April 15th, 20210DEARBORN — Commander Houssain “Sam” Sareini of Dearborn has become one of the first Muslim Americans to command a U.S. naval ship.
On April 9, Sareini took command of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94) at a ceremony in Portsmouth, VA, according to a Navy press release.
Sareini has been in...
June 20th, 20201WARREN — In August, Macomb County residents will have the choice to vote for the first Muslim American candidate for county prosecutor in Michigan. The primaries pit Pakistani American Saima Khalil, 39, against four other non-incumbent Democrats.
Beyond this historic candidacy, Khalil looks to bring long-needed progressive change...
November 17th, 20190RICHMOND — Virginia elected its first Muslim state senator last week. Ghazal Hashmi, who migrated with her family to the United States at the age of 4, won over a Republican incumbent in a district that includes suburban Richmond.
Her victory is a part of a blue shift in Virginia. Democrats clenched key victories on election...
March 15th, 20191As we approach our 35th anniversary celebration on Friday, March 22, we can't help but reflect on the challenges we've faced, the successes we've achieved and the issues we've reported on and overcome together as a community.
Running a media publication has always been difficult, challenging and complex, especially in ethnic...
February 4th, 20190
BROOKLYN, NY — Debbie Almontaser stopped by Greenlight Bookstore in Fort Greene as she promoted her first book, “Leading While Muslim.” She said the backlash she received as the founding principal of the country’s first Arabic language public school inspired her to write it.
“I was targeted big-time both individually and...
January 15th, 20190LANSING — Fadwa A. Hammoud, a resident of Dearborn, has been appointed as the state's solicitor general by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. She is the first Arab American and Muslim solicitor general in U.S. history.
“I am proud of the seasoned veterans who have chosen to return to state government – and to those who have...
November 10th, 20180DETROIT — Rashida Tlaib will be one of two Arab American and Muslim women ever to be elected to Congress after winning the seat of former U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. and defeating Brenda Jones' last minute write-in campaign, on Tuesday.
The Palestinian American and vocal critic of President Trump was announced the winner of the 13th...
September 21st, 20180PORTLAND, OR. — On Thursday, Sept. 20, a federal appeals court revived a Muslim American man’s lawsuit accusing the U.S. government of improperly keeping him on its “no-fly list” for about six years. He said the government placed him on the list to coerce him into becoming an FBI informant.
Reversing a lower court ruling, the...
August 10th, 20180DETROIT – On August 7, voters in the 13th Congressional District made history by choosing former State Rep. Rashida Tlaib in the Democratic Primary. This November, Tlaib will be the first Arab American Muslim woman elected to Congress – she’ll appear on the general election ballot with no opposition from a Republican candidate and...
June 18th, 20180TAMPA — Kaderbhai Ali Asgar choked up as he told the courtroom what Islam means to him. It is a religion of love and peace, he said.
"Security for all," Asgar said. "That’s what I want."
Just a feet away from him sat David H. Howard, the man who had threatened in November 2016 to burn a Davis Islands house down if Asgar and his...
June 5th, 20180WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Dan Kildee (D-Flint), along with his congressional staff in Washington, D.C., will fast in solidarity Wednesday with Muslims in Michigan and around the world in observance of Ramadan. Ramadan is a holy month of fasting during which Muslims may not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset.
This will be the...
June 3rd, 20180David Gagner was having seizures.
But he did not have nor can afford health insurance, so he sought care at a Baptist Health emergency room. There he was told he had another option in the future, the volunteer-run Muslim American Social Services, or MASS, clinic that provides free health care to uninsured, low-income adults of all...
April 27th, 20180LANSING – Republican gubernatorial candidate Patrick Colbeck outraged both Democrats and fellow Republicans when he claimed that one of his Democratic rivals, Abdul El-Sayed, is part of an organized plot to take over American political leadership positions and start a “civilization jihad.”
Colbeck, currently a state senator from...
April 25th, 20180DEARBORN – When John Salvatore Deliz, 57, did not show up in 19th District Court on April 24 for assaulting an Arab American woman in an emergency room on Feb. 10, Judge Mark Somers issued a bench warrant for failing to appear.
Police found Deliz the next day and he appeared before Judge Somers. According to Somers, Deliz hadn’t...
April 23rd, 20180NATIONAL HARBOR, MD — As the nation's communities become more diverse, so do the health needs of its women. The Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO)— which sets educational objectives for medical students across the nation and focuses on women's health— knows that all too well.
So, the APGO appointed...
February 27th, 20180Philadelphia — Nashihah Thompson-King, 16, played basketball for Mastery Charter School Shoemaker Campus all season long while wearing her hijab.
That’s why it came as a shock when, on Feb. 16, with one minute 45 seconds to go in a playoff game, the honors students was told by a female referee that she could not continue to play...
February 9th, 20180
HAMTRAMCK — When Saad Almasmari made history in Nov. 2015 by receiving the most votes in the Hamtramck City Council race— making it the first City Council with a Muslim-majority in the U.S— he pledged to ensure proportional representation and that the city would handle resources well enough to move on from emergency...
February 9th, 20180This gubernatorial election has a pool of Democratic candidates who represent a diverse range of backgrounds, including an Arab American, an African American and an Indian American. If any of them are elected, it would be first for the state.
The fourth and leading candidate, Gretchen Whitmer, would be the state's second woman...
