South end residents urged to attend Mar. 19 meeting regarding changes to Severstal factory
DEARBORN - Residents living in the city’s South End neighborhood are being urged to attend a informational session and public hearing that has been scheduled for Wednesday, Mar. 19 in rooms 122 and 126 inside Henry Ford Community College’s M-Tech building. The gathering will take place at 6 p.m. and the public comment period...
Metro Detroit’s Arab Christians begin observing holy period of Lent
March 7th, 20140 Worshipers pack the National Shrine of the Little Flower Church in Royal Oak for Ash Wednesday PHOTO: TAAN/NATASHA DADODETROIT - The season of preparation for Easter is underway for many Christian denominations. This week, Christians worldwide began observing Lent, including the large concentration of Arab Christians in metro Detroit....
Debated garage ordinance passes, city to settle 150 flooding claims
March 7th, 20140 DEARBORN — This week's jam-packed city council meeting started with the final reading and approval of the long-delayed garage zoning ordinance. But before the city council approved the amendment in a 6-0 vote, some locals raised objections. Better known as "the garage ordinance," the modified law now restricts residents from using...
Dearborn High alum scores first goal for Lebanon
March 7th, 20140 BANGKOK — Lebanese American soccer player Soony Saad scored his first goal in an official game with the Lebanese national soccer team, on Wednesday, March 5. Saad netted the third goal in Lebanon's 5-2 win against Thailand in Bangkok, in the final round of the Asia Cup qualifiers.Saad, 20, was born to Lebanese parents in Dearborn. The...
Upcoming events honor the lives of Gabrielle and Alexander Mansour
March 7th, 20140 MICHIGAN — The lives of two West Bloomfield children who passed away in a fatal boating accident last summer will be honored at three upcoming events organized by members of the Chaldean community. Alexander, 11, and Gabrielle, 6, passed away after the accident on Sylvan Lake last July. The family’s third child, Adriana,...March is the last month to enroll in Obamacare, community-based signup locations available
DETROIT — Detroiters will be able to sign up for affordable health insurance at select firehouses and recreation centers throughout the city.The community-based effort is part of Mayor Mike Duggan’s commitment to get residents enrolled under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by the March 31 deadline. "Everyone deserves...Dearborn library selected to participate in “Muslim Voices” pilot program
DEARBORN – The Dearborn Public Library has been selected to participate in the "Muslim Voices" pilot program for teens by the Michigan Humanities Council and the New York Council for the Humanities. Muslim Voices is a new reading and discussion program for children and teens that uses literature to explore the lives of Muslim...
John Dingell, the dean of Congress, to retire after 58 years in the House
February 28th, 20140 DEARBORN — The longest serving member of Congress will retire at the end of the year. After 58 years in Congress, U.S. Representative John Dingell (D-Mich.) announced on Monday, Feb. 24, that he would not seek reelection in November, drawing the curtain on 29 Congressional terms.Dingell, of Dearborn, 87, a World War II veteran, was...
Detroit NAACP President Rev. Wendell Anthony: There cannot be two Detroits
February 28th, 20140 DETROIT — With the city at a crossroads, dealing with a state-led bankruptcy and a newly elected mayor, Reverend Wendell Anthony enters his 21st year as the leader of the largest chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Despite a decline in population over the last few decades, Detroit is...
O’Reilly discusses challenges, goals and future during State of the City address
February 28th, 20140 DEARBORN - On Wednesday, February 26, Mayor Jack O'Reilly held his State of the City address at City Hall, where he summarized previous accomplishments and outlined future goals. Those in attendance included Dearborn City Council President Susan Dabaja, Councilman Mike Sareini, Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad, Dearborn Chief Judge...
Activists spread awareness on plight of Bahrainis during uprisings
February 28th, 20140 DEARBORN — On Tuesday, Feb. 18, Students for Islamic Awareness (SIA) at the University of Michigan-Dearborn (UMD) hosted a forum exposing the struggles of Bahrainis during the small island country's revolution. The event, titled “Bahrain: An Uprising in the Shadows,” was co-sponsored by the Arab Student Union of UMD and the...Ficano administration discusses deficit elimination plan
DETROIT — Members of Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano’s administration say the newly proposed deficit elimination plan would rid the County of its accumulated $175 million debt by Sep. 30, 2015. The state and Wayne County Commission would have to approve the plan before it is fully implemented. “There are a lot of...
Islamic Center co-founder Khalil “Chuck” Alawan passes away
February 28th, 20140 DEARBORN — Khalil Alawan, one of the Islamic Center of America's (ICA) original founders passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 26. He was 83 and widely referred to as "Chuck." Family members tell The Arab American News he died of heart failure. His dedication to spreading awareness and breaking down misconceptions about Islam touched the...Law corner: Just because somebody shakes your hand does not mean the other hand isn’t holding a sword
I am continuously amazed by the number of people who get into serious business arrangements with others with nothing more than a handshake agreement. I have seen the closest friends and relatives get into business together without proper documentation with disastrous results. For instance, years ago, I knew of two brothers...
Future Movement-Michigan commemorates the ninth anniversary of Hariri assassination
February 28th, 20140 DEARBORN — The Future Movement of Michigan commemorated the ninth anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri at Greenfield Manor in Dearborn on Sunday, Feb. 23. About 500 people, including religious and community leaders, attended the event. Keynote speaker, former Lebanese Member of Parliament......
Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce to offer free informational events on health care reform and enrollment
DEARBORN — The Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce will be offering to the public free informational sessions on the new Health Care Reform law, including how to enroll into the right plan for individuals and their families on Friday, March 7 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and Wednesday, March 12 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Dearborn Area...
CAIR-MI welcomes settlement of suit to modify religious dietary standards at county jail
February 28th, 20140 SOUTHFIELD — The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) recently welcomed the settlement of a lawsuit against the St. Clair County Sheriff to modify the religious dietary screening process at the county’s jail. The lawsuit challenged the constitutionality of the jail's religious dietary screening......
New law allows college students to postpone jury duty
LANSING — Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed a bill that allows full-time college students to postpone jury duty until the end of the school year.“Serving on a jury is an important part of our civic responsibility,” Snyder said. “However, for college students, jury duty can be disruptive to their studies. This law gives them the...
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan discusses immigration in Dearborn
February 28th, 20140 DEARBORN — On Tuesday, Feb. 25 community members hosted a fundraiser for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan at Byblos Banquet Hall in Dearborn. About 80 people attended the event. Speaking to the crowd, Duggan addressed the city’s ongoing efforts to help demolish and revitalize abandoned buildings and houses. “We’re going to...
UM-Dearborn journalism student interning at The Arab American News
February 28th, 20140 DEARBORN — Fatima Fakhreddine, a senior at the University of Michigan Dearborn, began interning at The Arab American News (TAAN) in January. The 22-year-old, who resides here in Dearborn, is majoring in journalism and minoring in political science. She expects to graduate in April and will complete her internship with TAAN at...“Karama Has No Walls” offers powerful and touching glimpse into Yemen’s Friday of Dignity
Karama Has No Walls recounts the gruesome attacks that unfolded on Mar. 18, 2011, now referred to as the Friday of Dignity, when pro-government forces killed more than 50 peaceful anti-government civilians and injured hundreds more using snipers on Change Square in Yemen's capital of Sana'a. To many, the event redefined the Yemeni......
“The Square”: The revolution’s idealism attacked with bullets and politics
From Jan. 25, 2011 until Hosni Mubarak's ouster 18 days later, Tahrir Square in Cairo became an international symbol of freedom, democracy and change. But as the head of the Egyptian regime fell, the army and the Muslim Brotherhood emerged as the potential successors. Jehane Noujaim's Oscar-nominated documentary “The Square” tells...“Omar” depicts a harsh, but accurate reality of Palestine
Nominated for Best Foreign Film at this year's Oscars, 'Omar' follows a young Palestinian man who struggles to balance his love life with his disastrous political surroundings. Shot in the West Bank, the opening scene of ‘Omar’ sets the tone for the entire film. The title character, played by Adam Bakri, is seen climbing over......
Social media campaign urges Arabs to stop using derogatory terms when referring to African Americans
“Drop the A-Word” is a social media campaign launched by a new Muslim-American group, and co-founded by metro Detroiters, that urges Arabs to stop using Arabic racial terms when referring to blacks.The terms are Abed and Abeed. Abed is Arabic for slave or servant, and Abeed is the plural form of it. The campaign calls on people...Federal court awards Arab American $1.1 M over employment discrimination by Washtenaw County
DETROIT - On Thursday, Feb. 27, a jury at the Eastern District Federal Court awarded $1.1 million to a former Arab American Washtenaw County employee for being wrongly denied promotion and terminated by the county.Ali Aboubaker, a Tunisian American, was fired from his job at Washtenaw County in 2008, a few months after "expressing......
