COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY
Sectarian violence in Lebanon awaken bitter memories of Civil War in local community
October 22nd, 20210 The subject of decades-old sectarian strife has been rekindled in Lebanon, following a deadly shooting of protesters last Thursday. The leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces (LF) dismissed accusations by Hezbollah that it has a militia and seeks civil war as the fallout of deadly violence, in which seven Shi’a Lebanese were shot...
What Michigan’s Yemeni community can teach Democrats
October 22nd, 20210 — This article by Abdul El-Sayed originally appeared in the newsletter The Incision. It has been edited for style. Subscribe to The Incision here: incision.substack.com About a month after my 2018 Michigan gubernatorial campaign ended, I sat among Yemeni American community leaders in the enclave of South Dearborn. With large,...
In redistricting, minority communities have a chance to demand fair representation and resources
October 16th, 20210 – Dr. Hayg Oshagan is a professor at Wayne State University, co-chair of the Detroit City Council Immigration Task Force and the director of New Michigan Media We are entering the final phase of the redistricting process in Michigan. As you know, Michigan voters passed a law in 2018 that redistricting in our state would be done by...
Redistricting: Latest draft State House maps “dilute” Arab vote, but community represented in State Senate and Congress
October 15th, 20210 DEARBORN — A fresh set of draft maps for the State House, Senate and federal Congressional districts published by the state’s citizen-led Redistricting Commission have been available for public consideration for the past few weeks. Those draft maps currently in front of the 13-member Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting...
Arab Muslim woman sues Walmart for discrimination
October 15th, 20210 DEARBORN — An Arab Muslim woman is suing Walmart for discriminatory treatment at the hands of fellow employees while she was working. Seenaa Suhail Najim, an Arab American, Iraqi refugee, fled her home country in 2015 due to the violence imposed by ISIS. When Najim fled Iraq, she was forced to leave her two teenage daughters...
U.N. ends Yemen war crimes probe opposed by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Russia
October 8th, 20210 GENEVA — Bahrain, Russia and other members of the U.N. Human Rights Council pushed through a vote on Thursday to shut down the body's war crimes investigations in Yemen, in a stinging defeat for Western states that sought to keep the mission going. Members narrowly voted to reject a resolution led by the Netherlands to give the...
Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud makes history as first Arab American woman before the Supreme Court
October 4th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud made history on Tuesday as the first Arab American Muslim woman to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court. She argued on behalf of the state in the case Brown v. Davenport. The case was one of the first the Supreme Court heard in its October term, now that the justices have...
Detroit NAACP to honor ACCESS’s Hassan Jaber with lifetime achievement award at annual dinner
October 2nd, 20210 DETROIT — The Detroit Branch of the NAACP will honor outgoing ACCESS president and CEO Hassan Jaber with a lifetime achievement award this Sunday, Oct. 3 at the TCF Center in Detroit. The local branch of one of the country’s largest historic civil rights organizations announced that Jaber was named the James Weldon Johnson...
D.C. trade expo highlights halal products’ association with healthy living
October 2nd, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The fourth annual Halal Expo and Summit is due to kick off in late October in the Washington, D.C. area. The trade expo features exhibitors from companies all over the world, cooking demonstrations and a fashion show. The dynamic exhibition space has been redesigned to facilitate networking and commerce...
Chaldean Community Foundation breaks ground on $25M affordable housing development in Sterling Heights
October 1st, 20210 STERLING HEIGHTS – The Chaldean Community Foundation officially broke ground on Friday on a $25 million affordable housing development project on a 3-acre lot in Sterling Heights. According to a press release, over the next 18-months, a four-story, mixed-use affordable housing complex with 135 apartment units and 9,000 square feet...
CommuniTEA in Arabic, an inspiring, community-focused podcast, features stories of successful Arabs in North America.
October 1st, 20210 CommuniTEA in Arabic sponsored by Lipton Yellow Label is a podcast series highlighting the stories of successful Immigrants and first-generation Arabs within the Arabic communities in the U.S. and Canada. The show's vision is to uplift and connect its audience and provide a platform to showcase that the positive efforts of others can...
ACCESS to host Arab Health Summit
September 28th, 20210 DEARBORN — ACCESS will be hosting the ninth annual Arab Health Summit, “Advancing Health Equity for Women", virtually from Oct. 19 through Oct. 21. The conference is centered around discussions on health rights, public health research, community engagement and more, with speakers and attendees representing the United States and...
Arab women have staked out college paths for themselves, as education became essential to community identity
September 27th, 20210 — This article was written with generous support from the Education Writers Association's Reporting Fellows program There is little doubt that the Arab American community in Metro Detroit has made great headway in gaining political and economic security as it grows and evolves. Much of this momentum can be attributed to a culture...
Years after 9/11 and Pulse, Arab Americans in Metro Detroit continue to challenge stereotypes
September 23rd, 20210 This article also appears in Metro Times Detroit through a partnership with the Race and Justice Reporting Initiative and the Detroit Equity Action Lab at the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights. It has been edited for style. DEARBORN — Dave Serio, a third-generation Sicilian Lebanese American, came to better understand his Arab...
13 Michigan schools named 2021 National Blue Ribbon Schools, two in Dearborn
September 21st, 20210 DEARBORN — U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has recognized 325 schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2021, 13 in Michigan and two in Dearborn. The recognition is based on a school’s overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. The schools honored in Dearborn are......
Inkster gets $1 million grant to enhance Internet service for all residents
September 17th, 20210 INKSTER — Flagstar Bank is partnering with other organizations in making a $1 million contribution to enhance Internet service throughout the city. The bank, along with the foundation headed by former Detroit Pistons player Chauncey Billups and several other partner organizations, announced the project. Flagstar’s contribution...
Outrage, frustration from community after student Abdulmalek Alsanabani tortured and killed in Yemen
September 16th, 20210 DEARBORN — The tragic kidnapping, torture and murder in Yemen of Abdulmalek Alsanabani, a Yemeni student who resided in California, sparked outrage and protests in the U.S. and Yemen this week. Alsanabani was a 25-year-old living in Fresno, California and had decided to take an often dangerous journey across the south of Yemen to...
Woman arrested after assaulting Muslim woman on flight to Detroit on Sept. 11
September 13th, 20210 WAYNE COUNTY — On Saturday, Sept. 11, the Wayne County Sheriff's Department arrested a White woman who assaulted a Muslim African American woman on a flight from Atlanta to Detroit. Aicha Toure, who is visibly Muslim due to her headscarf, was traveling on a Spirit Airlines flight from Atlanta to Detroit when a White woman whom she...
The “9/11 effect”: 20 years of evolving U.S. policy targeted an entire population
September 11th, 20210 Twenty years later, the Muslim community in the U.S. and abroad is reflecting on the legacy of U.S. response to the events of Sept. 11, 2001. The tragedy and trauma of the surreal attacks of that day are coupled with two decades of domestic and foreign policy that deeply changed the relationship between the U.S. government,......
Cheryl Hawkins seeks a seat on the Charter Revision Commission
September 11th, 20210 DEARBORN — Cheryl Hawkins, a resident for more than 35 years and a mother of two, is looking to earn a seat on the Charter Revision Commission. With bachelor's and master’s degrees in occupational therapy and a PhD in education, Hawkins considers herself a life-long learner. Hawkins recently retired from Schoolcraft College...
See original Arabic calligraphy and an artist talk at Farmington Hills City Hall
September 10th, 20210 FARMINGTON HILLS — A unique exhibit celebrating the tradition of Arabic and Islamic calligraphy can be seen at the Farmington Hills City Hall, supported by the city’s Public Art Program. A solo exhibit by Palestinian American and Farmington Hills resident Dr. Nihad Dukhan has been on display at the building and those interested......
Muslim Americans 20 years later
September 10th, 20210 — This article by Abdul El-Sayed originally appeared in the newsletter The Incision. It has been edited for style. Subscribe to The Incision here: incision.substack.com Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives on that fateful day. We...
All-female Afghan robotics team evacuated to Qatar, receives scholarships to continue education
September 8th, 20210 DOHA — Amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, an all-female Afghan robotics team were evacuated to Qatar and will continue their education uninterrupted. The girls’ education will be supported through scholarships from the Qatar Foundation (QF) and Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD). The team will study at the Qatar......
