The Arab American News
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Jamal out on bail
After 17 months in jail, Abdul Qayyam Jamal was released on $100,000 bail on November 5. He is the oldest of the group arrested in the Toronto area on charges related to planned terrorist attacks. A charge of plotting a bombing was dropped, but two other charges remain: involvement in a terrorist act and leading terrorist...Jahanagir defends religious freedom
Speaking recently at the University of Ottawa, Asma Jahanagir, U.N. Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, expressed cynicism about how religions treat women. She remarked sardonically that efforts at mutual understanding among religions might be possible because they can find common ground: suppression of women. All...Foreign language study increases across country
Study of Arabic language has grown 127% The Modern Language Association of America (MLA), the world's leading organization dedicated to language and literature study, released a comprehensive new survey showing significant increases in foreign language study at U.S. colleges and universities since 2002. The report, "Enrollments in...Preparing for the inevitable in America
Despite a tragic history of regular disasters earthquakes, hurricanes, bridge collapses and fires Americans seem unwilling to prepare for the inevitable. This may have something to do with the forty-year conservative assault on government and the resulting skepticism about things that can't be justified as fighting terrorism. But...The undeclared Palestinian civil war
The Palestinians have never been as divided and weak as they have been since this summer's infighting in Gaza. Their internal conflict is undermining international solidarity and distracting them from challenging the Israeli occupation. The Palestinian territories could explode at any moment. HAMAS accuses Fatah of conspiring against its...Will ‘armloads’ of U.S. cash buy tribal loyalty?
The U.S. policy of paying Sunni Arab sheikhs for their allegiance could be risky. TIKRIT Inside a stately guesthouse on the grounds of Saddam Hussein's palace in Tikrit on the banks of the Tigris, sheikh Sabah al-Hassani jokes that the initials "SH" of the former dictator etched on the walls are his. "I have a weakness for Cuban...A study in courage and honor
On Thursday, November 8, Hon. Benjamin Settle, a federal court judge, issued a preliminary injunction halting any further court-martial proceedings of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada and effectively ruling against the Army on virtually every issue in the case. This injunction not only extends the stay until the conclusion of the habeas corpus...Presidential election tops international agenda
BEIRUT (AFP) U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon warned Lebanese leaders Friday that their country stood on the brink of an "abyss" if they failed to put their differences aside to elect a new president by a November 23 deadline. "If the responsibilities are not shouldered, there might be a move to the brink of an abyss," the U.N. chief said after...The Sunni in Iraq’s Shi’a leadership
Baghdad Tariq al-Hashemi says he cringes when he's described as Iraq's Sunni vice president. Mr. Hashemi, one of two vice presidents the other, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, is Shi'i says he is trying to reach out to all Iraqis. In September, he met for the first time with Iraq's most influential Shi'i cleric, the reclusive Grand Ayatollah Ali...Gaza marks Arafat death in bloodshed
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians marked the third anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death in Gaza Monday with more inter-Palestinian bloodshed, underscoring a division that the late Arafat had relentlessly tried to avert since the 1993 interim peace accords with Israel and the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in the...IAEA report on Iran gets mixed reception
VIENNA (AFP) Iran has made some progress in revealing the extent of its nuclear program but is still defying U.N. demands that it suspend uranium enrichment, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in a key report Thursday. The United States said it would renew efforts to secure extra U.N. sanctions against Iran. Tehran, which denies seeking an...Democracy as a means and an end
Pervez Musharraf is a liar, and not a very good one at that. How suspending the Supreme Court and postponing elections indefinitely will protect his country against Al-Qaeda and its allies isn't exactly clear, since no known terrorists sit on the court, or for that matter, practice law. The modus operandi of terrorism is guerrilla...Hello: Iraq is not our country
A few reminders: Iraq is not our country. Our invasion and occupation are illegal, being in violation of both international law and our own traditions. We were lied into war. We are still being lied to. Both the Bush administration and the Democrats intend to maintain American troops in Iraq indefinitely.The catchy little phrase "If you...A moment before the lights go out
Alan Johnston, the BBC corresponded kidnapped in Gaza, related in an interview that at a relatively early stage, he started suffering from all kinds of aches because of the water he drank. This was the same water that the kidnappers drank, but Johnston's unaccustomed body sent warning signals: This is not water that is fit for drinking....
Fight over gas prices ends in death
November 17th, 20070 DETROIT The owner of a Southwest Detroit gas station was shot and killed by the owner of a competing gas station at about 10:30 a.m. Friday morning, according to Detroit Police.An argument over gas prices was said to have escalated into a physical confrontation involving a baseball bat and then leading to the 51-year-old owner of a......
Dealing Syria out of rogue statehood
For decades Syria has played the role of a bad student at school, its leaders thinking that if you dont cause trouble, no one will pay attention to you. The Syrian regime meddled in Iraq, nurtured Palestinian militants opposed to peace with Israel and dominated its smaller neighbor, Lebanon. Syrias gambits in a tough part of the world...
LAHC observes 25th anniversary
November 17th, 20070 A local soccer club put together in 1982 is now a 25-year-old cultural organization thats given about $1.5 million to Arab American students in scholarship money.The Lebanese American Heritage Club will celebrate its 25th anniversary Nov. 21 at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn. The group expanded its role in...Hersch gives pessimistic assessment
In keynote speech renowned journalist says there is no hope for Mideast with Bush, Cheney DETROIT Renowned investigative journalist Seymour Hersh spoke with blunt pessimism about various Middle East conflicts and the Bush administration at a banquet in Detroit on Thursday. The Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter keynoted the American...Innovative dinosaur show adds performances
DETROIT By popular demand, a second week of performances has been added to see the smash hit WALKING WITH DINOSAURS The Live Experience, at Detroit's legendary Cobo Arena, which is playing from Wednesday, Nov. 14 through Saturday, Nov. 24. Detroit is the first North American city to feature a second week of performances!......
Two area mosques burglarized
DEARBORN Money from donation boxes was stolen from two mosques broken into this week in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, according to officials from the Islamic House of Wisdom (IHW) and the Islamic Center of America (ICA).An ICA employee said Dearborn police have been given surveillance footage of a suspect caught by cameras there early...Arab museum holds fourth annual gala
The National Arab American Museum's fourth annual gala, featuring the Egyptian national Um Kulthoum Orchestra, filled the Detroit Opera House a few weeks ago with more than 2,000 guests. The museum's third annual film festival the following weekend drew large audiences. And a new jewelry exhibit opens next week. ......
Gilda’s Club to host international visitor leadership program
Royal Oak Gilda's Club in Detroit will host 17 medical delegates from the Near East and North Africa in Michigan as part of an exchange program to explore breast cancer awareness and community outreach. The group that includes high-level medical experts will convene at Gilda's Club Metro Detroit, 3517 Rochester Road, Royal Oak, 48073,...Arab youth community summit
ANN ARBOR It's being billed as the Arab Community Summit 2007, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Sponsored by the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs (MESA), the conference is taking place Saturday, November 10, 2007 at the Trotter Multi-Cultural Center, 1443 Washtenaw. Questions up for discussion include what does......