The Arab American News
Author's Posts
‘Save Darfur’ is a PR scam
The star-studded hue and cry to "Save Darfur" and "stop the genocide" has gained enormous traction in U.S. media along with bipartisan support in Congress and the White House. But the Congo, with ten to twenty times as many African dead over the same period, is not called a "genocide" and passes almost unnoticed. Sudan sits atop lakes of...Security hurts trade
Canadian Minister of International Trade David Emerson charges that "Some of the rigid mindsets of the security establishment are really starting, I think, to threaten the special relationship that used to be there." He spoke of companies having to warehouse inventory on both sides of the border, "a just-in-case supply chain rather...Dubai sheik pardons Canadian
Vancouver native Bert Tatham was working for an American company under contract to the State Department to assist the Afghan government in eradicating opium poppies. On arrival in Dubai, he was found to be in possession of 0.6 grams of hashish and two poppy bulbs. A urinalysis found traces of hashish. The judge in Dubai was...Arar book scheduled
Monia Mazigh, wife of Maher Arar, the Canadian who was rendered to Syria by American authorities, where he was tortured, has a deal with publishers to write a book about the family's experiences. The book, scheduled to appear in 2009 in both English and French, will be written in French and then translated. ...General: Banning prisoner transfer wrong
In response to efforts of Canadian human rights organizations to get a court-ordered halt to the transfer of Taliban prisoners to Afghan authorities, Brigadier-General André Deschamps predicted serious consequences should such a ruling be made. The groups bringing the case to court are concerned about the mistreatment of those who...Interfaith dialogue
Earlier this year, I attended the Ottawa convention of the Islamic Society of North America. One session was on interfaith dialogue, with presentations by Abdul Rashid, an Islamic scholar, and Sister Jean Goulet, a Catholic nun. Rashid emphasized the Qur'anic basis for the practice of dialogue: "O mankind! We created...
Politics, distress as Muslims mark Eid al-Adha
December 23rd, 20070 It was a typical holiday of Eid al-Adha, the biggest Muslim holiday of the year. Two men in paper overalls placed the struggling sheep in the direction of Mecca before taking a shiny blade to its throat and unleashing a fountain of warm blood that quickly filled the floor of the small cement courtyard. Half a dozen small...Honor killing in Canada needs denouncing
On December 10, a man in Toronto's suburb of Mississauga called 911 to report that he had just killed his daughter. Muhammad Purvez, the father, has been arrested, along with his son Waqas, who has been charged with obstructing police. Sixteen-year-old Aqsa Purvez had been in constant conflict with her family over matters such...Donors back Palestinian economy, urge Israeli ease-up on restrictions
WASHINGTON (IPS) — International donors pledged billions of dollars this week to shore up peace prospects amid warnings no amount of money can help if Israel keeps the Palestinian economy in a stranglehold. Donor countries and agencies promised 7.4 billion dollars to the Palestinian Authority at a pledging conference in Paris Monday....
Why American troops can’t come home
December 23rd, 20070 A very week or so, the Department of Defense conducts a video-conference press briefing for reporters in Washington, featuring an on-the-ground officer in Iraq. On November 15th, that briefing was with Col. Jeffrey Bannister, commander of the Second Brigade of the Second Infantry Division. He was chosen because of his unit's successful...Can religion improve peace prospects in the Middle East?
A council of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian leaders devised a six-point plan to help bring about reconciliation. For some 60 years, attempts to craft a lasting peace for the Holy Land have fallen woefully short. As a new round of Israeli-Palestinian talks gets under way, some leaders from the region are insisting that it's time to...Depending on paper police for security
'Power in Iraq will soon be turned to tribal leaders' BAGHDAD (IPS) — In a country with no security and no jobs, just about anyone can work as a policeman. "To survive in Iraq under U.S. occupation, there are only two jobs; police and garbage collection," Baghdad journalist Mohammad al-Dulaymi told IPS. "Unemployment is leading many...
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...A Jewish Israel needs a wholesome, healed Palestine
One of the most complex and confounding elements that emerged during the run-up to the Annapolis meeting was the demand by several senior Israelis, and its parallel rejection by Palestinian officials, that the Palestinians recognize Israel as "a Jewish state" as a precondition for the start of talks. Israel's demand that the Arabs...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...Is ‘Kite Runner’ anti-religious?
When Mr. Banks sings "Let's go fly a kite and sends it soaring up through the atmosphere" at the end of the movie "Mary Poppins," he is abandoning his workaholic, unimaginative ways and bonding with his children Jane and Michael for perhaps the first time. But they can frolic in and out of chalk drawings and on detachable carousel......