The Arab American News
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Wahabism is the greatest challenge of the 21st century
September 11, 2001, forced us to look into the dark and mysterious world of Islamic militants. It seems that they emerged from the deserts of Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, fully grown, already angry, and holding a Kalashnikov. Recently, Major Nidal Malik Hasan went on a shooting spree, which left 12 soldiers and one civilian dead and...Arab film on Oscar short list
BEVERLY HILLS — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 82nd Academy Awards. Eighty-nine pictures had originally qualified in the category. The short list includes "Garbage Dreams," by director Mai Iskander. "Garbage...Israeli Jews and the one-state solution
"Anyone who rejects the two-state solution, won't bring a one-state solution. They will instead bring one war, not one state. A bloody war with no end." — Israeli President Shimon Peres, 7 November 2009. A Palestinian child looks out of a window during the demolition of a house in the Arab neighborhood of Isawiyeh in east...Iraqi MPs to reconsider vote law
Iraq's parliament is to meet at the weekend to decide whether to amend a crucial election law vetoed by the vice-president. Ayad al-Samarie, the parliamentary speaker, said MPs would meet on Saturday to discuss Tariq al-Hashemi's veto and could send it back to the three-member presidency council for approval without changes. "We have...Dinner supports upcoming Gaza Freedom March
Despite the outpouring of support for Gaza from the international community after the Israeli attacks in January, there is still an overwhelming amount of work to be done as winter approaches and conditions remain in a desperate state, activists say. But hope is finally on the horizon as the Gaza Freedom March is expected to take...Affirmative action having its day in court
DETROIT – A group of civil rights organizations asked a panel of appeals court judges this week to reverse a lower court's decision and strike down Proposal 2, the 2006 ballot initiative banning affirmative action in Michigan. The groups argued that the ban unconstitutionally discriminates against students of color by removing race...Locals celebrate Lebanon’s independence
As Lebanon forged ahead with its new unity government, celebrations of the nation's 66th Independence Day took place across metro Detroit and beyond, including on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at the Westin Hotel in Southfield. A traditional dance troupe performs during a Lebanese Independence Day celebration in Southfield on Tuesday....
U.S. AG keynotes Detroit community-law enforcement banquet
November 21st, 20090 From right: Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, NAACP Detroit Executive Director Heaster Wheeler, ALPACT co-chair Nabih Ayad, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Detroit FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew Arena, Fox 2 News Anchor Huel Perkins, ACLU Michigan Executive Director Kary Moss, and Detroit Deputy Mayor Saul Green stand for a flag...
Arab American seeks Miss USA crown after capturing Miss Michigan title
November 21st, 20090 As a relative newcomer in a field of contestants who had been intensely schooled on the intricacies of the pageant circuit from youth, it was only natural for Rima Fakih to feel a bit nervous at the Miss Michigan USA pageant in Port Huron. Fakih was crowned Miss Michigan in September and will be part of the Miss USA pagent in...
Fort Hood shootings: U.S. Muslims feel new heat
November 21st, 20090 SAN FRANCISCO — In the hours after officials identified Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a Virginian of Palestinian ancestry, as the shooter at Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 5, U.S. Muslim groups quickly condemned the attack. Religious and community leaders were eager to assure the nation that Muslims were appalled by the day's violence. "It's...
Robertson: Islam not a religion
November 21st, 20090 The impact of unregulated religious propaganda on world peace, public diplomacy and ethical business practices is an issue which merits serious debate. Eccentric religious leaders are free to launch hate "missiles" across international borders. Media networks are free to spew provocative interfaith theology. However, self-appointed...Dare to speak out
Here we go again. From the White House to the Pentagon to most media outlets, the order of the day is how to delicately maneuver the thin line between reporting on the latest cold-blooded mass murder committed by a Muslim, U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan, and avoiding fanning racial and religious hatred toward the millions of Arab and...Islamic House of Wisdom seeks contributions
DEARBORN HEIGHTS— Imam Mohammed Ali Elahi, religious leader of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, is appealing to the community for funds to meet an upcoming financial obligation. In a letter sent to The Arab American News, Imam Elahi announced that negotiations with the bank holding the mortgage on the building in...FBI file reveals Israeli crimes in U.S.
WASHINGTON (BUSINESS WIRE) — An FBI file reveals the Israeli embassy passed stolen classified U.S. government information to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). In 1984 Israel and AIPAC jointly lobbied Congress to secure preferential Israeli access to the U.S. market against widespread American industry...
U.S. credibility as peace broker eroding by the day
November 20th, 20090 WASHINGTON (IPS) — In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, movement in the standoff between the two sides can be backward as often as it is forward. The past couple of weeks have seen moves from both sides that have garnered the attention of the world, but forward progress remains elusive. A laborer works at a construction site......
Ft. Hood killings act of an individual, not an entire community
Arab Americans and American Muslims fear a backlash anytime an individual of Arab or Muslim background commits a horrendous crime, like the one we saw last week in Fort Hood. A photo of a memorial service at Ft. Hood. Major Nidal Malik Hasan, an Arab and a Muslim, is alleged to have murdered 13 fellow military personnel...
House demolitions go on
November 19th, 20090 OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM — "Make sure your father gets this," the municipal inspector tells a ten-year-old boy at the gate of the concrete house in an alleyway in the Al-Bustan quarter of Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood right under the shadow of the walled Old City. A Palestinian woman sits next to belongings removed from her...
U.N. investigator probes U.S. housing crisis
November 19th, 20090 UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. body responsible for monitoring human rights violations is investigating why hundreds of thousands — and possibly millions — of people in the United States are condemned to live on the streets. Last month, the U.N. Geneva-based Human Rights Council sent one of its top experts on human rights to find...
School funding cuts put education at risk
November 18th, 20090 DEARBORN - Hundreds of parents, students and educators from districts throughout the state rallied in Lansing on Tuesday, demanding that legislators restore funding to school districts facing debilitating cuts following the state budget crisis. Hundreds of people gathered in Lansing on Tuesday to protest school funding......
Abbas resignation may be a stunt
RAMALLAH - U.S. and Israeli failure to take either Palestinian rights or Israeli settlement expansion seriously has placed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority (PA) in an untenable situation, which could seriously damage peace prospects. AbbasOn Thursday, November 5, Abbas announced his...
U.N. affirms Israeli-Hamas war crimes report
November 18th, 20090 UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - A 575-page blistering report by Justice Richard Goldstone detailing war crimes in Gaza last December is refusing to die despite an aggressive Israeli smear campaign to kill it. Mansour The report, which was favorably voted by the 47-member Human Rights Council in Geneva last month, received......
Lebanon rivals form unity government
November 18th, 20090 Members of Lebanon's new cabinet pose for an official group photo at the presidential palace in Baabda, November 10, 2009. PHOTO: Dalati Nohra BEIRUT - Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri formed a new unity government on Monday that includes two ministers from Hizbullah. Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri...Feds seize four mosques, New York skyscraper
Federal authorities said Thursday's move to seize the assets of the New York-based Alavi Foundation over alleged Iranian ties should not effect the activities of the organization's many tenants, which include mosques in Maryland, New York, Texas, and California. The forfeiture action, however, is raising concerns about religious......