Low voter turnout frustrates activists
DEARBORN — Dearborn voters approved two ballot proposals Tuesday at the polls, clearing the way for City Council to attempt to sell the Dearborn Towers, and passing revisions to the city charter. Voters also re-elected school board member Joseph Guido and chose 20-year resident Mary Petlichkoff to replace outgoing board member Mary...Crime took life of husband, father
Detroit — Detroit Police are still searching for a man who opened fire in a laundromat on Detroit's west side Sunday, killing one man and wounding another. The suspect entered the business about 7:30 p.m., forced open a door to an office, and started shooting at Hassan Chaaban, 47, owner of the laundromat on the 18000 block of West...Senate hearing urges engagement with Muslims
Washington — At a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing held last week about "The Role of Local Law Enforcement in Countering Violent Islamist Extremism," Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) called for enhanced engagement by local law enforcement agencies and American Muslim...Dearborn boxer looking to the future
DEARBORN — Wistful fans of old-time boxing like to complain that modern fighters don't fight enough, and in some respects, they may be right. But for up-and-coming fighters like Dearborn's Brian "The Lion" Mihtar, the next challenge is often only days away. The 28-year old, 162-pound Mihtar just finished up a grueling stretch in...Great American smokeout coming
New interactive resources available to help smokers quit Southfield — The American Cancer Society will celebrate the 31st anniversary of the Great American Smokeout on Thursday, November 15. With exactly half of the United States now protected by smoke-free laws, and a variety of cessation resources available, there has never been a...‘Engaging the Other’ focuses on dialogue
People from various backgrounds and cultures came together to participate in open dialogue during the "Engaging the Other" conference, on October 25-28, at the Dearborn Inn Marriott. The conference entitled "The Power of Compassion" included various panels and interactive group discussions that covered a wide variety of subjects,...Turfe gives to UM-Dearborn
DEARBORN — There's a saying by French mathematician Jean D'Alembert that Al Turfe is fond of passing on to his mathematics students at the University of Michigan-Dearborn: Algebra is generous; she often gives more than is asked of her. Yet, it's Turfe himself who has been generous this year, giving back much more to his students than...
AAPAC kicks off election season with grand banquet
November 3rd, 20070 Event dubbed largest Arab American political gathering in state DEARBORN — About 625 people gathered at a banquet hall in Dearborn on Friday to celebrate ten years of services from an influential group of community organizers. The Arab American Political Action Committee's 10th Annual Dinner was scheduled right before local elections,...
Palestinians freed after 20 years of legal battles
November 3rd, 20070 After a twenty-year legal ordeal, Palestinian-American activists Khader Hamide and Michel Shehadeh can finally rest. The two were part of the "LA 8," a group of seven Palestinians and a Kenyan activist based in Los Angeles. The government wanted to deport them for their activism, saying at first that they were promoting...Goddard Prize awarded
The Canadian Islamic Congress awarded the Captain Nichola Goddard Scholarship to Fatima Ahmed at its Gala dinner in Ottawa on October 29. The award, named for Goddard, the first Canadian woman soldier killed in Afghanistan, is worth $3,000. It is given to an undergraduate student studying in a field related to peace and...Nasr speaks of art
Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University, spoke in Ottawa, one stop in his presentations for Islamic History Month in Canada. His topic was "Islamic Architecture, Science, Art, and Spirituality." Nasr said that sacred art is the heart of religion. Theology is secondary. Thus,...New leadership and new direction
Dr. Zijad Delic came on board with the Canadian Islamic Congress as Executive Director last November, and his presence has entailed a definite shift in perspective. The hiring of an Executive Director gave the Congress the ability to do more "on the ground" with Muslims and in reaching out to the wider Canadian society. He...Islamic art discussed
The Canadian Islamic Congress has been successful in having cities across the country declare October as Islamic History Month. Crowning the effort was a similar declaration by the House of Commons. Some 80 events in celebration have been held across Canada. In one event in Ottawa, Dr. Zijad Delic showed a film about the...Few candidates attend leadership meet
DEARBORN — The importance of the Arab American voice was the recurring topic during day one of the Arab American Institute (AAI)'s National Leadership Conference, on Friday, October 25. The issue was reinforced by several key leaders throughout the many panels, forums and discussions that took place throughout the day. At the...Arar gets his day in U.S. Congress via satellite
Maher Arar testified before a joint hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives foreign affairs and judiciary committees on October 18, in spite of the fact that he is not allowed into the country. Videoconferencing to the rescue. The hearing dealt with extraordinary rendition. Participating members of the House fell over one another......
AAPAC celebrates 10 years of political work
October 28th, 20070 DEARBORN — After a decade of fighting to amplify the voices of Arab Americans on a local and national level, the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) is preparing for its 10th Annual Banquet on Nov. 2 at the Bint Jebail Cultural Center on Miller Rd in Dearborn. AAPAC has endorsed and opposed election candidates and ballot...Respected Bint Jebail mayor dies of cancer
BINT JEBAIL — Dr. Ali Bazzi, mayor of this southern Lebanon village which has thousands of former residents living in Dearborn, died of cancer in a local hospital here on Saturday, October 20. He was 65 years old. Dr. Bazzi was a medical physician, having graduated from medical school in the former Soviet Union with a specialty in...Workshop tackles misrepresentations of Islam, Arab culture
DEARBORN — With her dark good looks, Arab family structure and independent spirit, actress and comedienne Kathy Najimy — of theatre, movie and activist fame — has always been different. "At school other kids brought toys or hobbies in to show and tell," she quipped, in an address to a diversity conference here this week. "I brought in...Iraqis speak out against Biden amendment
Washington — Leaders of a newly-established umbrella organization called Iraqi Voices for Peace have spoken out forcefully against an amendment sponsored by U.S. Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) and approved by the Senate expressing support for the "soft partitioning" of Iraq along religious and sectarian lines. They are urging that the Biden......
U.S. balks at Harkat request
The American government has refused a request by Mohamed Harkat's lawyer to interview Abu Zubaydah, a Guantanamo prisoner alleged to be a ranking member of al-Qaeda, whose allegations about Harkat have played a role in Harkat's precarious position. He is currently in virtual house arrest under strict bail conditions and threatened with...Men mistreated in Syria demand openness
When Justice Dennis O'Connor issued his report on the case of the mistreatment of Maher Arar in Syria, he also noted the existence of other cases that appeared to have some resemblance to that one, cases involving Ahmad El-Maati, Abdullah Almalki, and Muayyed Nureddin. In his report, O'Connor called for a separate inquiry into these......
Montreal imam deported
Montreal Imam Saïd Jaziri, founder of Montreal's Al Qods Mosque, was deported from Canada on October 22. His resident status was cancelled in 2006 on grounds that he failed to reveal a criminal record from France when he applied for refugee status in 1997. At the same time, his Canadian wife was admitted to hospital, eight months...Mistrial declared in Holy Land case
Five defendants in the terrorism-financing trial of the Texas-based charity Holy Land Foundation were not convicted on any of nearly 200 charges when verdicts were read Monday. They were not acquitted of all charges either, but that didn't stop a crowd of supporters from celebrating outside the Dallas courtroom, hoisting attorney Greg......