April 17th, 20260DEARBORN — In one of the largest public demonstrations in the city since the escalation of Israeli attacks on Lebanon in early March, hundreds of protesters gathered Friday evening, April 10, at Peace Park in west Dearborn to condemn the ongoing assault and what they described as continued attacks against Lebanese civilians despite...
April 10th, 20260NEW YORK – An immigration appeals board has denied Mahmoud Khalil’s latest bid to dismiss his deportation case, a largely expected ruling that brings the former Columbia University graduate student and Palestinian activist one step closer to re-arrest and possible expulsion.
The Board of Immigration Appeals issued the final order...
April 4th, 20260
By Edward Kissam
Wednesday’s Supreme Court case on birthright citizenship is, on its face, about the “inalienable” right of U.S.-born children to be U.S. citizens under the 14th Amendment, a right enshrined in the Constitution with roots extending back to early 17th Century English common law.
At its core, the case,...
April 4th, 20260The Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) strongly condemned the recent article published by the Detroit News and authored by George Hunter, which irresponsibly conflates constitutionally protected speech with criminal conduct and perpetuates harmful, stigmatizing narratives about the Arab and Muslim community in Metro Detroit.
This...
April 4th, 20260The American Human Rights Council (AHRC‑USA) expresses deep concern regarding the intent and the possible negative backlash of the recent Detroit News article written by George Hunter and published on March 25, 2026, titled “Temple Israel fuels debate about Hezbollah threat in Detroit area.”
The article’s framing, purpose and...
April 4th, 20261Barely had the ink dried on the inflammatory report by George Hunter, published in the Detroit News on Thursday, March 26 — a piece that deliberately vilified Arab and Muslim communities across Metro Detroit in the wake of the March 12 attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield — when the same newspaper resurfaced days later with...
February 27th, 20260Arab American attorney Shereef Akeel does not hide his enthusiasm for adding a new chapter to his distinguished career defending civil rights, the law and the Constitution — this time by running for a seat on the Board of Governors at Wayne State University in Detroit.
Akeel is competing for the Democratic Party nomination at its...
February 6th, 20260DETROIT — The Arab American community in Metro Detroit is mourning the loss of veteran community and political leader Ismael (Ish) Ahmed, who passed away at age 79 after a distinguished career spanning nearly five decades devoted to immigrant rights, social justice and ethnic communities across Michigan.
Funeral services were held...
January 9th, 20260
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Wednesday. The woman, a legal observer identified as Renee Nicole Good, was in her vehicle, apparently attempting to leave the scene. As she did so, an agent emerged, aimed his gun, and shot her in the...
December 26th, 20251As anti-Muslim rhetoric intensifies across the United States, particularly toward American Muslim communities led by the city of Dearborn, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard rode what critics describe as a wave of incitement this week, through a highly charged speech at the Americafest Conference, amplifying narratives that...
November 30th, 20250DEARBORN — Jake Lang, the far-right Islamophobe who traveled from Florida to Dearborn and attempted to burn a copy of the Holy Qur’an during an anti-Islam demonstration, has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Dearborn and its officials, claiming he was assaulted and that his constitutional rights were violated. He is...
October 31st, 20250You Have Your America, I Have My America: Lessons from Gibran and the Struggle for Democracy
A century ago, Khalil Gibran wrote a love poem to Lebanon, "You have your Lebanon, I have my Lebanon." He spoke of his affection for the Lebanese people’s generosity and hospitality and Lebanon’s beauty in contrast to its bickering...
September 19th, 20250Passing of a political pioneer
At the age of 85, veteran political and civil rights leader Mary Rose Oakar passed away on Saturday, September 13, in Cleveland, Ohio. In honor of her extraordinary public service, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine ordered flags lowered to half-staff at all state government buildings on the day of her funeral,...
July 27th, 20250LANSING — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is continuing to target student activists supporting Palestinian rights, despite mounting criticism in recent weeks, through what the TAHRIR Coalition — a broad coalition of student organizations at the University of Michigan — describes as an ongoing campaign of intimidation and...
June 13th, 20250By Sunita Sohrabji
In a powerful show of solidarity, leading Black and Latino civil rights organizations held a joint press conference June 11 to denounce what they called “authoritarian overreach” by the Trump administration.
Their remarks, delivered during a virtual press conference, expressed outrage over the deployment of...
June 6th, 20250DEARBORN – Under the theme “Fight for Justice” the Arab-American Civil Rights League (ACRL) held its 13th Annual Gala at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, drawing a large crowd that included public officials, civil rights activists and representatives from numerous communities across Metro Detroit,...
June 14th, 20240DEARBORN – On June 11, the Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) board elected Nabih H. Ayad, Esq. as the new chairman of the civil rights group.
Ayad, the founder of the ACRL, served as the chairman for the organization's first five years and now resumes this pivotal role. With more than 25 years of private practice at Ayad Law,...
September 2nd, 20220DEARBORN — An Arab American, Muslim woman from Northville has filed a discrimination complaint with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights Thursday against her former employer, Costco.
Wafa Aziz, 44, says she appealed with management at the Costco locations in Livonia were she worked, to address an environment of discriminatory...
May 27th, 20220FERNDALE — A Muslim woman who was forced to remove her hijab and subjected to a cross-gender search by the Ferndale Police Department has won a settlement with the city.
Last summer, Helana Bowe, who is African American, was stopped by Ferndale police while she was traveling on Eight Mile road inside the city of Detroit.
Police...
March 30th, 20220DEARBORN — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has agreed to create a Detroit-based U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) community relations position that will be dedicated to building trust and working with Michigan’s Arab and Muslim American communities, and other impacted communities.
The liaison position comes after...
February 11th, 20220DEARBORN — Mariam E. Charara has begun work as the Arab American Civil Rights League’s (ACRL) new executive director.
The ACRL is a non-profit organization, founded in 2011 in response to the overwhelming need in the Arab American community for advocacy and protection of civil rights and liberties.
The organization is based...
September 15th, 20212The Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) is asking the Ferndale Police Department to take action after its officers arrested a Muslim woman, subjected her to searches by male officers and coerced her to remove her hijab for a photo, violating her constitutional rights.
At a press conference on...
September 11th, 20210Twenty 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,...
April 26th, 20210WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has released a report detailing nationwide incidents of civil rights complaints by Muslim Americans that the group received over the past year.
The 2021 report is named Resilience in the Face of Hate.
The country’s “largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy...
February 20th, 20190FALLS CHURCH, VA — The federal government shares its terrorist watch list with over 1,400 different private groups, a report from the Associated Press said on Tuesday.
According to the AP, Timothy Groh, the deputy director of the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), said in a written statement that 1,441 companies total can...
September 14th, 20180FARMINGTON HILLS — On Thursday, Sept. 13, the Michigan Chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) announced the filing of a Michigan Department of Civil Rights complaint against USA Boxing in support of 18-year-old Michigan boxer Basheer Abdur, a Muslim who was barred from competition because of the beard he believes he...
September 12th, 20180DEARBORN — Famed Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi, held at an Israeli jail at 16 for slapping an Israeli officer, will be the keynote speaker at the Arab American Civil Rights League's (ACRL) seventh annual Fight for Justice Gala on October 11 at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center.
If Tamimi, who had previously been...
July 21st, 20180
Israel passed a law on Thursday declaring that only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country, something members of the Arab minority called racist and verging on apartheid.
The “nation-state” law, backed by the right-wing government, passed by a vote of 62-55 and two abstentions in the 120-member...
