City’s comments on Kroger incident call investigation into question
February 27th, 20150 Much has been made of the incident that took place at the Kroger at Michigan Ave. and Greenfield on Feb 12. While many facts may be in dispute, a separate controversy has been raised by members of the community. That controversy involves when and how public comments are made during what is expected and claimed to be an impartial...Netanyahu’s address to Congress is a decisive insult
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming address to Congress is an insult to all Americans. The Israeli right wing leader was invited to speak to a joint session of lawmakers on Capitol Hill by Speaker of the House John Boehner, who does not have the constitutional power to dwell in foreign policy. The Republican speaker...The media sensationalized Wayne County government corruption claims
After a tedious federal investigation that lasted more than three years, the FBI found no legal wrongdoing in the top leadership of Wayne County— an outcome the local media had a hard time processing. Former County Executive Robert Ficano left the county in dreadful shape with a budget deficit close to $100 million. But the county's...To fight bigotry, we must unite
We live in critical times in the history of our country and community. The rampant bigotry, xenophobia and racism against Arabs and Muslims have turned violent. Three innocent lives were lost in Chapel Hill. The story of the victims has taunted families whose children look like Deah, Yusor and Razan and share their faith and...
Amid deafening media silence, terror strikes Muslim students in North Carolina
February 11th, 20150 It took the mainstream media an entire day to report on a possible hate crime that claimed the lives of three Muslim students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, of Chapel Hill; his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, of Chapel Hill; and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, of Raleigh, were all shot dead on Tuesday...
The ICA controversy is harming the community
February 6th, 20150 Ramzi Chammout addressing Sayed Qazwini.Discrimination against Arab an Muslim Americans is rampant at both the institutional and the social levels. Our local community is already facing vicious media attacks that link us to terrorists overseas, accuse us of living under Sharia law and overlook civil rights violations against us. Now,...Jordanian pilot’s murder shows the un-Islamic barbarism of IS
Lt. Muath Al-Kaseasbeh in a visit to Turkey.The videotaped murder of Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh by "Islamic State" terrorists is one of the most gruesome atrocities that the world has witnessed since the turn of the century. The 26-year-old pilot was placed in a cage in an orange jump suit drenched with a flammable...
Sayed Qazwini went too far
January 30th, 20150 Sayed Hassan Qazwini's resignation from the Islamic Center of America shocked the community. But those who are familiar with the state of the relationship between the imam and some members of the ICA Board of trustees were not surprised by the news. Qazwini had blasted the board with strong statements made to The Arab American News in...
Freedom of speech stutters when it comes to Israel
January 23rd, 20150 Freedom of speech is a prerequisite to all political rights in a democracy. Without it, "we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter," as George Washington once said. The terrorist attacks on the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris on Jan. 5 sparked countless statements in defense of freedom of speech, no matter how controversial or offensive...The Saudi hypocrisy
Then President George W. Bush and then Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud walk amid the blue bonnets of Crawford, TX in 2005.On Wednesday, Jan. 7, Saudi Arabia denounced the attacks on the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo as a "cowardly terrorist act." Two days later, the kingdom flogged liberal blogger...
The Paris attacks are an insult to the Prophet Mohamad
January 7th, 20150 Terrorism struck in the heart of Paris on Wednesday, Jan. 7, when three masked gunmen killed 12 people at the office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Media reports rushed to describe the crime as "an apparent militant Islamist attack" because the paper had published cartoons of the Prophet Mohamad, even though the suspects,...
We will stick by our principles and keep our promises
December 25th, 20140 Thinking is never wrong. Questioning is never offensive. Last week, our editorial "Questioning the wisdom behind Ashura procession" unfairly sparked outrageous, offended and offensive comments. Unlike what an attention-seeking gossip Facebook page claimed, our editorial did not call for an end to Ashura processions. The article...
Questioning the wisdom behind Ashura processions
December 19th, 20140 The Arbaeen march at Ford Woods park in Dearborn.The local Shi'a have been commemorating Ashura increasingly and more visibly each year. Last weekend about 6,000 people marched from the Karbala center in Warrendale to Ford Woods Park in Dearborn to mark the Arbaeen, the 40th day after the death of Imam Hussain. Ashura is a grand...
Officials who authorized torture should be prosecuted
December 12th, 20140 The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released a report on the CIA's enhanced interrogation methods (euphemism for torture) that revealed gruesome torture, cover-ups, mismanagement, lies and deliberate misleading of the public by the agency. The report released on Tuesday is the result of a five-year Senate investigation into the...
Path forward needed for stronger Arab-Black solidarity
December 12th, 20140 As protests erupt across the U.S. in reaction to the non-indictments of two White male police officers who killed two unarmed Black men, a discussion on the state of race relations in this country has also taken hold – particularly between the Arab American and African American communities. Parts of this conversation have been......
Mubarak’s acquittal a continuation of the counter-revolution
December 5th, 20140 On Jan. 25, 2011, Egypt revolted against tyranny. Egyptian security forces gunned down more than 800 peaceful protesters during the 17-day uprising that led to the fall of Hosni Mubarak, the dictator who has been ruling the country for 30 years.Last week, Mubarak and seven of his security commanders, including ex-interior minister...UAE designation of U.S. Muslim groups as terrorist is absurd
Last week, the United Arab Emirates announced a list of 82 terrorist organizations. Besides violent extremist groups, the UAE government listed peaceful Western Muslim advocacy organizations, including the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim American Society (MAS). Designating Muslim American groups as...Letters against the Islamic Center lack credibility
Last month, anonymous letters attacking the leadership of the Islamic Center of America were mailed to Dearborn households. The letters contain unsubstantiated accusations of corruption, adultery and lack of religiosity against the spiritual leader of the ICA, Imam Hassan Qazwini, and the chairperson of its board, Ron Amen. Upon...Odeh’s conviction a racist attack on Arab Americans
Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh was found guilty of unlawful procurement of citizenship on Monday. Her trial was a farce orchestrated by a biased judge and the charges against her had nothing to do with the rule of law. Prosecuting Odeh was a slap in the face to the Arab American community and anybody who stands for Palestinian......
Lessons learned this election: Vote based on qualifications, not ethnicity
While Tuesday's election results brought bad news for Democrats both across the state and nationwide, they brought a mixed bag for the Arab community in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights. The resounding victory of Mariam Bazzi who came in first in a field of 11 candidates for the Dearborn School Board, with a total of 9,038 votes,...In tight elections: Your vote tips the scale
With Michigan split almost evenly between Republicans and Democrats, undecided voters will be the key to winning the upcoming elections on Nov. 4. Hence, the Arab American community, which is traditionally non-partisan, could tip the scale and prove to be a decisive factor in the state's politics.In this midterm election, crucial races......
Our endorsements for the Nov. 4 elections
October 31st, 20140 Schauer is the better choice for governorAlthough our newspaper traditionally adopts AAPAC's endorsements, this race was subjected to a vote by our editorial board, most of whom favored the Democratic challenger, Mark Schauer. We believe that both candidates have the interests of Michigan's at heart, albeit their approach to...AAPAC dinner was a success that should be continued by voting on Nov. 4
On Wednesday night, Michigan's top political leaders showed their appreciation for the local Arab American community by attending and speaking at the 17th annual dinner of the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC). U.S. congressional leaders, national, state and local candidates, mayors, judges and activists from all around......
