Dearborn recognized for financial transparency for the fourth straight year
October 2nd, 20260 DEARBORN — For the fourth consecutive year, the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) has awarded the city of Dearborn its Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, recognizing its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. In a press release, the city described...
Dearborn denies religious favoritism alleged in federal lawsuit
September 25th, 20260 DEARBORN — The city and Mayor Abdullah Hammoud face a federal lawsuit filed by a resident who alleges that public money was used to promote Islamic observances while Christian and Jewish holidays were ignored. Hammoud has categorically denied the allegations, affirming his administration’s commitment to treating all residents fairly...
ACLU, Amnesty accuse the University of Michigan of suppressing pro-Palestinian student speech
September 25th, 20260 ANN ARBOR — The University of Michigan is one of six campuses examined in detail in a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International USA that accuses colleges of restricting pro-Palestinian speech and responding to protests with excessive discipline and police force. The report, released September 23,...
Improving Arab and African American relationships beyond responding to crises
September 25th, 20260 There was an unfortunate series of events which took place last week, which have renewed conversations in Metro Detroit regarding tensions between Arab American and African American communities. An incident in the Warrendale neighborhood in Detroit involving an Arab American woman involved in a hit and run car accident with an African...
Fatal stabbing of Chipotle worker raises concerns about downtown Detroit safety
September 24th, 20261 DETROIT — While taking a break in the alley behind her workplace, an employee of a Chipotle restaurant on Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit was stabbed several times and killed in broad daylight on Sunday, in view of passersby. Although Detroit police quickly identified and arrested the assailant with the help of the many...
Dearborn Heights names new council chair and pro-tem, accepting applications for vacant seat
September 23rd, 20260 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — During the Sept. 22 City Council meeting, the Dearborn Heights City Council appointed a new Council chair and Council chair pro-tem. In a 4-2 vote, Councilman Hassan Saab was appointed to be the new Council chair while Councilman Bob Constan was appointed to be the new Council chair pro-tem. Councilman Tom Wencel...
Middle East wars converge as Iran, Yemen, Lebanon and Gaza crises deepen
September 18th, 20260 Middle East Weekly Briefing: September 11–17, 2026 War on Iran Trump signals that the seven-month Iran war may be approaching an end President Trump said on September 16 that the conflict was “hopefully” nearing its conclusion. He is expected to meet leaders of the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries during the upcoming...
Michigan removes more than 20,000 people from Sex Offender Registry
September 18th, 20260 LANSING — Until recently, any Michigan resident could determine whether a person convicted of a sex offense lived near their home or within their neighborhood by visiting the state’s online Public Sex Offender Registry. The registry contained approximately 43,000 people before it was reduced by nearly half under a landmark Michigan...
Detroit native looking to keep legacies alive
September 17th, 20260 DETROIT - A local cultural anthropologist is working to help Arab and Muslim families capture their elders’ stories and keep their history alive. Zarinah El-Amin, a Detroit native, has worked in book publishing since 2009 but said that everything shifted for her when she lost her parents, her mother in 2019 and her father in...
Detroit police determine death of Ali Wissam Aoun was a suicide
September 16th, 20260 DETROIT — The death of 27-year-old Dearborn resident Ali Wissam Aoun has been determined to be a suicide, according to the Detroit Police Department. Detroit Police Department spokesman Jackson Vidaurri informed The Arab American News of the department’s findings by phone and email and said the investigation has been closed. “Mr....
Four Dearborn school board seats, $1.51 billion bond on the November ballot
September 11th, 20260 DEARBORN — Two separate races for four seats on the Dearborn Board of Education will be held in the November 3 election, alongside a vote on a $1.51 billion bond proposal to rebuild or modernize every school facility in the Dearborn Public Schools District. Voting in the school board races and bond election will be limited to...
Poll shows Benson and Gilchrist lead as Senate and Attorney General races remain tight
September 11th, 20260 LANSING — Michigan’s races for governor and U.S. Senate remain highly competitive less than two months before Election Day, as voters express growing dissatisfaction with the economy, the Iran war and President Trump’s performance, according to a new statewide poll. The Detroit News/WDIV-TV survey found Democratic Secretary of...
Michigan voters to decide constitutional convention and campaign finance proposals
September 11th, 20260 LANSING — Voters across Michigan will decide two statewide ballot proposals in the November 3 election: An automatic, periodic question on whether to convene a constitutional convention and a citizen-initiated measure seeking to prohibit political contributions from regulated utilities and major government contractors. A third...
Metro Detroit community honors Imam Musa al-Sadr’s legacy 48 years after his disappearance
September 11th, 20260 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Under the banner “A Nation’s Trust”, the Al Amal Social Foundation commemorated the 48th anniversary of the disappearance of Amal Movement founder Imam Musa al-Sadr and his two companions during a large gathering Wednesday evening at the Islamic Institute of America in Dearborn Heights. The event featured...
Dearborn Coffee Week returns for eight days of coffee, culture and community
September 11th, 20260 DEARBORN — From traditional Arabic coffee to the latest trends in contemporary cafés, coffee has become an integral part of Dearborn’s social and cultural landscape, a tradition the city will celebrate again with the third annual Dearborn Coffee Week, running from September 25 through October 2. Over eight days, cafés and public......
Hamtramck Mayor Adam Alharbi focuses on city improvements amid unresolved election dispute
September 4th, 20260 HAMTRAMCK — Despite the complex and continuing legal process surrounding the November 2025 Hamtramck mayoral election — and the political disputes and community divisions it has produced — Mayor Adam Alharbi says he remains focused on improving one of Michigan’s most ethnically diverse cities. Alharbi described himself to The...
More roundabouts planned across Wayne County
September 4th, 20260 Wayne County has only one roundabout on its county road system, compared with 15 in Macomb County and 45 in Oakland County. But that is about to change in Michigan’s most populous county, as Canton Township and the cities of Romulus and Northville plan to build new roundabouts at several busy intersections, while Westland and Dearborn......
Redford Township approves front-yard vegetable gardens
September 4th, 20260 REDFORD TOWNSHIP — The Redford Township Board of Trustees has approved a new ordinance allowing residents to grow vegetables in their front yards, with the change scheduled to take effect Sept. 14. The proposal passed 4–3 during the board’s final meeting in August, following months of debate over aesthetics, neighborhood blight...
LAHC opens $3 million behavioral health and workforce development hub in Dearborn
August 28th, 20260 DEARBORN – Leaders Advancing and Helping Communities, the nonprofit formerly known as the Lebanese American Heritage Club, has opened a new behavioral health, education and workforce development center in Dearborn following a construction investment exceeding $3 million. The new 6,500-square-foot facility is an extension of LAHC’s...
Second financial scandal intensifies pressure on American Arab Chamber of Commerce leadership
August 28th, 20261 DEARBORN — In a stunning development, the American Arab Chamber of Commerce fired Executive Director Bilal Hammoud amid allegations that more than $1 million from a government grant intended for the organization was diverted. As the Michigan Attorney General’s Office investigates the matter in coordination with the FBI, questions...
Proposed new council seeks to strengthen Arab and Muslim American advocacy in Michigan
August 28th, 20261 DEARBORN — Dozens of leaders and representatives from Arab American associations, clubs and organizations across Metro Detroit, along with community figures, business leaders and elected officials, accepted an invitation Monday from Dr. Nassib Fawaz, president of the Lebanese International Business Council, to form an umbrella......
Hamtramck prepares to count disputed ballots that could unseat Mayor Adam Alharbi
August 28th, 20260 HAMTRAMCK — The Wayne County Board of Canvassers is expected to meet within the coming days to tabulate 37 absentee ballots excluded from Hamtramck’s 2025 election, potentially removing current Mayor Adam Alharbi from office and replacing him with former City Councilmember Muhith Mahmood. Mahmood lost the November mayoral election...
Federal appeals court upholds Hamtramck’s restrictions on Pride flags
August 28th, 20260 HAMTRAMCK — A federal appeals court in Cincinnati has upheld the constitutionality of Hamtramck’s 2023 resolution restricting which flags may be displayed on city-owned flagpoles, a policy that prevents LGBTQ+ Pride and transgender flags from being flown on public property in the Muslim-majority city. A three-judge panel of the U.S.......
Citizenship verification measure falls three signatures short of Michigan ballot
August 28th, 20260 LANSING — Citing an insufficient number of valid petition signatures, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers declined to certify a proposed constitutional amendment this week that would require voters’ U.S. citizenship to be verified before their ballots could be counted. Americans for Citizen Voting–Michigan quickly threatened...
PAYS Foreclosure Prevention Program Returns to Wayne County
August 22nd, 20260 On Aug 19, Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield and Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree announced the return of the PAYS (Pay As You Stay) program in Wayne County. The PAYS program is a manageable pathway for all Detroit and Wayne County homeowners and residents to reduce their delinquent past property taxes and help prevent foreclosure for......
