Muslim woman on cover of U.S. fitness magazine
September 28th, 20160 FARMINGTON HILLS - 33-year-old Rahaf Khatib has become the first Muslim woman in a hijab to pose on the front cover of a fitness magazine. Women's Running has a strong recent history of groundbreaking covers, and its October issue is no different with Khatib on the cover.Khatib had emailed the magazine and mentioned the lack of...
Muslim woman faces backlash for appearing in Playboy magazine
September 25th, 20160 American Journalist Noor Tagouri usually sees negative comments on social media from Islamophobes who take issue with her hijab. But now the 22-year-old is taking some heat from her own Muslim community. Tagouri appears in Playboy magazine’s October “Renegades” issue wearing her hijab proudly. Tagouri is depicted fully clothed,...
Jazz music meets the Middle East in “Arab-esque” Detroit concert
September 23rd, 20160 DETROIT- Detroit’s funky jazz scene is colliding with the aesthetics and music of the Arab world in a must see event for music and arts lovers. The event, titled “In Transit Detroit-Arab-esque,” will take Sean Blackman’s monthly “In Transit Detroit” concert series, hosted on the last Thursday of every month at the Garden...
Celebrities launch ‘We Are Not Afraid’ refugee campaign
September 23rd, 20160 LONDON — More than 175 world renowned artists including Sting, Robert Plant and Elvis Costello, have joined forces to back a song that supports greater action to address the global refugee crisis, campaign organizers said on Monday. The royalties from "We Are Not Afraid" will be divided between the International Rescue Committee –...
Egyptian American actor Rami Malek wins Emmy
September 19th, 20160 Rami Malek (Reuters)LOS ANGELES — Egyptian American actor Rami Malek beat veterans Kevin Spacey and Liev Schreiber to scoop the Outanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Emmy for playing a socially inept computer hacker in "Mr. Robot.""Oh my god. Please tell me you are seeing this too," said a stunned Malek, 35.Sunday's Emmys were...
Muslim rapper depicts journey to Hajj
September 16th, 20160 LOUISIANA - Rapper Kevin Gates is grabbing attention on social media for depicting his journey to becoming a devout Muslim. Gates, a Louisiana born rapper known for his hit single “2 Phones,” recently traveled to Hajj with his wife. Gates posted a video to Instagram of himself and his wife approaching the Black Stone. He...
Muslim woman aims to get Hijab emoji approved
September 13th, 20160 BERLIN - Rayouf Alhumedhi, a 15-year-old Berlin teen originally from Saudi Arabia, is aiming to get developers to approve a Hijab emoji. According to a story published by washable.com, Alhumedhi drafted a proposal featuring a hijab to the emoji subcommittee of the Unicode Consortium, a nonprofit organization that develops and promotes...
Iraqi American photojournalist documents the journey of refugees in Metro Detroit
September 2nd, 20160 Iraqi boy grilling fish - Photo by Salwan Georges. DETROIT — Over the years, wars and abysmal living conditions in Middle Eastern countries have displaced 60 million people from their homes. The refugees' struggles to get to Western countries and start over is documented regularly in photographs and videos in hopes...
Post Civil war era film shoots at Greenfield Village
August 26th, 20160 DEARBORN — A film production used Greenfield Village's unique and historic scenery as a backdrop for its post Civil War-era plotline. "Akoma", a short film shot around the metro Detroit region with the assistance of local producers, actors and crew-members, recently wrapped its shoot after a summer production that highlighted...
Local renaissance woman strives to make art accessible
August 19th, 20160 Suha with her painting 'The Other Side'.DEARBORN — As henna and makeup artists continue to flourish in the community, more and more young women decide to put their talent to work and showcase it on social media, gaining fans around the world. Suha Suleiman, a freelance henna and makeup artist in Dearborn, is one of many who...
Will Smith speaks out against Trump, Islamophobia
August 9th, 20160 DUBAI — Will Smith was in the Middle East promoting the movie ‘‘Suicide Squad’ in Dubai when he made comments about Donald Trump and rising Islamophobia in the U.S.‘‘In terms of Islamophobia in America, for me that’s why it’s important to show up,’’ he said.He encouraged local film makers and producers to find more...
Daesh Girl: A film about love
July 1st, 20160 NEW YORK — In the global fight against terrorism, drowning in the noise of political rhetoric, fear-inducing news and bullet-firing drones, an arguably more effective – and certainly a creative – method of uniting people in the muddled battle against extremism is film. A Saudi-American filmmaker, Abdul Almutairi, aims to do just...
Muhammad Ali, boxing icon, dead at 74
June 4th, 20160 Former world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, whose record-setting boxing career, flair for showmanship and political stands made him one of the best-known figures of the 20th century, died on Friday aged 74. Ali, who had long suffered from Parkinson's syndrome which impaired his speech and made the once-graceful athlete almost a...
Muslim rapper Belly & The Weeknd cancel TV performance over Trump
May 28th, 20160 NEW YORK— Muslim rapper Belly, a Canadian of Palestinian origin, cancelled a coveted appearance on a late-night US television show as a protest against fellow guest Donald Trump. Belly had been due to perform his hit single “Might Not” with R&B sensation The Weeknd on Wednesday night on Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote the...
Library cardholders offered discounted and free passes to Michigan parks
May 19th, 20160 LANSING — Library card holders statewide can once again get free or discounted access to hundreds of Michigan's state parks, historic sites, cultural attractions, campgrounds and recreation areas through the second annual Michigan Activity Pass program. The initiative is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the......
Rima Fakih’s star-studded Lebanon wedding
May 16th, 20161 Fakih with husband Salibi and R&B singer The Weeknd.LEBANON - Former Miss USA Rima Fakih has finally tied the knot in Lebanon to music producer Wassim Salibi on Sunday, May 15.The star-studded event included attendance by R&B singer The Weeknd, Rapper French Montana and Lebanese Singers Haifa...
Rapper 2 Chainz releases bold video defending Muslims
May 14th, 20160 LOS ANGELES - Rapper 2 Chainz gets takes a stand with Muslim Americans in his new music video for his song “100 Joints.” The video is a response to people like Donald Trump who accuse Muslims of being a threat to the country. The clip opens with the Republican presidential candidate's controversial statements about Muslims,...DJ Khaled tours with Beyonce
NEW YORK - Despite spending most evenings in the same vicinity as Beyoncé at the moment, DJ Khaled has admitted he’s too nervous to speak to her so “kind of runs" away instead.Khaled, a Palestinian-American, has joined Beyoncé on her Formation tour in north America in recent weeks, getting the crowd hyped...Amal Clooney slams Donald Trump
Amal ClooneyAmal Clooney, the British-Lebanese human rights attorney who has been married to Hollywood actor George Clooney since 2014, says populist GOP frontrunner Trump doesn’t represent “U.S. values.”In a BBC interview, the 38-year-old criticized “the leading candidate on the Republican side” for proposing......
Muslim woman bakes Queen Elizabeth’s birthday cake
ENGLAND - Queen Elizabeth II will have love in her tummy, courtesy of British reality show "The Great British Bake Off's" first Muslim winner Nadiya Hussain. The Queen turned 90 on Thursday, April 21. In honor of her big birthday, the Royal family asked Nadiya to not only cook the longest-reigning (63...Music icon Prince dead at 57
MINNESOTA — The artist known as Prince has died, according to TMZ. He was 57. Prince’s body was discovered at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota early Thursday morning, April 21st. The singer — full name Prince Rogers Nelson — had a medical emergency on April 15th that forced his private jet to make an emergency......
Celebrities clash over Presidential candidates
HOLLYWOOD- Pop star Demi Lovato is jazzed about Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Comic Sarah Silverman’s enthusiasm for Bernie Sanders is no joke. Meanwhile, 1980s sitcom star Scott Baio wants Republican businessman Donald Trump to be in charge. With Tuesday’s New York primary approaching and...
Sesame Street introduces hijabi muppet
April 13th, 20160 DETROIT – Sesame Street has welcomed a purple-toned female Muppet with multi-colored yarn hair — and sometimes a hijab — into its cast of colorful characters. Zari, is an eager 6-year-old from Afghanistan who will focus on girls’ empowerment, health and emotional well-being, the production company said. The......