Art & Culture
Art & Culture
Miss Michigan World 2019 unapologetic after being stripped of title for racial and religiously charged comments
July 27th, 20190 Kathy Zhu, crowned Miss Michigan in 2019 by the Miss World America organization, was recently stripped of her title for social media posts deemed “offensive, insensitive and inappropriate” by the pageant’s state director, Laurie DeJack. Her remarks on Twitter targeted Muslims and African Americans. When the remarks came to...
Yemeni American high school soccer player earns scholarship to Division I Butler University
July 13th, 20190 DEARBORN — Edsel Ford High School senior Hammam Nasser is on his way to play soccer for the NCAA Division I Butler University in Indianapolis. Nasser, 17, who earned a scholarship to Butler, is the son of Mohamed Nasser, founder of the Michigan Yemen Sports Association (MYSA), who also organized many tournaments and programs for...
Muslims and Arabs in Hollywood: A century of vilifying a religion and culture
July 5th, 20191 It's been a long road to respect, equal rights, and fair, accurate representation for Arab American and Middle Eastern actors. And as late author Jack Shaheen's famous 2006 documentary "Reel Bad Arabs" demonstrated, Hollywood's culture has stacked the deck so strongly against Arab actors that oftentimes the situation seems...
2019’s best and worst places for Fourth of July celebrations
July 3rd, 20190 With the Fourth of July just days away, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2019's Best & Worst Places for 4th of July Celebrations on Tuesday, as well as accompanying videos to go along with interesting stats about the holiday in its 4th of July Facts & Figures infographic. To determine the best...
Muslim women changing American scenes with a clothing line at Macy’s
June 30th, 20190 DEARBORN— Designer and Muslim convert Lisa Vogl, who launched her Verona Collection in February 2015, brought it to Macy's at Fairlane Mall in Dearborn this past spring. Vogl and Verona Collection Co-Designer and Co-Director Alaa Ammuss launched the brand out Vogl’s apartment. “We launched our brand to help make modest...
Let’s talk about the new “Bollywood” Aladdin
June 13th, 20190 A remake of Disney’s Aladdin movie has remedied a lot of its cultural mistakes from the 1992 animated musical film, but what’s with the Bollywood features that were supposed to be symbolic of a fictional Arab country called “Agraba?” From the characters' clothes, to the dance moves that are typical of Bollywood’s dancing...
Ramadan Suhoor Festival promotes unity and diversity among Muslims
June 10th, 20190 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Community members and many attendees from other towns celebrated the farewell weekend of the Ramadan Suhoor Festival, making its second appearance at the Hype Center on West Warren Avenue. Starting out as a pop-up festival, the Ramadan Suhoor Festival morphed into four weekends of food, celebration and unity...
Bab El Hara Ramadan festival proves to be a satisfying success
May 24th, 20190 DEARBORN – Ali Hachem, owner of Dearborn’s Cheat Treats and purveyor of guilt-free, protein-rich baked goods, is proud of the city of Dearborn and its residents for organizing around this year’s Ramadan festivities. Hachem, a self-trained baker, organized a successful Ramadan festival of his own this year, in front of his...
From Peddling to Prophecy: Arab American journalism history told in a photo exhibition
April 26th, 20190 DETROIT – On Friday, April 12, the Lebanese Consulate in Detroit hosted an exhibition featuring journalists' works entitled "From Peddling to Prophecy.” It was organized by U.N. journalist Samar Nader in collaboration with the two universities in Lebanon — The Holy Spirit and the Lady of Luiza. The exhibition was held at the...
Ramy Youssef creates conversations with Muslim, Arab comedy on Hulu
April 26th, 20190 BIRMINGHAM — Ramy Youssef, Egyptian American writer and actor, joined comedian David Merheje for an interview with the AANews on Tuesday April 23. 28-year-old Youssef created the new, self-titled Hulu comedy series “Ramy”, which was released on Friday April 19. He said using his name and face for the character makes the...
HYPE Athletics honors students at 18th annual gala
April 18th, 20190 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — HYPE Athletics, which is committed to physical activity and education of individuals, families and communities, honored two high school students at its 18th annual gala, “The Village That Raised a Child”, on April 12. Nicholas Tafelski of Dearborn High School and Susan Haidar of Crestwood High School each...
Jordanian American author and immigrant writes murder mystery novel
April 12th, 20190 ROCKVILLE, MD — “They Called Me Wyatt”, coming out in June from California Coldblood Books, is a murder mystery set in Jordan and the United States that deals with issues of immigration, race and the need for belonging in a new land. “I originally wrote it as a short story," said author and journalist Natasha Tynes. "I shared...
Palestinian American’s debut novel on three generations of Arab women honored by New York Times, Washington Post
April 12th, 20190 While stories of Palestinians and Palestinian Americans have largely been ignored in the mainstream media, “A Woman is No Man”, the debut novel from Palestinian American author Etaf Rum, has caught the eye of several major publications, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, since its March 5 release. Selected as...
Palestinian DJ Fatin plays for NYC’s immigrant community
April 5th, 20190 BROOKLYN, NY — Fatin Jarara, or DJ Fatin, is a Palestinian immigrant and a unique voice in the New York City DJ scene. Jarara recently DJ-ed on March 30 for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s Gaza 5k and dabke party at Prospect Park in Brooklyn. She said she normally focuses on private events such as weddings,...
Provocative Arab American movies take center stage at Freep Film Festival next week
April 5th, 20190 DETROIT — Arabs across the world and especially Arab Americans have long found themselves shackled by controversy, whether for practicing their religion or culture, or for simply living in lands where they are misunderstood or vilified. These life experiences have been challenging for those who have lived them, but they have also......
Lebanese Film Festival to be held in Dearborn
April 5th, 20190 DEARBORN – The Consulate General of Lebanon in Detroit announced the first annual Lebanese Film Festival, to be held on April 6 from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn. The festival is the first of its kind in Michigan and will display three films produced, directed and...
Famous kids’ show “Fozi Mozi & Tutti” comes to Dearborn
April 2nd, 20190 DEARBORN – The cast from YouTube’s famous kids’ show "Fozi Mozi & Tutti", an Arabic children's program, will visit Dearborn in April as part of their American tour. There are barely any Arab American programs for kids available. Fozi Mozi & Tutti are characters from an Arabic children’s channel known on YouTube for...
Dearborn and Arab American National Museum celebrate Arab American Heritage month
April 2nd, 20190 DEARBORN – The city of Dearborn, Dearborn Public Schools and other communities across the country have declared April as Arab American Heritage month. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) acknowledged the month in Congress in April 2017. Speaking on the House floor, she recognized the thriving Arab American community in her...
Influential Lebanese American “surf rock” pioneer leaves behind an enduring legacy
March 29th, 20190 Surf guitarist and music legend Dick Dale passed away on Saturday, March 16. Born Richard Anthony Mansour to a Lebanese father and Polish American mother, Dale was diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2008. He had been battling the disease while actively touring to pay for medical bills. Dale grew up in Boston. His family soon moved to......
Iraqi American author hopes to debunk stereotypes about arranged marriage
March 25th, 20190 SAN DIEGO, CA — For Huda Al-Marashi, an Iraqi American and Muslim author, wife and mother, the process of writing her memoir, “First Comes Marriage: My Not-So-Typical American Love Story”, took almost 10 years to finish. The book, which follows her story about her relationship with her husband of 22 years, was released last...
Lebanese illustrator challenges views of Arab women through art
March 9th, 20190 BEIRUT — Lebanese artist Christina Atik has produced a series of digital pictures to illustrate sentences commonly used in Arab countries to criticize women with the aim of empowering Arab women. The project tackles issues of female freedom, beauty and sexuality in societies traditionally dominated by men. Atik, 27, said she......
Egyptian-American actor Rami Malek wins best actor at 2019 Oscars
February 26th, 20190 The Arab American News By Farah Harb Rami Malek, a first generation American and son of Egyptian immigrants to the United States, has won an Academy Award for his lead role in Bohemian Rhapsody, a film about the life of Queen’s lead singer Freddie Mercury. On his way to the Oscar podium, Malek picked up similar wins at the...
Dearborn Heights poet uses writing to heal from trauma
February 22nd, 20190 DEARBORN HEIGHTS— Sara Raad, a Dearborn Heights native and daughter of Lebanese immigrants, said she writes poetry to heal from past trauma. She reads her poetry at local events and posts it on her Instagram blog which has more than 11,000 followers. “I used to just write little poems here and there,” she said, adding......
