News in Brief: Popular Syrian actors coming to Detroit area
December 5th, 20090 Town halls scheduled on Dearborn schools budget DEARBORN — The first of three town hall meetings on severe budget cuts Dearborn Public Schools have to implement was to take place Thursday evening at the Michael Berry Career Center in Dearborn Heights. Dearborn Public Schools students and parents protest expected teacher...
‘A Country Called Amreeka’ author to visit Dearborn Thursday
December 5th, 20090 To fully and accurately relate the Arab American experience in a book, an author would have to present the stories of communities and individuals of countless backgrounds from throughout the country. Alia Malek did exactly that in "A Country Called Amreeka." A civil rights lawyer born to Syrian immigrants in Baltimore, Malek traveled...Free Gaza Movement raises funds
DEARBORN — Activists from multiple backgrounds joined together Wednesday at Bint Jebail Banquet Hall in Dearborn for a fundraising dinner in support of the Michigan Peace Team's upcoming trip to Gaza near the end of December. Huwaida Arraf The event, created by the Students for Socially Responsible Investing at the...Habib’s will deliver inspired cuisine
DEARBORN — Habib's Cuisine Restaurant and Banquet Center held its grand opening celebration on Tuesday, December 1, with guests in attendance ranging from Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly to city council members and other community leaders. Guests mingled and listened to dedication speeches while enjoying a buffet featuring some of the...Clark-Coleman distributes Thanksgiving dinners with staffers, volunteers
DEARBORN — State Sen. Irma Clark-Coleman and her staff held a second annual Thanksgiving turkey drive Nov. 24. Over 160 families benefited from the effort, made in collaboration with the Arab American and Chaldean Council (ACC) and the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS). Abbas Elhadi, right, a...
Obama switches gears on Afghanistan
December 4th, 20090 WASHINGTON (IPS) — President Barack Obama presented a case Tuesday for sending 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan that included both soaring rhetoric and a new emphasis on its necessity for U.S. national security. U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to cadets at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, December...Arab Detroit hosts 7th Annual Workshop
DEARBORN — The Dearborn-based Web site Arab Detroit will host its 7th annual educational workshop entitled "Images and Perceptions of Arab Americans: Arab America: Bridging the Gap" on Thursday, December 3, 2009. Byblos Banquet Hall at 7258 Chase Road in Dearborn will be the site of the event, which runs from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m....HFH president to keynote woman’s breakfast
DEARBORN — The Arab American Women's Business Council will hold its 3rd Annual Breakfast on Friday, December 4, giving local businesswomen a chance to network and learn from the best. The breakfast was held at Byblos Banquet Hall in Dearborn. AAWBC founder Jumana Judeh The event, which runs from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and is...Dr. Adnan Hammad receives award from the American Cancer Society
Dr. Adnan Hammad received a prestigious award from the American Cancer Society in Los Angeles Nov.18 for his volunteerism, humanitarianism and distinguished service. Adnan Hammad The American Cancer Society, the nation's largest voluntary health organization, honors individuals who are helping to realize the...Attacks on Iran are attacks on Obama
In the last few weeks, there has been a flurry of unsubstantiated accusations against Iran. These accusations may seem to be aimed at Iran but, in fact, a pattern is emerging, which suggests that the attacks are really directed at destroying the Obama administration by discrediting its goodwill gesture toward Iran, which is a sharp...Iraqi refugees move to Michigan despite poor economy
The U.S. government resettled Mazen Alsaqa in Massachusetts in February. Within a month, the Iraqi refugee moved to Michigan. Iraqi refugee Rawaa Bahoo helps her daughter Maryam, 5, with her hair as Marvin, 8, left, and Maryana, 4, watch TV in Farmington Hills, Mich. Bahoo, 29, came to Michigan in July 2008 just a few days after...Budget cuts hit education hard
Dearborn Public Schools students and parents demonstrated against expected teacher layoffs outside the district’s administrative center on Nov. 23. PHOTO: Khalil AlHajal/TAAN DEARBORN — In the district hit hardest by severe state cuts in education funding, school board members bore the brunt of students' parents' and...Arab American veterans reflect on Fort Hood attack
Maj. Nidal Hasan's face continues to haunt Muslim and Arab Americans, his image floating around news media endlessly as investigations go on, details emerge and commentators associate his alleged crimes with his religion and ethnicity. For many Arab and Muslim veterans of the U.S. military, hearing about the victims of the Fort Hood...Retailer stands by diversity message
One of the world's biggest electronics retailers this week stood by a decision to include a small "Happy Eid al-Adha" greeting in its circular advertising Thanksgiving Day sales. Right-wing internet bloggers and forum users attacked Best Buy for printing the greeting after coming under fire in past years from groups like the American...A struggle for the soul of Saudi Arabia
"Robert Lacey, Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for the Soul of Saudi Arabia" (Viking, 2009) Robert Lacey is one of the most distinguished writers of our time. The author of twenty books, Lacey is noted for his astute biographies of Queen Elizabeth II, Henry Ford and Princess Grace of......
IN BRIEF: Online group creates ‘Hug an Arab Day’
As world events and ultra-conservative commentators continue to wear down on the public image of Arab identity, some Facebook users hope to give Arabs a boost, one hug at a time. Hug an Arab Day, listed as an event on the popular social networking website, as of Thursday evening had 20,299 confirmed "guests." The day was to be...CIA premieres ads directed toward ethnic groups
CIA officials premiered new television recruitment ads aimed at Middle Easterners on Wednesday in Dearborn at the Lebanese American Heritage Club. Arab Americans watch one of two CIA ads geared toward recruiting Americans of Middle Eastern descent at a special screening in Dearborn on Wednesday. One ad is to premier in the...Groups call for DOJ investigation of FBI raid
Several major rights advocacy organizations sent a letter to the U.S. Justice Department on Monday calling for an investigation into potential civil rights violations commiteed during the Oct. 28 FBI raid conducted in Dearborn in which a religious leader was killed. Demonstrators protest the Oct. 28 FBI killing of Imam Luqman...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......
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......
