Officials who authorized torture should be prosecuted
December 12th, 20140 The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released a report on the CIA's enhanced interrogation methods (euphemism for torture) that revealed gruesome torture, cover-ups, mismanagement, lies and deliberate misleading of the public by the agency. The report released on Tuesday is the result of a five-year Senate investigation into the...Is torture an American value?
The most recent chapter in America's sordid history with torture, the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on CIA torture during the Bush Administration, reinforces what human rights organizations and frankly many people around the world already know about the U.S. government. Ours is a government that views...
Path forward needed for stronger Arab-Black solidarity
December 12th, 20140 As protests erupt across the U.S. in reaction to the non-indictments of two White male police officers who killed two unarmed Black men, a discussion on the state of race relations in this country has also taken hold – particularly between the Arab American and African American communities. Parts of this conversation have been...
Mubarak’s acquittal a continuation of the counter-revolution
December 5th, 20140 On Jan. 25, 2011, Egypt revolted against tyranny. Egyptian security forces gunned down more than 800 peaceful protesters during the 17-day uprising that led to the fall of Hosni Mubarak, the dictator who has been ruling the country for 30 years.Last week, Mubarak and seven of his security commanders, including ex-interior minister...The Mockingjay of Palestine: “If we burn, you burn with us”
Raed Mu’anis was my best friend. The small scar on top of his left eyebrow was my doing at the age of five. I urged him to quit hanging on a rope where my mother was drying our laundry. He wouldn’t listen, so I threw a rock at him.I didn’t mean for the rock hit him, but it did. My father dragged to me to his house kicking and...Police should be on, not behind, cameras
Police body cameras are all the rage lately. Al Sharpton wants them used to monitor the activities of cops. Ann Coulter wants them used to “shut down” Al Sharpton. The White House wants them because, well, they’re a way to look both “tough on police violence” and “tough on crime” by spending $263 million on new law...UAE designation of U.S. Muslim groups as terrorist is absurd
Last week, the United Arab Emirates announced a list of 82 terrorist organizations. Besides violent extremist groups, the UAE government listed peaceful Western Muslim advocacy organizations, including the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim American Society (MAS). Designating Muslim American groups as...What lies ahead in Congress
Given all the words and images devoted to the midterm elections over the past few weeks, you’d think the results had told us something vital about the future of the country. In reality, they were just a curtain-raiser. It’s the next few weeks and months that really matter.The big question, as the old Congress reconvenes and prepares...American justice failed Michael Brown
More than three months after Darren Wilson executed Michael Brown in broad daylight in Ferguson, the grand jury’s decision is in. No state prosecution, no justice from the state’s court system, for his crime. Wilson will never be tried, let alone convicted. But in the real justice system, this is not the end for Wilson — it’s...Letters against the Islamic Center lack credibility
Last month, anonymous letters attacking the leadership of the Islamic Center of America were mailed to Dearborn households. The letters contain unsubstantiated accusations of corruption, adultery and lack of religiosity against the spiritual leader of the ICA, Imam Hassan Qazwini, and the chairperson of its board, Ron Amen. Upon...Talk of a third intifada: Only Palestinians can decide
When a journalist tries to do a historian’s job, the outcome can be quite interesting. Using history as a side note in a brief news report or political analysis often does more harm than good. Now imagine if that journalist was not dependable to begin with, even more than it being “interesting”, the outcome runs the risk of...Changing how Michigan votes for president might render your vote meaningless
Voters beware—your vote for the president and the vice president – may become meaningless if the Legislature adopts a proposed bill that would change how Electoral College votes are allocated.The League of Women Voters of Dearborn – Dearborn Heights urges you to contact your legislator, opposing HB 5974, which would change the way...The age of TV clowns: Arab media on the brink
Tawfiq Okasha.As I was finalizing my research for this article, I found myself browsing through a heap of hilarious videos by mostly Egyptian TV show hosts Tawfiq Okasha and Amr Adeeb.In one of his numerous videos on YouTube, Okasha, the star and host of the Cairo-based privately funded al-Faraeen channel, tries to explain the...The new Fourth Estate
Because of its power to influence public affairs, the press has long been known as “the Fourth Estate.” But I think the media may have been displaced. These days, it’s lobbyists who seem to carry the most clout in Washington.Here’s a case in point. When Congress closed at the beginning of August for its end-of-summer recess, it...Odeh’s conviction a racist attack on Arab Americans
Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh was found guilty of unlawful procurement of citizenship on Monday. Her trial was a farce orchestrated by a biased judge and the charges against her had nothing to do with the rule of law. Prosecuting Odeh was a slap in the face to the Arab American community and anybody who stands for Palestinian......
Lessons learned this election: Vote based on qualifications, not ethnicity
While Tuesday's election results brought bad news for Democrats both across the state and nationwide, they brought a mixed bag for the Arab community in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights. The resounding victory of Mariam Bazzi who came in first in a field of 11 candidates for the Dearborn School Board, with a total of 9,038 votes,...In tight elections: Your vote tips the scale
With Michigan split almost evenly between Republicans and Democrats, undecided voters will be the key to winning the upcoming elections on Nov. 4. Hence, the Arab American community, which is traditionally non-partisan, could tip the scale and prove to be a decisive factor in the state's politics.In this midterm election, crucial races......
Our endorsements for the Nov. 4 elections
October 31st, 20140 Schauer is the better choice for governorAlthough our newspaper traditionally adopts AAPAC's endorsements, this race was subjected to a vote by our editorial board, most of whom favored the Democratic challenger, Mark Schauer. We believe that both candidates have the interests of Michigan's at heart, albeit their approach to...AAPAC dinner was a success that should be continued by voting on Nov. 4
On Wednesday night, Michigan's top political leaders showed their appreciation for the local Arab American community by attending and speaking at the 17th annual dinner of the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC). U.S. congressional leaders, national, state and local candidates, mayors, judges and activists from all around...Gitmo force-feeding manual reveals gruesome practices
Last week the U.S. government submitted to the District Court in Washington, D.C., the most recent standard operating procedures (SOPs) for force-feeding in the Guantánamo Bay detention facility. What remains of the documents, after redactions, is a shameful exercise in doublespeak that attempts to disguise what is really happening in...
Some Chaldeans’ misconceptions about Muslims cannot be ignored
October 17th, 20140 Imam Sayyad Hassan Al Qazwini of Dearborn's Islamic Center of America shakes hands with Chaldean Bishop Ibrahim N. Ibrahim as Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako stands in the center.Being Chaldean and working as a reporter in Dearborn covering metro Detroit’s Arab and Muslim communities is not easy. It never has been. Over the years I......
Political engagement is crucial this election season
This election season, statewide candidates have given special attention to the Arab American community. Gov. Rick Snyder visited the Arab American National Museum and spoke at several apolitical events hosted by community organizations, including the Arab American and Chaldean Council and ACCESS. His opponent, Mark Schauer, has held...Attention next attorney general: More justice wanted
Secret laws, secret courts, secret evidence, secret dragnet snooping, too big to fail, too big to jail… the Department of Justice (DOJ) has not been fully living up to its name.As Attorney General Eric Holder prepares to step down, it is time to look forward and ask what his replacement must bring to the table for our country. The......
Bill Maher is a bigot
When HBO comedian Bill Maher brought professional anti-theist commentator Sam Harris to bash Islam on his show last weekend, there was no Muslim on the show to make the case for Islam. But actor and director Ben Affleck came to the defense of Muslims, not because of any connection he has to the religion, but because he saw the racism...Nolan Finley, Benjamin Netanyahu are of the same evil
On Sunday, the Detroit News published an article by Editorial Page Editor Nolan Finley titled, "Hamas, ISIS are of the same evil."Finley, whose hatred for Palestinians is no secret, hits a new low with this article. He bases his column on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent speech at the UN General Assembly. In his column,......
