreshments will be......
MSU filmmakers’ documentary on imam shooting to premiere
EAST LANSING — A documentary made by two Michigan State University faculty and a doctoral student that examines the controversial shooting of a Detroit-area Muslim leader will premiere Dec. 1 in Dearborn. The film, "The Death of an Imam," will be presented at 7 p.m. in 1600 Social Sciences Building on the campus of the University of...
Bridging cultural divides with humor
November 27th, 20100 DEARBORN — Humor is often thought to be a bridge. Many use humor to bridge cultural divides and open the door for conversation. It is used to make the what is not up for discussion, easier to talk about. This is exactly what co-creators Mike Eshaq and Mike McGettigan accomplish with their upcoming webseries "The Ed and Moe...“Rachel” offers thorough investigation of Corrie killing
More than seven years after American activist Rachel Corrie was killed by a massive D-9 bulldozer by a member of the Israeli military while peacefully protesting the demolishing of homes in Rafah, Palestine, her parents filed a civil suit seeking a single symbolic dollar in punitive damages. Meanwhile, as the case, which was filed in...Revisiting old wounds and covering them up
President Obama's one year deadline to reach a peace accord between the Israelis and the Palestinians underscores the fallacy not only that the United States is an honest broker between the two sides, but also what the underlying forces are that drive the conflict. There's the aid – over 100 billion dollars since 1974 alone, according......
’12 Angry Lebanese’ touch so many more
BEIRUT (IPS) – Straddling the hills overlooking the Mediterranean Sea is Roumieh, Lebanon's largest and most notorious high-security men's prison. Crowded into its dank and depressing concrete cells are those convicted as religious extremists, murderers, mobsters and spies. Roumieh's reputation for fostering further criminal...Adonis at U of M-Ann Arbor
Adonis World-renowned Syrian poet Adonis is to visit the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Campus the second week of October. Adonis is to hold a Poetry reading Monday, October 11 at 5:10pm at the Helmut Stern Auditorium in University of Michigan Museum of Art. 525 S. State Street. Following the poetry reading he will make three......
Modern math in medieval architecture
DEARBORN — Peter J. Lu, a post-doctoral research fellow at Harvard University, will give a lecture on Modern Math in Medieval Islamic Architecture at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn on Monday, October 4 from noon to 1:30 p.m. The lecture examines recent findings that deal with the patterns found in the tiles in the...Adonis at U of M-Ann Arbor
World-renowned Syrian poet Adonis is to visit the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Campus the second week of October. Adonis is to hold a Poetry reading Monday, October 11 at 5:10pm at the Helmut Stern Auditorium in University of Michigan Museum of Art. 525 S. State Street. Following the poetry reading he will make three other......