September 26th, 20250DETROIT – A federal court in Detroit has sentenced a Dearborn man to nearly three years in prison after he attempted to illegally purchase firearms just hours after terrorizing and threatening to kill worshipers at a Jewish center in Oakland County on the morning of December 3, 2022.
Hassan Chokr, 38, pleaded guilty to a federal...
September 19th, 20250Passing of a political pioneer
At the age of 85, veteran political and civil rights leader Mary Rose Oakar passed away on Saturday, September 13, in Cleveland, Ohio. In honor of her extraordinary public service, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine ordered flags lowered to half-staff at all state government buildings on the day of her funeral,...
September 19th, 20250Students defend Medical School Dean Wael Sakr
In developments that reflect escalating tensions inside Wayne State University, the student group Medical Students for Justice in Palestine issued a solidarity statement supporting the dean of the School of Medicine, Dr. Wael Sakr, following what they described as the arbitrary decision by...
September 19th, 20250Hamtramck police chief removed after independent investigation
As expected, last week Hamtramck dismissed its police chief, Jamiel Altaheri, following a recommendation from the City Council and the findings of an independent investigation that uncovered multiple legal and professional violations. His deputy, Andy Mileski, will...
September 19th, 20250Two vacancies filled within deadline
The Dearborn Board of Education, during a special meeting held Monday, appointed Nasri Mohammad Sobh to the remaining vacant seat on the seven-member board, just one week after selecting Ali Kamel Bazzi to fill another vacancy.
The board had lost two members following the resignations of Irene Watts...
July 11th, 20250The July Fourth holiday weekend in the Great Lakes State was marked by a series of tragic drowning incidents that claimed the lives of 10 individuals whose bodies were recovered from lakes and private pools across the state. Among the victims was an Arab American child from Dearborn who drowned in Lake St. Clair in Macomb County.
In two...
June 6th, 20250DEARBORN – Under the theme “Fight for Justice” the Arab-American Civil Rights League (ACRL) held its 13th Annual Gala at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, drawing a large crowd that included public officials, civil rights activists and representatives from numerous communities across Metro Detroit,...
May 30th, 20250DETROIT – A Dearborn man has pleaded guilty to a federal firearms charge that could carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years, more than two years after he threatened to kill visitors at a Jewish temple in Oakland County and attempted to illegally purchase firearms.
Hassan Chokr, 37, admitted on Tuesday to possessing a firearm...
May 2nd, 20252HAMTRAMCK – In this year’s municipal elections, Hamtramck is set to elect a Muslim mayor for the second time in its history, following the decision of incumbent Mayor Amer Ghalib not to seek re-election as he awaits confirmation as U.S. ambassador to Kuwait.
The race to succeed Ghalib, who is pending U.S. Senate confirmation,...
May 2nd, 20250DEARBORN — For the first time in the city’s nearly 100-year history, Dearborn will not hold primary elections this August for its municipal races. All candidates will automatically advance to the general election on Tuesday, November 4, where voters will decide the next mayor, seven City Council members and the city clerk.
According...
May 2nd, 20250DEARBORN HEIGHTS – Nearly a month and a half after a 16-year-old girl escaped from a juvenile care center in Dearborn Heights, local police have located her living in a home in the city with a Lebanese national, who has since been arrested and handed over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Authorities discovered that he...
April 18th, 20250In an April 17 interview with Brian Tyler Cohen, Dr. Abdul El Sayed, former director of the Wayne County Public Health Department, announced in candidacy for U.S. Senate in Michigan.
"I'll be running to make sure that in the richest, most powerful country in the world that we do things about how hard it has gotten to live in this...
April 9th, 20250ANN ARBOR – Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, director of the Wayne County public health department, has officially resigned from his position in preparation for a potential run for the U.S. Senate in 2026. Democratic Senator Gary Peters has announced he will not seek re-election, creating an open field for his seat.
In comments to the Detroit...
April 4th, 20250DETROIT – On Wednesday, religious leaders and human rights activists in Michigan sent an open letter to Wayne State University President Kimberly Andrews Espy and members of the university’s Board of Governors, expressing deep concern over what they described as repressive campaigns targeting students protesting acts of genocide in...
April 4th, 20250LANSING – On Tuesday, for the fifth consecutive year, Governor Whitmer announced that April will be recognized as Arab American Heritage Month in the state. This designation celebrates the contributions of Arab Americans to Michigan's culture and economy.
In stark contrast, President Trump has refrained from officially recognizing the...
March 15th, 20250WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a move seen as a reward for his support during Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, President Trump announced on March 11, on his Truth Social platform, the nomination of Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi as the United States ambassador to Tunisia. The appointment requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Bazzi,...
February 28th, 20251DEARBORN – The race for the 2025 Dearborn mayoral election is taking shape as Yemeni American activist Nagi Almudhegi becomes the first potential challenger to incumbent Mayor Abdullah Hammoud. The election will also determine the city clerk and all seven City Council seats.
Although the Dearborn mayoral position is nonpartisan,...
February 28th, 20250DEARBORN – A 19-year-old Arab American woman was tragically shot and killed following a road rage altercation with another vehicle at approximately 10 p.m. on Friday, February 21.
According to police, the victim, Rawan Mohamed Baseti, a resident of Dearborn Heights, was driving a black 2018 Jeep Cherokee with two female friends when...
February 21st, 20250DEARBORN — A young Arab American from Dearborn lost his life after his car overturned on Southfield Freeway in Detroit on Tuesday afternoon.
According to the Michigan State Police, the 19-year-old driver was ejected from his seat and became trapped in the front window of the overturned car, which came to rest beneath the bridge wall...
January 4th, 20250SEATTLE – A 27-year-old Dearborn, Michigan, man was sentenced Dec. 19 in U.S. District Court in Seattle to three years in prison and three years of supervised release for a fraud scheme damaging retailers across the country, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Teal L. Miller said in a press release. Sajed Al-Maarej operated “Simple...
December 6th, 20240On Sunday, President-elect Trump announced his selection of Lebanese American businessman Massad Boulos as his senior advisor for Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. This appointment has garnered significant attention from media outlets both within and outside the United States, including in the Arab world and in Boulos' homeland,...
November 15th, 20240• Harris’ losses surpass 20,000 Votes in the three cities compared to Biden’s 2020 results
• Trump gains around 6,000 additional votes in Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and 2,000 in Hamtramck to what he received in 2020.
Dearborn
For the first time since 2000, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump won the cities of...
November 9th, 20240Despite Democrat Elissa Slotkin's victory in Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, the national red wave on Tuesday ran counter to Democratic hopes, as Republicans took over the Senate majority by securing at least four seats in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Montana and West Virginia. Preliminary figures also indicate they may gain an additional...
November 9th, 20240DEARBORN – The Dearborn Board of Education race concluded with the success of two Arab American candidates out of 10 contestants vying for two full six-year terms. This result will give Arab Americans a majority on the Dearborn Board of Education for the first time, with four Arab Americans out of seven members, starting in...
November 1st, 20243I was surprised to read of the reaction of some Arab Americans to VP Harris’ candidacy for president in “Harris, Trump campaigns continue their covert efforts to sway Arab and Muslim voters despite their overtly strong support for Israel.”
Apparently, many think they will “punish” the Biden administration by voting for Trump....
November 1st, 20240DEARBORN – On the eve of the Nov. 5 presidential election, the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) held its 27th annual banquet at the Byblos Banquet Hall in Dearborn Wednesday. Many government, judicial and community figures from the Detroit area attended the event, emphasizing the importance of higher voter turnout among...
October 26th, 20240With the early in-person voting beginning across the state, the countdown to the November 5 elections has started, where millions of voters will head to the polls to cast their votes in dozens of local and national races, including the congressional and presidential ones.
In this report, we review the statewide races in Michigan in...
October 14th, 20240Stein fourth visit to Dearborn: I'm the candidate against genocide!
With less than a month to go before the presidential election on November 5, Arab and American Muslim voters in Michigan remain staunch in their refusal to support Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, despite their campaigns'...
