Arabs and Muslims do Christmas too!
December 23rd, 20070 DEARBORN — As much as parsley and tomatoes match traditional Christmas colors, giant bowls of tabbouli are not the only holiday trimmings found in the average Arab American household this season. Both Christian and Muslim Arab Americans decorate for Christmas with the best of them. The East Dearborn home of Haysam and Kelly Sleiman, who...ADC outlines achievements, challenges
Organization honored as it honors others DEARBORN — At its annual fund-raising gala Dec. 7, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee's Michigan chapter received as many honors from government officials as it presented to activists and leaders. As it offered awards to six different people, the group accepted six certificates and...Sorry performance by Quebec unions
It was not the unions' finest hour. Quebec union federations made their presentations to the Bouchard-Taylor hearings on "reasonable accommodation." The presentations of the two largest union organizations reflected a lack of tolerance for diversity. Claudette Carbonneau, president of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux...Canadian census immigration statistics released
Canadians use a bit of jargon that would typically be part of a linguist's vocabulary. There are anglophones, francophones, and allophones. Then, there are saxophones — an ill wind that no one blows good. Anglophones and francophones are speakers of English and French, and allophones speak another language. On December...Darkness over Islam
As a take-off on the title of the popular CBC program "Little Mosque on the Prairie," the Toronto Globe and Mail entitled its article "Little mosque on the tundra," all about Muslims in Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories. Because of the very limited amount of sunlight during the winter months, prayer schedules are taken from...No-fly list stops Muslim
Back in May, 2004, Shahid Mahmood was prevented from boarding an Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Victoria because a name similar to his was on a no-fly list. This was before Canada's official list was put in place this year. Just last month, he filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, as he believes...Imam lectures on terrorism
Dr. Syed Soharwardy, who heads the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, a Sufi organization located in Calgary, is traveling to several cities across Canada on a monthly basis to give lectures on behalf of Muslims Against Terrorism (MAT). According to Soharwardy, "Islamophobia is the fastest growing irrational fear in the world."...Socialists hedge on voting bill
The socialist New Democratic Party (NDP) is hedging on its support of the Conservative minority government's bill to forbid people to vote without showing their faces. The NDP joined the MPs from other parties in Parliamentary committee in badgering the Chief Electoral Officer for refusing to bar people from voting while hiding...Asylum agreement hit by court
The United States and Canada have an agreement providing that people applying for refugee status must seek asylum in the first country they reach. That agreement, the Safe Third Country Agreement, was challenged in court by the Canadian Council for Refugees, and Federal Judge Michael Phelan ruled for the Council. Phelan pointed...Hamtramck fails to pass anti-profiling ordinace
The Hamtramck City Council did not pass an ordinance brought to vote Tuesday that would prohibit police from profiling people based on their appearance, immigration status or other factors, because they said what they had in front of them was the wrong version of the measure they intended to vote on. City attorney Jim Allen told the...Collecting goods for Gleaners
Dearborn — Over 1350 pounds of non-perishable food was collected at a recent food drive held at Henry Ford Village, a full-service retirement community, in Dearborn. Residents and staff alike gave generously to the Food Drive that was held between November 27 and December 1, 2007. Cash donations were also accepted and...Dearborn residents reminded about city’s snow plowing policy
DEARBORN — As the season of winter snow arrives, Dearborn residents are reminded about the details of the city's official snow plowing policy. The key fact to remember is that when the City determines that snowplowing is necessary, Dearborn's emergency warning sirens will be sounded. The siren noise is a distinctive alternating high and...Derborn Public Schools Winter Break Will Start On December 19
Originally scheduled to start on December 20, 2007 the Dearborn Public Schools will now start the Winter Break on December 19, 2007. On Monday, December 10, 2007 district administration learned that the start of Eid Al-Adha (holiday of sacrifice) would be on December 19, 2007. Due to expected low attendance, the district will...LIFE provides emergency relief to victims of cyclone in Bangladesh
Southfield — As part of its ongoing efforts to alleviate human suffering, the American-based relief organization, Life for Relief and Development (LIFE), is currently working on the ground in Bangladesh to provide food and other essentials to some of the hundreds of thousands who survived the devastation of Cyclone...Death ruled a suicide, family disagrees
DEARBORN —A 22 year-old Dearborn Heights man, Hiesham Al-Shawwa, was found shot to death in his 2007 GMC Yukon in east Detroit on Friday, Dec. 7, according to family members. Naher Asleh, a cousin of Al-Shawwa, said he was found on Beaconsfield Street near East Warren Avenue with a shotgun wound to the chest, and that the shotgun......
Henry Ford Health receives state’s highest honor
Ann Arbor — The Michigan Quality Council (MQC) announces Henry Ford Health System as a 2007 Quality Leadership Award recipient. The Michigan Quality Leadership Award is the highest honor for organizational performance excellence in the state. It is awarded after a rigorous review by a team of examiners who perform a...ACCESS Leadership dinner honors judge, entrepreneur
DEARBORN — The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) honored two local leaders Wednesday at its Annual Community Leadership Dinner. Wayne County 3rd Circuit Court Judge Charlene Elder and Armada Oil & Gas CEO Ali Jawad received leadership awards. Elder was appointed to her seat by Governor Jennifer Granholm......
Local imam has memoirs published
DEARBORN — A group of interfaith leaders, including the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion, met at the Islamic Center of America recently to discuss Imam Sayid Hassan al-Qazwini's book "American Crescent," published in October. Well-known religion journalist David Crumm said that in more than 20 years of writing about...Teaching unschooled youngsters
It is a leap for a young person to come to a major Canadian urban center from a far country, in some cases from a refugee camp, where that person has had little or no education in any language, often being illiterate even in a mother tongue. Yet, that leap is taken by many children and teens, even though such youngsters are but a...Ten ways to manage your finances and avoid post-holiday regrets
Indianapolis —The holidays are upon us, bringing all those images and sensations we cherish — the glow of the menorah, the fragrance of home-cooked meals and sugar cookies, and the sounds of the season in holiday songs, laughter, and shrieks of joy from kids discovering Santa's generosity. But for many of us there are a few not-so-joyous...Gravel only Democrat to campaign in Michigan
DEARBORN — Progressive U.S. presidential candidate Mike Gravel spoke to students at the University of Michigan–Dearborn Thursday, as the only Democratic candidate willing to campaign in Michigan. The former senator from Alaska later had lunch at the New Yasmeen Bakery with members of the Arab Student Union. "I think it's very stupid what......
Shadid appointed first ‘writer-in-residence’ fellow at AUB’s Issam Fares Institute
BEIRUT — The Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) announced today that award-winning Washington Post correspondent Anthony Shadid has been appointed as its first resident fellow for the 2007-08 academic year. He is also the first "writer-in-residence" at IFI, a...Ex-principal of Arabic Khalil Gibran school loses round in court
According to a report in the New York Daily News, a federal judge this week shot down a last-minute attempt by the former principal of a Brooklyn Arabic-language school to keep the city from selecting her successor. Debbie Almontaser wanted the judge to delay the selection of a new principal for the Khalil Gibran International......
Arab American faces deportation after Afghanistan service
A highly decorated Arab American sergeant in the U.S. army, who is currently serving as a paratrooper in Afghanistan, faces deportation on his return to the United States because of an irregularity in his immigration papers. Sgt Hicham Benkabbou has been served with an order to stand trial for deportation as soon as he arrives...Civic, political integration of American Muslims
America is known as a "melting pot," with many cultures, religions, ethnicities and races integrating into the mainstream American culture. Muslims have been a relatively new addition to the immigrant population. Their integration had just begun to progress when it came to an abrupt standstill with the events of September 11, 2001.......
