DHS secretary should apologize for shutting out community leaders
March 31st, 20170 In a meeting Wednesday at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials arranged to meet with Arab and Muslim community activists and leaders under the pretext that those communities would be represented and heard. The subtext that unfolded throughout the course of the contentious...
Sanctuary cities and DOJ funding: The hypocrisy of Jeff Sessions
March 31st, 20170 In a surprise White House appearance on March 27, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced his intent to make America's cities less safe and more vulnerable to crime unless he gets his way. He didn't say it quite like that, of course. In fact, he asserted the opposite, accusing so-called "sanctuary cities" of "mak our nation less safe...
CAIR-OK releases report showing dramatic increase in Anti-Muslim hate incidents
March 30th, 20170 OKLAHOMA CITY-The Council for American Islamic Relations in Oklahoma released its 2016 Civil Rights report Thursday showing a dramatic increase in complaints regarding vandalism and property damage to Islamic centers. A similar report showed an increase in hate crime-related incidents that involved violence. A few key findings of...
Using Hollywood celebrities to validate Islam
March 24th, 20170 When Terry Holdbrooks Jr., converted to Islam in 2003, he was inundated with death threats and labeled a "race traitor." If a religious conversion ever deserves to be admired, Holdbrooks' conversion does; not because Islam has "won" yet another convert, but because the new convert was assigned the very rule of subjugating his Muslim...
Khalaf should be commended for UN’s Israel apartheid report
March 24th, 20170 The trepidation journalists, officials, and workers of non governmental organizations (NGOs) have to operate under in reporting on Palestine and Palestinians under occupation is not a phenomenon limited to the United States. Worldwide, Israel's hegemonic hold on an international political narrative leaves officials tasked with defending...
Hispanics shouldn’t over-interpret Trump’s election
March 24th, 20170 It's safe to say that Donald Trump doesn't have many fans in the Hispanic community. The real estate mogul rose to power spewing rhetoric that was openly hostile to Latinos. He's promised to deport more undocumented immigrants and build a wall along the nation's southern border. And who can forget his smear of Mexican immigrants as...
U.S. and Israeli codependent relationship not just about money
March 17th, 20170 "We must look back 25 years to realize how far Israel has fallen in world support," wrote famed Jewish scholar and Harvard sociologist Nathan Glazer in 1976. In the last 40 years since Glazer wrote his piece, which was uncovered and transmitted by Philip Weiss, Israel's global support has fallen much further. The country that once...
Muslim Ban 2.0: An equally appalling sequel
March 17th, 20170 Trump's doctrine propels the U.S. into a perpetual war waged against the very fabric of a diverse America. If Donald Trump should learn one thing, it's that sequels to bad movies are usually, if not always, equally as abysmal. The blocking of the president's latest executive order by two federal judges— Derrick K. Watson of Hawaii...
Ambassador David Friedman: A diplomatic oxymoron
March 17th, 20170 American ambassadors are stationed in nearly 200 countries across the globe, each of which has a unique relationship with the United States. Depending on the diplomatic conditions and challenges present, an ambassador's responsibilities and functions can vary widely from country to country. At the most fundamental level, however, all...
Only the Israeli dead matter: Israel’s failure at investigating its bloody wars
March 10th, 20170 At a glance, Israel appears a true democracy. Take a closer look and that facade of democracy will soon dissipate, turning into something else entirely. Tuesday, February 28 was one of those moments. The chain of events was as follows: An official Israeli state comptroller issued another report on the Israeli government's handling...
What happened to the Arab identity?
March 10th, 20170 Being an American doesn't mean that one should surrender his or her identity and culture. Let us be proud Arab Americans. The Arab Spring somewhat rectified Nasser-era nostalgia that pined for a strong pan-Arab identity that complemented, rather than contradicted, the rich diversity of Arab speaking peoples. The strong sense of...
America is not innocent: If we bomb you, we ban you
March 10th, 20170 In a Fox News interview that aired on Sunday, Feb. 5, President Trump defended Russian President Vladimir Putin when host Bill O’Reilly asked him why he respects him so much if he’s a killer. "There are a lot of killers," Trump replied. "Got a lot of killers. What, do you think our country's so innocent?" No, our country...
America’s greatness was on display everywhere— except the White House
March 10th, 20170 On Friday, Jan. 27, President Trump signed an executive order banning entry from seven predominantly Muslim countries— Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen— for 90 days, which seamlessly led to waves of protests and condemnations across the country. Former President Obama, federal workers, politicians, leaders of...
Descendants of slaves, forerunners of justice: American Muslims must stop apologizing
March 6th, 20170 I had recently been asked to give a talk about "being an American Muslim in the United States." Although wary of the uses and abuses of the term, I obliged. Islam is a religion propelled by values, not race. Nor, theoretically, by blind tribal allegiances, I explained. The "American Muslim" identity which has been under constant...
Sterling Heights settlement an opportunity for reconciliation
March 6th, 20170 At the nation's heart is a civil rights struggle that refuses to die. It manifests among varying communities at different times, yet conjures the distinct tones of ignorance and fear that has set the American story apart. While that story regrettably holds true in defining Arab and Muslim American experiences, we can be proud of......
The right to bear arms should not impede others’ right to live in peace
February 27th, 20170 On Sunday, February 19, five armed demonstrators were spotted walking down Schaefer Road towards Warren Ave. in Dearborn's heavily populated Arab and Muslim part of the city, allegedly in support of open carry gun laws. The incident occurred less than three weeks after two armed fanatics, from communities nowhere near Dearborn, walked...
Trump’s actions have roots in American political discourse
February 11th, 20170 Donald Trump’s executive orders were no doubt an overt assault on the character and integrity of not only the Arab and Muslim community, but also of the rich framework of immigrants of diverse backgrounds and nationalities that construct the backbone of this nation. His measures against Arabs and Muslims, however, did not occur in...
Courts schooled Trump about America’s greatness
February 11th, 20170 It has been a mere three weeks since real estate mogul Donald Trump took the oath of office as the U.S. president, and the country has already suffered the detrimental effects of poorly-implemented policy. On Friday, Jan. 27, our president exposed seemingly shrouded, but wide-spread insensible and xenophobic sentiments among the powerful...
Trump disregards boundaries, bullies neighbors during first week
January 29th, 20170 President Trump's inauguration— connoting hostility, invoking fear and uncompromising in its rhetoric— paled in comparison to President Obama's in size, strength and substance. Yet, it paved the way for Trump to carry out more austere executive actions in six days than Obama had in passing reasonable and —at times – relatively......
Can the media hold politicians accountable?
January 21st, 20170 If you watched Donald Trump’s recent press conference, you may have overlooked a telling and worrisome moment. A CNN reporter tried to ask the president-elect about the extent of his ties to Russian officials. “No! Not you. No! Your organization is terrible,” responded Mr. Trump, and moved on to the next question. The fact...
Obama’s legacy: Achievements marred with disappointments
January 19th, 20170 President Obama spent his final hours as president boasting approval ratings nearing 60 percent—comparable to those he had when he entered the White House in 2009. His popularity is a reflection of a legacy of many monumental precedents set by the Harvard Law School graduate and University of Chicago law professor as the first......
Congress sabotaging peace, U.S. foreign policy
January 13th, 20170 Last Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly supported a proposal condemning a recent U.N. Security Council Resolution reprimanding Israel for its illegal settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The U.N. Security Council resolution passed 14-0, with the U.S. abstaining, citing that...
Build bridges, not walls
December 2nd, 20160 The Lebanese authorities are building a wall around the country's largest Palestinian refugee camp. The one square kilometer (.385 mile) Ain Al-Hilweh is home to more than 80,000 refugees. Residents of the camp have likened the 14 ft. high wall and the four watchtowers to Israel's infamous apartheid wall in the occupied West Bank and......
