COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY
Masked haj pilgrims on Mount Arafat pray for COVID-free world
July 22nd, 20210 MT. ARAFAT — Thousands of face-masked Muslims gathered on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat on Monday, praying for an end to the pandemic and faster vaccination as the annual haj pilgrimage reached its climax. Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, has barred worshippers from abroad for a second year running and...
AAPAC endorses Westland and Dearborn Heights candidates, Proposal A in Dearborn
July 17th, 20210 DEARBORN – On Tuesday, the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) announced endorsements for the local 2021 primary elections. Formed in 1998 by a group of Arab American professionals, AAPAC is a non-partisan political organization that encourages Arab American participation in the political process and encourages Arab...
ACC president writes to Biden urging support for Jordan’s King Abdullah
July 17th, 20210 TROY — Dr. Haifa Fakhouri, founder, CEO and president of the Arab American and Chaldean Council (ACC), wrote to President Biden on Thursday, urging "moral and financial support" for Jordan's King Abdullah II, on the occasion of his visit to the White House on July 19. "As Jordan being the United States' longest and strongest ally...
Whitmer requests disaster declaration to secure federal aid for flood victims
July 13th, 20210 LANSING — The state completed a crucial step in getting federal aid to Wayne County communities affected by recent flooding on Tuesday. Governor Whitmer requested that President Biden declare a major disaster for the state as a result of the heavy rainfall and flooding in late June. The request comes at the conclusion of an...
First person: Dearborn’s devastating flood exposes mistrust, deep divides
July 9th, 20210 Bilal Baydoun is a Michigan-based policy advisor and writer. He previously served as a lead policy and communications advisor in the Michigan Department of Attorney General. Ali Abazeed is a public health advisor with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services based in Washington D.C. The authors were born and raised in East...
14-year-old sentenced to juvenile detention in death of Uber Eats driver
July 7th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — A second teenage girl has been sentenced to juvenile detention, and will be released when she turns 21, for the tragic death of Pakistani American Mohammad Anwar in Washington D.C. Anwar, 66, was an Uber Eats delivery driver. He was killed in March when two teenagers attempted to carjack him. Anwar clung on to...
Biden administration extends Temporary Protected Status for Yemen
July 6th, 20210 The Biden Administration has extended and re-designated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Yemen into 2023. TPS allows individuals from nations experiencing war, natural disasters or extraordinary circumstances to live and work in the U.S. on a temporary basis. Yemen’s TPS status was set to expire on September 3. The extension...
Dearborn Artspace Lofts denies tenant help after flooding, threatens eviction
July 2nd, 20210 DEARBORN — Ever since his basement level apartment flooded last Friday night, Ramsey Turkmani, a tenant at Dearborn’s City Hall Artspace Lofts, has had no real help from his building’s management. In fact, after almost an entire weekend of pleading with them to remove the continued water seeping into the apartment he shares...
Frustrated Dearborn residents demand accountability from city government, quicker relief and long-term solution
July 2nd, 20210 DEARBORN — In the aftermath of severe flooding in Wayne County last weekend, residents are still picking up the pieces in frustration at the slow response and demanding accountability from local and national government officials and agencies. “We lost just about everything in the basement" — Samia Hamid, a local resident...
Yvonna Abraham appointed first Palestinian American judge in Wayne County Third Circuit Court
July 1st, 20210 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — On Thursday, Governor Whitmer announced the appointment of Yvonna C. Abraham to the Wayne County Third Circuit Court. Abraham is the first Palestinian American judge in the state of Michigan. Abraham currently serves as the magistrate and director of probation for the 20th District Court in Dearborn Heights. She...
Blue Hands United for Autism offering to replace damaged items for special needs children
July 1st, 20210 DEARBORN — Blue Hands United for Autism is looking to help replace toys and sensory items for families of special needs children impacted by the floods. The non-profit organization was founded in Dearborn in 2014 by Mona and Mariam Alaouie to help provide resources for families affected by Autism, but Mona Alaouie said that they...
ACC partnering with Dearborn Police Department, Byblos and Forgotten Harvest to help Dearborn flood victims
June 29th, 20210 DEARBORN — In response to the catastrophic flooding from this weekend, the Arab American and Chaldean Council (ACC) is partnering with other local entities to help flood victims. ACC, a non-profit organization founded in 1979 on the basis of providing services to the Middle Eastern and mainstream communities in Southeast Michigan,...
U.S. suspects 4,000 cases of fraud in Iraqi refugee program
June 25th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. authorities pursuing a sweeping fraud investigation suspect some 4,000 Iraqis of filing fraudulent applications for resettlement in the U.S. as refugees, and they are re-examining cases involving more than 104,000 others, according to State Department reports reviewed by Reuters. More than 500 Iraqis already...
Unemployment offices open to appointments June 30; scheduling now open
June 25th, 20210 LANSING — The Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) is now offering in-person unemployment insurance services by appointment only at 12 local unemployment offices, beginning June 30. Michiganders can now go online to start scheduling appointments. Each appointment slot is 15 minutes and may be scheduled up to a week in advance....
New digital banking platform promises halal certified banking, no-interest loans
June 24th, 20210 A new banking system offers its customer the first halal banking experience in the U.S., by promising no-interest lending and ethical investments. Fair is a "neobank", or digital bank, that practices principles in line with Islamic law, which forbids usury, or collecting interest on loans. Fair's customers can conduct business through......
Bay Area Yemeni community wins recognition of its needs in the school district
June 23rd, 20210 CALIFORNIA — The Bay Area’s growing Yemeni community has made strong headways recently, by organizing an effort to secure much needed representation for Yemenis, Arabs and Muslims in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). Local Yemeni groups, parents and allied organizations and officials worked towards bringing more...
Taylor City Council candidate responds to criticism over anti-Arab comments
June 19th, 20213 TAYLOR — Following the “Free Palestine” protests in Dearborn last month, one Taylor City Council candidate took to social media to share his views. The protests were in response to the Israeli attacks on Palestine that killed 256 Palestinians, including 66 children, and injured 1,900. Sam Ditzhazy, a resident of Taylor since...
Local Iraqi American Noor Alesawy named Nu Rho Psi National Outstanding Neuroscience Student of the Year
June 18th, 20210 DETROIT — At 20-years-old, Noor Alesawy is already a rising star in the field of neuroscience study in the U.S. and receiving praise back home in Iraq as a symbol of national pride. Alesawy is an undergraduate student who recently transferred from Wayne State University to the University of Michigan in pursuit of dual bachelor's...
Palestinian American from Ohio imprisoned by Israeli court for activism
June 18th, 20210 YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A 75-year-old Palestinian American from Ohio has been imprisoned by Israeli authorities for activism. Jamal Nisser, a retired Palestinian American businessman from Youngstown, Ohio, has been sentenced to four months in prison by an Israeli court on charges of political activism, The Palestine Chronicle......
11-year-old author Zaynab Shebley launches first book, inspired by Lebanon visit
June 14th, 20210 ILLINOIS — Zaynab Shebley, an 11-year-old Lebanese American author, is launching her first published book, The Princess Hero. The children's book is inspired by Shebley's love for the environment and for influencing children to make a positive difference in the world one step at a time. Shebley's book was inspired by her first...
Owner of local coffeehouse apologizes for past derogatory comments about Shi’as
June 11th, 20211 DEARBORN — The owner of a popular new cafe, Haraz Coffee, has sparked outrage for previous derogatory comments he made against Shi'a Muslims over social media. An Instagram profile named HAR*Z COFFEE posted screenshots Thursday of past posts made by Hamzah Nasser disparaging Shia's, who are a large segment of Metro Detroit’s......
Detroit pizzeria Pie-Sci hosts Palestinian Youth Movement specialty pizza fundraiser
June 11th, 20210 DETROIT- Pie-Sci, a popular pizzeria near Wayne State University, has collaborated with Palestinian activists to create a delicious new pizza special for the week, the “Musak It To Me.” Pie-Sci also collaborated with renowned Detroit pastry chef Lena Sereini for the special. On Wednesday afternoon, Pie-Sci hosted a "Pizza and...
U.S. Supreme Court to hear case involving FBI’s spying on California mosques
June 11th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to look at a decade-long class-action case involving the FBI’s use of an informant to spy on several LA and Orange County mosques, the Courthouse News reported Tuesday. For more than a year, the FBI planted an informant in the mosques and instructed him to coerce and gather......
