Turkish Airlines broadens U.S. presence with launch of 13th U.S. gateway in Detroit
November 10th, 20230 On the heels of Turkish Airlines’ 90th anniversary, the leading global airline continues to expand its U.S. network with the opening of its 13th U.S. gateway in Detroit. Beginning November 15, Turkish Airlines will introduce flights from Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW), connecting travelers in the Midwest region to Türkiye’s...
Voters in Westland, Inkster, Melvindale and Warren elect new mayors; Livonia mayor wins reelection
November 10th, 20230 In Westland, State Rep. Kevin Coleman, (D-Westland), a former City Councilman, won the mayoral race with 59 percent of the vote over interim Mayor Michael Londeau. "I believe Westland needs a mayor who knows government and how to deliver results for all of us that live here," Coleman told the Free Press earlier this year. "My experience...
Hamtramck City Council remains all-Muslim, voters reject Proposals 1, 2 and 3
November 10th, 20230 The Hamtramck City Council will remain the only all-Muslim council in the U.S. after a community arts worker, Lynn Blasey, came in fourth place in a six-person race for three Council seats. Mayor Pro Tem Mohammed Hassan, one of three incumbent City Councilmen running for reelection, was the top vote-getter among the candidates, according...
Local Muslims and Arabs pledge to drive Biden out of office in 2024
November 10th, 20230 DETROIT – Local Muslim leaders and Palestinian Christians gathered in downtown Detroit on Thursday afternoon, vowing to drive President Biden out of office for failing to support a ceasefire in Gaza that could save thousands of lives. About 30 people, many holding signs that read “Abandon Biden”, stood outside the federal...
Alarayshi family back home after being stuck in war-torn Gaza
November 10th, 20230 DEARBORN — Zakaria and Laila Alarayshi, the couple from Livonia who were stuck in war-torn Gaza for a month, have made it back home. They shared their experience of being in Gaza as the conflict ensued. The couple spoke at a press conference at the Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) offices in Dearborn on Wednesday, where...
Walmart pledges $1 million aid for Israeli victims
November 10th, 20230 NEW YORK – Walmart Foundation, the philanthropy arm of the U.S. retailer, has pledged $1 million to an Israeli disaster relief and emergency medical service organization. Walmart's donation, reported by the Jerusalem Post on Friday, joins a list of similar funding efforts by big U.S. corporations to provide relief for Israelis injured...
Dearborn Heights voters pick Baydoun, Malinowski-Maxwell and Saab for City Council, approve Westwood Schools bond proposal
November 10th, 20230 DEARBORN HEIGHTS – In the race for the three open City Council seats, City Councilman Mo Baydoun was the top vote-getter among the six candidates, garnering 4,085 votes or 30.2 percent, followed by former City Council Chair Denise Malinowski-Maxwell, who got 3,659 votes or 27 percent. Hassan Saab, who got 1,742 votes or 12.9 percent,...
Michigan Homeowner Assistance Fund application period to end December 8
November 9th, 20230 LANSING – The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) has announced that it will soon have enough applications through the federally funded Michigan Homeowner Assistance Fund (MIHAF) program to reserve all funds available. The MIHAF online portal will stop accepting new applications as of Friday, December 8 at midnight....
Attorney Ben Crump to represent Hanan Shahin, mother of 6-year-old Palestinian who was fatally stabbed
November 3rd, 20230 WASHINGTON D.C. — Ben Crump, civil rights and personal injury attorney, is set to represent Hanan Shahin, mother of Wadea Al-Fayoume, the 6-year-old Palestinian boy fatally stabbed 26 times by his 71-year old landlord, Joseph M. Czuba, in Plainfield Township, Illinois, near Chicago. The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)...
Dearborn Fire Chief Joseph Murray charged two days after being reinstated
November 2nd, 20230 DEARBORN — Just two days after being reinstated, Dearborn Fire Chief Joseph Murray was charged with two counts of operating while intoxicated. One count is related to his blood alcohol content and one to observations made by police at the time of his arrest on Aug. 29 when he was pulled over in Dearborn Heights after allegedly going...
New poll finds Arab American support for Biden plummeting
October 31st, 20230 By Peter Schurmann Support for President Biden among Arab Americans has plummeted in the wake of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a new survey released by the non-partisan Arab American Institute. The survey of 500 Arab Americans found a 42 percent decrease in those who say they approve of the president’s...
Gov. Whitmer appoints Arab American Lawrence Elassal to Third Circuit Court in Wayne County
October 28th, 20230 LANSING — On Thursday, October 26, Governor Whitmer announced the appointments of Lawrence Elassal to the Third Circuit Court in Wayne County, Matthew Wiese to the 25th Circuit Court in Marquette County and Monique Sharpe to the 36th District Court in Detroit. “Today, I am honored to appoint three qualified legal professionals...
Dearborn Heights to host November 11 expungement fair
October 27th, 20231 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Individuals who wish to have their records cleared of certain past legal offenses can meet with attorneys for guidance at the November 11 city of Dearborn Heights Expungement Fair. The free event is offered in cooperation with the Michigan Attorney General’s Office. It will be held at the Richard A. Young...
Crestwood High School and city officials respond to media miss representation of student-led peaceful walkout
October 27th, 20231 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Crestwood School District officials and city officials are responding after national media outlets misrepresented a peaceful, student-led walkout as being “pro-terrorist.” On Friday, October 20 at 9:55 a.m., a group of Crestwood High School students organized a peaceful walkout that was intended to show...
Students organize a peaceful walkout at Annapolis High School to show support for Palestine
October 27th, 20230 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Two students from Annapolis High School helped organize and host a peaceful walkout in support of Palestine on October 26. Abd-alazzez Alshawaly, a 17-year-old 12th grade student, and Abdulla Allami, a 16-year-old 10th grader, worked together with a group of other students to coordinate the event. Allami told......
Bloomfield Hills High School students to participate in nationwide walkout for Palestine on Wednesday, October 25th
October 24th, 20232 BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI — On Wednesday, October 25th, at 2:15 p.m., Students Organized for Palestine, a student-led group at Bloomfield Hills High School will be participating in the nationwide walkout for Palestine in front of the school's main entrance. The group released the following statement on Tuesday, alongside several student-led...
Dearborn Heights man facing multiple felony charges in connection with banquet hall shooting
October 22nd, 20230 DEARBORN – Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has charged a man in connection with a non-fatal shooting that took place at a banquet hall. Haider Mohammed Al-Jebori, 60, of Dearborn Heights, has been charged with assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, discharge in or at a building, felonious......
Livonia couple trapped in Gaza, appeals for help
October 20th, 20230 In the heart of the ongoing war on Gaza, a family from Livonia, Michigan, has found themselves trapped for the last 12 days. Zakaria Alarayshi and his wife, Laila, residents of Livonia for the past 23 years, had embarked on a visit to their homeland just days before the crisis erupted. They now remain stranded, unable to return to...
Farmington Hills man charged with terrorism after posting threat to “hunt Palestinians” in Dearborn
October 20th, 20230 DEARBORN – Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy filed threat of terrorism charges, which is up to 20 years in prison, and malicious use of a telecommunications device, which is a misdemeanor, against a Farmington Hills man after he posted a threat online inviting people to "hunt Palestinians" in the wake of the Israeli war on the Gaza...
Illinois man charged with hate crime in fatal stabbing of Muslim boy, wounding his mother
October 20th, 20230 PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, IL – An Illinois man was charged with hate crimes for stabbing a 6-year-old Muslim boy to death and wounding his mother in an attack that targeted them for their religion and as a response to the Israeli war on Gaza, officials and Muslim rights activists said on Sunday. Wadea Al-Fayoume was stabbed 26 times with...
Arab Americans rallying in Dearborn in support of Palestinians in Gaza call for peace and justice
October 13th, 20230 DEARBORN – Chanting "Free Free Palestine", more than 1,200 Arab Americans jammed an auditorium at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn on Tuesday evening to show their support for Palestinians as the death toll increased in Gaza after Israeli strikes. Speakers at the Dearborn rally focused on decades of......
Biden administration must fix reentry harassment of Muslims
October 11th, 20230 Harassment of American Muslims while flying has been a persistent problem since the expansion of the national security apparatus post 9/11. Racial and religious profiling by federal agents at airports to citizens being placed on watchlists without any means of due process are ongoing civil rights challenges for our community. Despite Mr....
Muslim rights group sues U.S. government over 20-year-old federal terrorist watchlist
September 29th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. – A federal terrorist watchlist, mostly consisting of Muslim Americans, is Islamophobic and being used for “harassment and humiliation” and should be withdrawn, civil rights advocates argue. Formally known as the Terrorist Screening Dataset, or “TSDS”, the watchlist is made up of more than 1.5 million people,......
Three suspects charged in connection with fatal shooting of Hassan Salame
September 29th, 20230 DEARBORN – On September 22, Lindsay Thurmond and Quenton Goston were arraigned in the 19th District Court in front of Judge Mark W. Somers on charges of homicide, felony murder and murder first degree premeditated. Goston was also charged with habitual offender, fourth offense and Thurmond received an additional charge of habitual...
CAIR-MI announces settlement with the Detroit Police Department for the discriminatory arrest of three Muslim men
September 29th, 20230 DETROIT – The Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), a local chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, recently announced a settlement has been reached with the city of Detroit for the discriminatory arrest of three Muslim men in 2020. In 2021, CAIR-MI filed a......
