Local

Arab, Muslim and brown: Complex identities in the age of Trump

August 26th, 20160 Family members of victims on the one-year anniversary of a mass shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Aug. 5, 2013DEARBORN— For Millions of Arab Americans, ethnic and religious backgrounds are not at odds with American values. An inseparable myriad of cultures and traditions form their identities.Vandalized homes, unjust terrorist...

Arab American woman shares Palestinian refugee camp experiences

August 26th, 20160 Rachelle (c) at her high school's PCRF gala. DEARBORN — Arab Americans living thousands of miles away from their relatives and culture are instilled with love and reverence for Palestine from a young age, whatever their Arab nationality is. While visiting relatives back home, many eventually understand what happens...

Entrapment: Legal experts criticize FBI tactics

August 25th, 20160 Abu-Rayyan/ Hamdan before he was arrested at the airportDETROIT — Over the past two years, the FBI has arrested so many terror suspects that one would think extremists have a foothold on our shores. But a closer look at those cases reveals that the authorities were heavily involved in constructing the plots they pride themselves on...

Man allegedly stalks woman, charged with three counts of breaking and entering

August 24th, 20160 21-year-old Ali AlsoweidiDEARBORN –Ali Alsoweidi, 21, was arrested on July 27 on three counts of breaking and entering, after a female resident contacted police and claimed that she found him in her garage, where he allegedly revealed he had been stalking her.The incident occurred on the 6400 block of Coleman Street, in...

Bank of America acquitted of discrimination against Muslim charity

August 19th, 20160 DETROIT — Committed to serving Arabs and other communities in Michigan, countless Arab American charity organizations of varying sizes have popped up since waves of immigrants made Metro Detroit home.Founded by Iraqi Americans in 1992, Life for Relief and Development opened its doors as an international relief association and says it...

‘Nobody is safe anymore’: Arab Americans react to deadly hatred

August 19th, 20160 TULSA — On Friday, August 12, 37-year-old Oklahoma resident Khalid Jabara was brutally murdered by his neighbor who had directed racial slurs at him for years. On Saturday, August 13, Imam Maulama Akonjee, 55, and his assistant, Thara Uddin, 64, were killed in Queens, New York by a lone gunman as they were walking home. Both...

Arab Americans lead a cosmetic surgery craze

August 19th, 20160 Farmington Hills resident Mimi, an Assyrian American. DEARBORN — Rhinoplasty. Lipo. Botox. Lip injections. Butt implants. The Kardashians are not the only staples at cosmetic surgery facilities.  Arab Americans have made cosmetic surgery a booming industry in the metro Detroit region–and that's evident by the ever-morphing...

Mass transit in Metro Detroit closer to reality

August 19th, 20160 A rendering of the railway system in Pontiac, MI.DEARBORN — Last Thursday, the Southeast Michigan counties affected by a proposed regional mass transit plan ironed out the final kinks, guaranteeing the plan's placement on the November ballot. Voters from Wayne, Macomb, Oakland and Washtenaw counties will be able to choose whether they...

Planning commissioner made anti-Muslim posts before denying mosque

August 19th, 20160 STERLING HEIGHTS — The city claims it denied a mosque proposal last year because of planning technicalities, but anti-Muslim social media posts by a planning commissioner who voted against the Muslim house of worship painted a different picture. "Oh, no the terrorists are gonna attack, according to the media, this weekend. Come to the...

Attorney: Dearborn man who pled guilty had no intention of joining Hezbollah

August 16th, 20160 Mohammad HamdanDETROIT — Mohammad Hamdan, who pled guilty on Friday to lying to a federal agent, had no intention of joining Hezbollah and would not have broken the law before his contact with a government agent provocateur, his attorney said. Hamdan, a 24 year-old Dearborn resident, was arrested in 2014 while trying to travel to...

Dearborn teenager drowns while saving sister

August 13th, 20160 A 14-year-old Dearborn teenager died after being pulled from the Huron River on the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 11., after jumping in the water to save his sister. On Friday the family of Abdulrahman Labak mourned his death following the tragic incident in Ann Arbor. His sister is still hospitalized, but is expected to...

Teenager drowns at Huron River

August 12th, 20160 Abdulraham Labak.SCIO TOWNSHIP - A 14-year-old boy has died after being pulled from the Huron River on the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 11. The boy, identified as Abdulraham Labak, was wading in the water when he began to struggle and went under, around 3:45 p.m. pm Thursday, August 11. Family and friends attempted to locate...

Police, community weigh on strained relationship

August 12th, 20160 A girl with an officer at the National Night Out on Crime eventDEARBORN — Two weeks ago, in the early hours of Friday morning, Dearborn officers pulled over three young Arab Americans near Ford and Chase Roads. They abrasively searched their vehicle, as AANews reporters, who happened to be near the scene, watched from afar.Eventually,...

Dearborn Police adds a community voice to the force

August 11th, 20160 Officer Farhat with his wife and two daughters.DEARBORN – Officer Mohamad Farhat was on duty at Dearborn’s Homecoming when a lost child who only spoke Arabic came up to him and asked for assistance. “There were a lot of kids who were lost,” said Farhat, who helped children on three separate occasions...