Gregg Brighton named Dearborn deputy police chief
September 12th, 20080 DEARBORN — Dearborn Mayor John B. O'Reilly, Jr., has selected Commander Gregg A. Brighton as deputy chief of the police department. In his new post, Brighton will oversee police department operations while the selection process continues to fill the post of Chief of Police, left vacant by Chief Michael Celeski's sudden passing on...The Afghan tragedy
John W. Warnock. Creating a Failed State. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Fernwood Publishing, 2008. If you want just one book that gives you the story of the Afghan tragedy, this is it. Warnock, a retired professor of economics and sociology, covers all the essentials—a capsule history of the country up to the present,...Catering to Israel
James Petras. The Power of Israel in the United States. Atlanta: Clarity Press, 2006. This book is something of a mixed bag. There are many interesting, provocative observations and analyses, but there are also some occasions where Petras fails to make the case. Let's start with some of the more generally...
W. Deen Mohammed, 74, dies
September 12th, 20080 Imam W. Deen Mohammed, a son of the Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, who renounced the black nationalism of his father's movement to lead a more traditional and racially tolerant form of Islam for black Muslims, died on Tuesday in Chicago. He was 74. The death was confirmed on the blog of Dawud Walid, executive director of...
Nader pleads for change in two party system
September 12th, 20080 Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader during a Detroit campaign rally at First Unitarian-Universalist Church. PHOTO: Khalil AlHajal Presidential politics is a theater of the absurd, according to independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader, who said he recently had to participate in a debate with Triumph the Insult Comic...
Ramadan Mubarak
September 6th, 20080 Muslims around the world began observing the holy month of Ramadan this past week. Many will fast from dawn to dusk for the entire month, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims believe the Qur'an was first revealed to the Prophet Mohammed during this month. The streets of east Dearborn, as in many places around the...
ADC to recognize judicial excellence
September 6th, 20080 DEARBORN — The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) Michigan will recognize excellence in the judicial community during its 7th annual Judges Night reception, on September 23, 2008, at the Bint Jebail Cultural Center in Dearborn. This annual event is organized and hosted by ADC Michigan's Advisory Board, chaired...
Officials recognize Ramadan, offer warm wishes to American Muslims
September 6th, 20080 Marking the beginning of Ramadan, a number of elected officials at various levels circulated statements recognizing the Islamic holy month. "The holy month of Ramadan is a special time of prayer, fasting and service," read a statement from President George W. Bush. "I thank the men and women of the Muslim community for their...
Ghamloush brothers corner the market
September 6th, 20080 DEARBORN — Many people dream of getting a chance to travel across Europe. But it took a nightmare for Joe Ghamloush to get that chance. Ghamloush, owner of three businesses on the corner of Warren and Chase roads in East Dearborn including Arabica Bistro and Coiffure D'Elegance Salon, was forced to leave his home and salon...
Community gets involved
September 6th, 20080 Amirah Kaid, 26, a supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, holds up a bobblehead doll in the likeness of the Illinois senator during a watch party at a Dearborn restaurant for his speech at the Democratic National Convention on August 28. Obama campaign leaders in Michigan are scheduled to meet with Arab Americans...
Auto leases suspended for most vehicles
September 6th, 20080 DEARBORN — After a pricing competition that has hurt dealerships' bottom lines, GM and Chrysler have suspended leasing programs for many cars across the country. Local sales consultants say that the problem has become as big in Michigan as it has anywhere else, if not worse, because of the prevalence of leases leading to big...
Nader to rally in Detroit
September 6th, 20080 Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader After two weeks of intense media focus on the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, independent candidate Ralph Nader intends to have his voice heard as he tours the Midwest gathering support for his anti-war, anti-corporate message. Nader, who is Arab American, is...
Mayor attracts audience
September 6th, 20080 Reporters and curious citizens camped out in front of the Manoogian Mansion waiting for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to leave for his final address to the city in the hours following his resignation Thursday. Some citizens were supporters while others, like Joseph Salmassi (right), 21, and Mohamed Kaddoura, 18, both Arab Americans...
Bully-Cummings retires as Detroit Police Chief
September 6th, 20080 DETROIT — Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings, who was appointed by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, announced her retirement Thursday through a news release minutes after Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to two felonies and agreed to resign. Assistant Chief Ralph Godbee and Assistant Chief Robert Dunlap will handle the affairs of the...Religious accommodation in universities
Muslim students at McGill and the University of Montreal have been battling for prayer space, facing the contention of the schools that they are non-sectarian and not obliged to provide space for religious practices. Besides, they say, the space is simply not available. Students have complained to the Quebec Human Rights......
Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick pleads guilty, resigns
September 6th, 20080 DETROIT — Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to felony charges Thursday in a sex scandal and will step down after months of defiantly holding onto his job leading the nation's 11th-largest city. He was ordered jailed for four months and fined $1 million. The plea deal brings to an end a seven-months-long ordeal that led to...
ACC celebrates 29 years of service
September 6th, 20080 Detroit — The Arab American and Chaldean Council (ACC) will host its 29th Annual Civic and Humanitarian Awards Gala at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center, 100 Renaissance Center, at 6 p.m. Sept. 13. ACC is dedicating its annual fundraiser this year to honoring foundations that have joined ACC in the development of the......
How does it feel to be part of the solution?
August 29th, 20080 Racism is as American as apple pie, H. Rap Brown/Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin once said, and any cursory observation of American history and culture would conclude that racial hatred and categorization is an integral and predictable fact of American life. From slavery and the dispossession of Native Americans to Jim Crow, from the...
Fordson football ready to shine in 2008
August 29th, 20080 DEARBORN — At Dearborn Fordson, expectations for the football team are always high, and the 2008 season is no different. The Tractors return a ton of experienced seniors, especially on defense, and a handful of their players have even been contacted by college scouts. But to take the next step and advance past the second round of...
Obama taps local woman for state outreach
August 29th, 20080 Michigan Arab American outreach coordinator for the Obama campaign Rashida Tlaib, R, with Obama supporters during a convention watch party at La Cigale restaurant in Dearborn on Thursday. Two weeks after accepting the resignation of its national Arab American outreach coordinator, the campaign of now-official Democratic presidential...Iraqi tragedy outlined
AbdullahThabit Abdullah and his wife, Iraqis, were in Syria when the U.S. invaded in 2003. Yes, they were glad to see that Saddam Hussein was on the way out, but at the same time they had real concerns about U.S. intentions, concerns that were unfortunately prescient. This book is an account of recent Iraqi history and......
Imam al-Sadr commemoration scheduled
August 29th, 20080 The legacy of Imam Moussa Al-Sadr, a leading Shi'a Muslim figure in southern Lebanon during the 1960s and 1970s who disappeared in 1978 in Libya, has grown to hold special significance in the U.S. not only to Lebanese Americans, but to interfaith advocates of many faiths. A commemoration of the 30th anniversary of his disappearance...Arar case back in court
In June, a federal Appellate Court in New York tossed out Canadian engineer Maher Arar's suit against John Ashcroft and other officials for shipping him to Syria to be tortured. Technically, the court held, he was never in the U.S. He was taken into custody while transferring from an overseas flight en route to......
Detroit Ignition’s Assadpour talks goals
August 29th, 20080 Independence Park, on Denton road in the suburb of Canton, is an unlikely place for a soccer camp for kids, given the sport's relative unpopularity in Michigan – and the United States for that matter. In addition, the Detroit Ignition, an indoor soccer team that's part of the Major Indoor Soccer League, runs the camp, despite the...
Restoring standards and honor to the Detroit Hardship Panel
August 29th, 20080 At a time when foreclosure rates are up and Michigan citizens are scrambling to make ends meet, our state needs city counsel-appointed committees to ensure those who are struggling the most can receive financial assistance. The Detroit Hardship Panel was created for this purpose, however, the press has recently reported that......
