Governor Snyder declares June as Immigrant Heritage Month
June 11th, 20180 LANSING — Gov. Snyder has proclaimed June as Immigrant Heritage Month. Michigan celebrates its past, present and future by welcoming those from across the globe who contribute to the state's cultural diversity and economic growth. "Michigan is a national leader in welcoming New Americans and that is something to be proud of," Snyder...
Voters to decide marijuana legalization after legislature fails to act
June 9th, 20181 LANSING — The state legislature decided on Tuesday the issue of legalizing marijuana for recreational use will be up to voters to decide in the November election. Senate Republicans had wanted to take up and pass the measure so they could amend it and keep it off the Nov. 6 general election ballot. They instead deferred to the House...
Low-income workers protest Bill Schuette’s opposition to Medicaid
June 9th, 20180 DETROIT— On Thursday afternoon, a group of more than 100 low-income voters met outside Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette’s office in Detroit to protest his pledge to cut Michigan’s Medicaid expansion. A community member with the group said 700,000 Michigan residents who have Medicaid could be affected by the...
Local officials host iftars for area Muslims
June 9th, 20180 DEARBORN – Local officials in Wayne County hosted several iftars for area Muslims. Wayne County Executive Warren Evans hosted his annual iftar for county Muslim leaders at the Grapevine Restaurant in Canton. Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly held two iftar dinners at Habib’s Cuisine, one for heads of local Arab and Muslim...
American Muslim groups protest exclusion from Trump’s first White House iftar
June 8th, 20181 WASHINGTON, D.C. — After declining to mark Ramadan last year with a traditional iftar dinner, which breaks the daily fast during the Islamic holy month, the White House held one Wednesday night with a few dozen guests, many of them ambassadors from Muslim nations. Meanwhile, some Islamic groups that were not invited, led by the...
Mother of terminally ill son begs community for help, gets little response
June 8th, 20180 By Sarah Kominek The Arab American News ANN ARBOR — Azeza Kafham spends her days at home with her four children. She keeps up with her 2-year old son, Thayer, helps her 13-year-old, home-schooled daughter, Sophie, with homework and provides sole care for her immobile 15-year-old son, Hiatham, who just months before being...
Lebanese men’s hockey club hopes to develop a women’s team
June 8th, 20180 Sarah Kominek The Arab American News MONTREAL — Lebanon's men's national hockey team is in the beginning stages of starting a women's team. "It's official we're going to have a women's team," said Charles El-Mir, executive vice president of the Lebanese Hockey Association, who added that former Dearborn resident Sally...
Midwest Recycling and two Dearborn schools reap the benefits of giving back
June 8th, 20180 By Eman Jassem The Arab American News intern DEARBORN — On June 5, Lowrey School and Oakman Elementary School were each awarded the grand prize of $1,250 for being the winners of the Blue Hands United Clothing Collection Challenge sponsored by Midwest Recycling. Those attending people the Oakman Elementary School award...
Detroit gas station shooting stirs racial tensions, reignites talks between Arab and Black Americans
June 8th, 20182 DETROIT — A bullet fired on Mother's Day on the city's west side put a Black man in his grave and has unearthed decades-old turmoil between African American residents and Arab American businesses. A scuffle between a gas station clerk and the unarmed customer at a Citgo gas station was stopped short when Rami Ali Jaber, son of the...
Impaired Dearborn woman set to be deported granted temporary stay
June 5th, 20180 DEARBORN — A Physically and mentally impaired woman who as set to be deported to Lebanon has been granted temporary stay by a federal judge. Muna Kazan, a 57-year-old Dearborn resident, is a Lebanese citizen but has never set foot in the country by was set to be deported Monday night. Kazan's visa has expired but her attorney...
Dearborn Fire Department receives Gold ‘Mission: Lifeline Award’
June 5th, 20180 DEARBORN – For the second year in a row, the Dearborn Fire Department was presented with the Gold “Mission: Lifeline” Emergency Medical Services Award and recognized for its extensive training and effective response to emergencies. Administered by the American Heart Association, the award recognizes EMS workers who fulfill their...
Water slides officially open at Dunworth Pool Thursday, June 7
June 5th, 20180 DEARBORN — The city’s newest outdoor aquatic amenities, two water slides at Dunworth Pool at Levagood Park, will officially open to the public Thursday, June 7. Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly will preside over a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4:30 p.m. Everyone is invited to the grand opening. Dunworth Pool will open at 4 p.m. and...
Flint Congressman Kildee and staff to observe Ramadan for a day
June 5th, 20180 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Dan Kildee (D-Flint), along with his congressional staff in Washington, D.C., will fast in solidarity Wednesday with Muslims in Michigan and around the world in observance of Ramadan. Ramadan is a holy month of fasting during which Muslims may not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. This will be the...
LARA extends June 15 deadline for medical marijuana license applicants
June 2nd, 20180 LANSING – The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) has issued new emergency administrative rules to continue the implementation of the Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA). To help ensure the continued protection of medical marijuana patients, under the new rules, proposed medical marijuana facilities...
Dearborn’s Yemeni community joins national efforts to help children in the war-torn country
June 1st, 20181 By Sarah Kominek The Arab American News DEARBORN — Saudi Arabia's ongoing intervention in Yemen has caused a humanitarian crisis that affects millions of people. Local organizations are working to help Yemeni families suffering from starvation and disease. According to the United Nations, 22 million people in......
How a Syrian refugee family rediscovered the blessings of Ramadan in Michigan
June 1st, 20180 DEARBORN — Farah, a 9-year-old girl flaunting a colorful dress, proudly hands a drawing she made to a woman who’d just gifted her a toy doll. Farah, whose name translates to “joy” in Arabic, said she loves drawing and would someday day like to teach art. Mohammed, her 6-year-old brother, sports a black bandana. He’s...
Dearborn community comes together to help those in need during Ramadan
May 25th, 20180 By Sarah Kominek DEARBORN— During the holy month of Ramadan, merchants and community organizations in Dearborn are motivated to be charitable, but they also help the less fortunate throughout the year. Local merchants deal with the infrequent occurrence of begging, which happens year round, not just during Ramadan. Danya Saed,......
U of M-Dearborn to host traveling “Halal Metropolis” exhibit, highlighting Muslim American contributions
May 25th, 20180 "When our trust and connections to one another break down, we are all the poorer for it. One of the most tested and reliable ways in which we can ignite cross-community understanding and dissipate fear is through storytelling." - Zeyba Rahman, senior program officer for Building Bridges DEARBORN – Muslims have a storied...
Young Arab American on track to becoming a professional author
May 25th, 20180 By Sarah Kominek DEARBORN - Maya Audi, a 15-year-old sophomore at Dearborn High School, has her eyes set on becoming an author. In April 2016, Audi and her mother entered her story “The Raven Gem” in the National Endowment for the Arts’ (NEA) Big Read Dearborn, hosted by the Dearborn Public Library. In partnership with...
Detroit Police sees substance abuse as an element of youth fatalities
May 25th, 20180 By Eman Jassem The Arab American News intern DETROIT — Officers at the Detroit Police Department’s 11th Precinct stressed the importance of youth substance abuse during a May 21 alcohol and drug awareness information session. Attending organizations included Detroit Recovery Project, EMS, Frontier International...
Warren city official resigns after anti-Muslim social media post
May 25th, 20180 WARREN — A Warren city official has turned in her resignation papers after making anti-Muslim posts on social media. Diane Toni Deliso Kozlowski, a member of the Elected Officials Compensation Commission, said she wasn’t talking about Muslims, but terrorists, and sparked a nerve with a local Muslim civil liberties......
The Islamic Center of America is facing challenging times that require leadership
May 25th, 20180 Controversies have plagued the Islamic Center since the passing of its founder, Imam Mohammad Jawad Chirri, in November 1994. Since then, several religious figures have come and gone after deep differences surfaced between the board and the successive imams. This week, the Islamic Center of America’s board of trustees made...
Young Palestinians organize to advance their struggle, retain identity
May 18th, 20180 DEARBORN — A new nonprofit organization called New Generation for Palestine (NGP) held its first community-wide event Thursday, May 10, at Byblos Banquet Hall in Dearborn. The "Nakba Commemoration Dinner” attracted more than 300 guests, mostly Palestinian Americans. May 15 marked the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, the catastrophic......
15 U.S. organizations receive grants to strengthen relationships among Muslims and non-Muslims through arts and culture
May 18th, 20180 The Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art selected 15 grantees from a pool of 200 applicants, double from the previous year, when 98 organizations applied. Among the recipients is the University of Michigan-Dearborn's Center for Arab American Studies, which was awarded $216,677. NEW YORK — Fifteen U.S. organizations will receive a...
Dearborn tailor charged with seven criminal sexual conduct cases
May 18th, 20180 LIVONIA — A 57-year-old Dearborn man is facing seven additional charges for allegedly inappropriately touching other men. Majed (Mark) Mohamad Wazni was charged on May 15 with seven counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. He’d already been charged earlier this year with two other......
