Obama taps local woman for state outreach
August 29th, 20080 Michigan Arab American outreach coordinator for the Obama campaign Rashida Tlaib, R, with Obama supporters during a convention watch party at La Cigale restaurant in Dearborn on Thursday. Two weeks after accepting the resignation of its national Arab American outreach coordinator, the campaign of now-official Democratic presidential...Iraqi tragedy outlined
AbdullahThabit Abdullah and his wife, Iraqis, were in Syria when the U.S. invaded in 2003. Yes, they were glad to see that Saddam Hussein was on the way out, but at the same time they had real concerns about U.S. intentions, concerns that were unfortunately prescient. This book is an account of recent Iraqi history and...
Imam al-Sadr commemoration scheduled
August 29th, 20080 The legacy of Imam Moussa Al-Sadr, a leading Shi'a Muslim figure in southern Lebanon during the 1960s and 1970s who disappeared in 1978 in Libya, has grown to hold special significance in the U.S. not only to Lebanese Americans, but to interfaith advocates of many faiths. A commemoration of the 30th anniversary of his disappearance...Arar case back in court
In June, a federal Appellate Court in New York tossed out Canadian engineer Maher Arar's suit against John Ashcroft and other officials for shipping him to Syria to be tortured. Technically, the court held, he was never in the U.S. He was taken into custody while transferring from an overseas flight en route to...
Detroit Ignition’s Assadpour talks goals
August 29th, 20080 Independence Park, on Denton road in the suburb of Canton, is an unlikely place for a soccer camp for kids, given the sport's relative unpopularity in Michigan – and the United States for that matter. In addition, the Detroit Ignition, an indoor soccer team that's part of the Major Indoor Soccer League, runs the camp, despite the...
Restoring standards and honor to the Detroit Hardship Panel
August 29th, 20080 At a time when foreclosure rates are up and Michigan citizens are scrambling to make ends meet, our state needs city counsel-appointed committees to ensure those who are struggling the most can receive financial assistance. The Detroit Hardship Panel was created for this purpose, however, the press has recently reported that...
Parking enforcement starts in October for Dearborn’s Public Service Days program
August 29th, 20080 DEARBORN — People in Dearborn should be aware that enforcement begins in October of the City ordinance prohibiting parking on the street during Public Service Days in their neighborhoods. Public Service Days mean cleaner neighborhoods in Dearborn. Twice a month, the City delivers concentrated services like street sweeping to...
Dearborn Police cleared following investigation into 2004 bar fight
August 29th, 20080 DEARBORN — The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, in conjunction with the Michigan State Police, has closed its extensive investigation of the Dearborn Police Department regarding a 2004 bar fight, concluding there is no credible evidence of any illegal behavior by members of the department. Robert Donaldson, lead attorney of the...
ACC chairman elected head of Republican committee
August 29th, 20080 MunfakhThe Executive Committee of the 11th District Republican Committee elected former Plymouth Township Trustee Abe Munfakh as its Chairman on July 29. The committee is elected by Republicans of the 11th District of Michigan, which covers communities in Western Wayne and North Oakland Counties. The District is...
U.S. Treasury Department holds roundtable with Arab Americans
August 22nd, 20080 On Friday, August 15, members of the Arab American and American Muslim communities gathered at the U.S. Department of Treasury in Washington, D.C. to participate in a roundtable discussion entitled "Charitable Principals of Good Governance and Anti-Terrorist Financing Best Practices." The day-long event was co-organized by the...
Local café has college town feel
August 22nd, 20080 DEARBORN — When Ahmad Hamdan opened up the Hot Spot Café on Michigan Avenue in West Dearborn in February, he brought with him a tremendous understanding of the sandwich business. Hamdan had owned a Subway franchise in Inkster and worked at a Tubby's, and he knew what his customers liked. But what he didn't know was how to cook...
Wygonick, community leaders meet
August 22nd, 20080 Judge WygonikDEARBORN — Five weeks after accusations arose that 19th District Court Judge Richard Wygonik made disparaging comments about Dearborn Arab Americans in a conversation with another elected official, community leaders met with the judge and said they’ve agreed to a potential resolution that would ease tensions and...
Presidential candidate pays visit to Dearborn
August 22nd, 20080 About a dozen Arab American community leaders and activists met with Libertarian Presidential candidate Bob Barr on Aug. 8 at Ollie's restaurant in Dearborn. Barr visited the Islamic Center of America, spoke at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and held a fundraiser at the Ritz Carlton during his visit to Dearborn. Barr is on the...
Demonstrators protest apartheid at State fairgrounds
August 22nd, 20080 DETROIT — Dozens of pro-Palestinian, anti-occupation activists demonstrated outside the Michigan State fairgrounds on Thursday. They protested a celebration of the 60th year since the creation of the state of Israel, put on by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit (JFMD). Invitees of the JFMD had access to all the rides...
Back to school with new backpacks
August 22nd, 20080 Over the past five years, 5,000 young lives have been touched by Wayne County's hugely popular Back-to-School program started by Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano. This year, 1,500 more children were presented with backpacks filled with school supplies to start the school year off right. On August 20, as part of the......
5th annual NAAMA walk for women’s cancer
August 22nd, 20080 One out of every four deaths in the U.S. is from cancer, making it the second leading cause of death in the U.S. More than one-third of these victims are women. On October 18, 2008 at the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak, the National Arab American Medical Association (NAAMA) will hold its fifth annual walk aimed to raise awareness...
Tlaib credits pounding the pavement for her landslide win
August 22nd, 20080 DEARBORN — In today's political age, it seems as if the best way to win an important race is to spend more money on advertising than the next candidate. But after her win in the Democratic primary election (with 44% of the vote) for State Representative in Michigan's 12th House District, Rashida Tlaib is giving most of the credit...U.S. deserter facing deportation
HinzmanJeremy Hinzman, who deserted the U.S. army in 2004 to avoid being sent to Iraq, has been ordered to leave Canada by Sept. 23. It is uncertain if he will try a further appeal in the courts. In July, Robin Long, another deserter, was sent back to the U.S. Currently there are nine other men seeking refugee status...
Arab American beaten to death outside Detroit gas station
August 22nd, 20080 DETROIT — A 21-year-old Yemeni American was beaten to death Thursday morning at a Sunoco gas station on Detroit's southwest side. Maher Almaweri's family told local television news stations a group of men beat him to death at the gas station located at McGraw and Tarnow Roads. EMS arrived at the scene around 1 a.m. and......
Presidential candidate to celebrate Labor Day in Detroit
August 22nd, 20080 Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney plans to visit Michigan over Labor Day weekend, Aug. 30 - Sept. 1. The Green Party of Michigan is set to host a press conference for the former Congresswoman from Georgia at 7 p.m. on Aug. 30 at the International Institute, 111 East Kirby in Detroit. The...
Priest irks community with bizarre, offensive comments about Islam
August 15th, 20080 Local religious leaders believe they've successfully convinced a local AM radio station to force a regular guest on one of its programs to tone down his intense, often strange commentaries critical of the Islamic faith. Egyptian Coptic priest Zakaria Botros, known around the world for his controversial theological rants about......
Dearborn Recreation Department Summer Theatre Fest presents Disney’s High School Musical
August 15th, 20080 DEARBORN — The Dearborn Recreation Department's Summer Theatre Fest program will present Disney's "High School Musical" on stage in the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center's Michael A. Guido Theater on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 22-23, at 8 p.m. Reserved seating tickets are $15 and $10 per person and are available by phone at...
La Hookah Lounge spreads family’s love of good food
August 15th, 20080 WESTLAND, Mich. — When La Hookah Lounge first opened two weeks ago on Ford Road in Westland between Wayne and Wildwood Roads, passers-by didn't know what to make of it. Most thought it was a hangout spot for smoking hookah only, which shied many possible customers away. But once people started coming in and seeing that......
