COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY
After COVID halted its activities, senior program returns to Dearborn mosque
August 31st, 20210 DEARBORN — After a pause on activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a program for seniors is resuming its activities every Tuesday, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., at the Islamic Center of America (ICA) in Dearborn. The program provides social and educational activities at ICA to the area’s seniors, though the program is open to all,...
Women-owned “Arab relationship” app celebrates heritage, teases stereotypes
August 28th, 20210 Over the summer, many in Dearborn may have noticed a billboard for an Arab relationship app. Baklava entered the online dating market with the goals of providing a familiar and relatable platform for young Arabs who want to connect with each other and build relationships and friendships, locally and across the world. In the U.S., the...
Tlaib, Dingell ask for extension of stay for Lebanese nationals in U.S. during dire crisis
August 27th, 20211 A letter co-led by U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) is urging the Biden administration to allow Lebanese nationals an extension of their stay in the U.S. during Lebanon's dire economic crisis, by designating Lebanon for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. Support for the letter is growing in the...
Dingell calls for FBI, DHS to audit No-Fly list
August 23rd, 20211 DEARBORN — U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) has sent a letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, calling for a complete and thorough audit of the No-Fly and Selectee Lists to ensure innocent American citizens have not been...
Public health expert answers questions about COVID variants, boosters, back-to-school
August 21st, 20210 DEARBORN — The federal government is preparing to deliver "booster" shots of COVID-19 vaccines to Americans by mid-September, recommending that immunocompromised people take a booster even sooner. Health officials have acknowledged that protection from vaccines wanes, or diminishes over time, though they still remain highly...
Judge denies Michigan corrections director’s motion to dismiss hijab lawsuit against her
August 20th, 20210 LANSING — A federal judge has denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) Director Heidi Washington, who was sued by a group of Muslim women after being forced to remove their hijabs for public identification photos. The motion to dismiss the case, denied by Judge Paul Borman of the...
Dearborn Heights resident accuses Council chairwoman’s fiancé, attorney of threatening him; Councilman walks out of meeting
August 14th, 20210 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — During a nearly four-hour long City Council meeting on Tuesday night, tensions flared and after several disturbances, one resident filed a police report. The tensions began when Mayor Bill Bazzi mentioned that he had requested a closed session to discuss a few items, which were continually denied by Council...
Dearborn man loses more than 100 lbs in the last year
August 14th, 20210 DEARBORN — After having COVID-19 last year, Dearborn native Sam Ali and his family feared for his life and that fear led Ali to make some very big life changes. The 43-year-old Ali said that he has tried many different diets and workout plans before, but none of them were successful. Ali had tested positive for COVID-19 on July...
Amid public backlash, Esthi Queen Beauty Spa granted land use variance after special ZBA meeting to reconsider
August 6th, 20210 HAMTRAMCK — On Monday, following growing publicity and several protests, members of the Zoning Board of Appeals convened and unanimously voted to approve a use variance zoning clearance for Esthi Queen Healing Spa to continue operating. This about-face decision overturned the ZBA’s original vote to deny the zoning request made...
Black-owned Hamtramck spa owner alleges racial discrimination after denial of zoning clearance request
July 23rd, 20210 HAMTRAMCK— After only two months in operation, Esthi Queen Healing Spa, one of the city’s few Black-owned businesses, is facing a threat from the city to shut down after being denied a special land use zoning request in a decision the owner, Tiara Boyd, strongly believed was racially motivated. “I’m hurt about this,” Boyd...
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, 20211 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......
