November 6th, 20260DEARBORN — Democrat Abbas Alawieh made history Tuesday by becoming the first Arab American and first Muslim elected to the State Senate.
The Lebanese American activist’s victory in the Second District, which includes Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, had been widely expected since he secured the Democratic nomination in...
November 6th, 20260Arab American Abdul (Abdulrahman) El-Sayed made U.S. political history Tuesday, becoming the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate after defeating Republican Mike Rogers in a fierce campaign during which Republicans targeted the Democratic candidate’s religious and ethnic background.
El-Sayed won the statewide Michigan race by...
November 6th, 20260DEARBORN/DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Michigan voters elected their representatives to the 110-member State House on Tuesday, giving Democrats a substantial majority. The party increased its representation from 52 seats in the current chamber to 63 in the next House, which will take office on January 1, 2027.
The State House in the 104th...
November 6th, 20260LANSING – Tuesday’s election delivered two major victories for Arab Americans in Michigan higher education, with Democrats Amir Makled and Shereef Akeel winning seats on the governing boards of the University of Michigan and Wayne State University, respectively.
No Arab or Muslim American has previously served on the governing...
November 6th, 20260DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Voters in the Crestwood School District in Dearborn Heights elected three School Board members in two separate races in Tuesday’s election.
In the first race, for two seats carrying full six-year terms, final unofficial results showed incumbent Billy Amen leading the field with 4,430 votes.
The other winner,...
October 23rd, 20260WASHINGTON, D.C. — A poll published by The Washington Post revealed a striking contrast in Arab Americans’ outlook on their future in the United States: 78 percent expressed optimism about their ability to improve their standard of living, compared with just 40 percent of Americans overall.
The survey found that most Arab...
October 16th, 20260They grew up in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, but chose other communities to settle in and build new lives. Young Arab Americans have many reasons for moving beyond the two Dearborns. What many share, however, is a desire to remain close.
Now in their 20s and 30s, graduates of Dearborn and Crestwood schools are completing their...
October 16th, 20261DEARBORN — Dearborn Hills is one of Dearborn’s most established and appealing neighborhoods for families, known for its historic character, tree-lined streets and proximity to west downtown. But a growing number of property owners in this quiet neighborhood are expressing deep frustration with what they describe as the neighborhood...
September 25th, 20260There was an unfortunate series of events which took place last week, which have renewed conversations in Metro Detroit regarding tensions between Arab American and African American communities. An incident in the Warrendale neighborhood in Detroit involving an Arab American woman involved in a hit and run car accident with an African...
September 18th, 20260DETROIT — A GoFundMe campaign has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the family of an Arab American man who suffered serious injuries while officiating a Catholic High School League soccer game in August.
Samir Alnasir, 51, was struck in the head by an errant ball during a game at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School on...
August 28th, 20260There is a moment in every election cycle when the air grows thick with something other than debate. Not necessarily the clash of ideas that fills the room, but the murmur of suspicion, whispered warnings about the other, the outsider, the one who does not belong. This is the moment when democracy falters, not in its institutions but in...
July 3rd, 20260U.S. Rep. John James' recent remarks on the conservative television network Newsmax were not merely an unfortunate slip of the tongue that can be brushed aside with a routine apology. They amount to a full-fledged political disgrace and reveal a profound disconnect from the social and demographic reality of Michigan, the very state he...
July 3rd, 20260A single social media post, amplified by the world's richest man, can in a matter of hours transform a dedicated public servant into a traitor in the court of public opinion, without a single shred of evidence to support the accusation. The recent comments by Elon Musk regarding Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin serve as a potent case...
June 27th, 20260WASHINGTON, D.C. — A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling is drawing widespread attention among immigrant communities after expanding the federal government's authority to scrutinize some lawful permanent residents returning to the United States from international travel when they have pending criminal charges or legal issues that could...
June 27th, 20260Few communities better illustrate the immigrant story than Arab Americans.
Across the United States — and especially in Metro Detroit, home to the nation's largest Arab American community — immigrants from Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt and elsewhere across the Middle East and North Africa have built...
June 19th, 20260DEARBORN — Peace Park in downtown west Dearborn has been transformed into a lively gathering place for soccer enthusiasts after the city installed a giant outdoor screen broadcasting FIFA World Cup matches, attracting hundreds of fans and families from across Metro Detroit each day.
The screenings have become especially popular among...
June 5th, 20260DEARBORN / DEARBORN HEIGHTS — If official figures are accurate, Dearborn and Dearborn Heights have collectively lost more than 6,700 residents over the past five years. But for officials in the neighboring cities — home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the country — those numbers appear far removed from...
April 10th, 20260By Abdul El-Sayed
Every year, Arab Americans send billions of dollars to support family members abroad — to Teta in Beirut, Amu in Cairo or Khalo in Baghdad. These remittances can be lifelines. They cover rent, provide for school fees and underwrite medical bills. They are acts of love via Western Union.
But sending that money is...
April 4th, 20260The Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) strongly condemned the recent article published by the Detroit News and authored by George Hunter, which irresponsibly conflates constitutionally protected speech with criminal conduct and perpetuates harmful, stigmatizing narratives about the Arab and Muslim community in Metro Detroit.
This...
April 4th, 20260The American Human Rights Council (AHRC‑USA) expresses deep concern regarding the intent and the possible negative backlash of the recent Detroit News article written by George Hunter and published on March 25, 2026, titled “Temple Israel fuels debate about Hezbollah threat in Detroit area.”
The article’s framing, purpose and...
February 6th, 20260DETROIT — The Arab American community in Metro Detroit is mourning the loss of veteran community and political leader Ismael (Ish) Ahmed, who passed away at age 79 after a distinguished career spanning nearly five decades devoted to immigrant rights, social justice and ethnic communities across Michigan.
Funeral services were held...
May 2nd, 20250"Rights are granted to those who align with power," Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student, eloquently wrote from his cell. This poignant statement came soon after a judge ruled that the government had met the legal threshold to deport the young activist on the nebulous ground of "foreign policy."
"For the poor, for...
April 11th, 20250WASHINGTON, D.C. – Under the title “Know Your Rights”, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) recently published an educational guide outlining what to do when interacting with officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal law enforcement agencies.
CAIR said in a statement that the guide...
April 4th, 20250DEARBORN – Friends of Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, led by Deputy County Executive Assad Turfe, organized a well attended fundraising event last Thursday evening at La Pita Banquet Center in Dearborn in support of Evans’ 2026 reelection campaign. The event drew an impressive crowd of public officials, elected leaders, business...
February 14th, 20250President Trump’s remarks about taking control of Gaza and resettling its population in neighboring Arab countries under the pretext of achieving lasting peace in the Palestinian occupied territories have sparked widespread condemnation and rejection both inside and outside the United States. Many human rights organizations, civil...
January 4th, 20250Pro-Palestinian and Pro-Lebanese activities continue amid regional conflicts with Israeli invasion of Gaza
At the beginning of 2024, activities supporting the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples continued in the Dearborn area, mirroring similar events from the previous year. These activities were organized alongside Israel's aggressive...
December 13th, 20240On Thursday, the White House released the first-ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and Anti-Arab Hate. The Strategy was developed through a whole-of-government collaboration with a broad range of civil society partners to describe and address the bias, discrimination and threats Muslim and Arab Americans have long faced....
November 9th, 20240HAMTRAMCK – On Tuesday, Hamtramck voters approved a referendum to renew the property tax dedicated to funding public schools in the city for 10 years. This decision came as the number of Arab American members on the local school board decreased, with the current board president, Yemeni American Jihan Aiyash, losing her bid for one of...
