The Arab American News back issues from February 2007:
Stop the Iran war before it starts!
Feb 03, 2007; ... The issue is Iran. While President Bush, a Republican, remains Commander in Chief, a Democrat-controlled Congress shares responsibility on war and peace from this point on. The conflict in Iraq, although ongoing, is a product of the Republican-controlled past. The looming conflict with Iran, ...
Ban the deadly cluster bomb
Feb 03, 2007; ... The American Task Force for Lebanon has begun a campaign to ban the deadly cluster bomb. The campaign has been endorsed by consumer advocate Ralph Nader. The Arab American News wholly supports this campaign. After returning from a ten-day fact-finding trip to Lebanon, ATFL Executive ...
Will the Lebanese come to a compromise?
Feb 03, 2007; ... Last week in Lebanon street battles between the opposition and government groups left six people dead and many more injured. Two months ago the opposition started an open-ended strike in the capital and the suburbs. The strikers ask for increased representation in the Cabinet and call for ...
Inching toward a Palestinian civil war
Feb 03, 2007; ... The most recent fighting in the Gaza Strip, which has left many people dead, confirms that the internal strife plaguing the Occupied Territories since the ascent of Hamas to power in January 2006 is not entirely the outcome of outside meddling in Palestinian affairs. It is, for the most part, a ...
Concern raised about hunger strikers
Feb 03, 2007; ... On January 23, over 65 Canadian doctors and other health professionals and organizations sent an open letter to Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, expressing concern about the fact that no one is "medically monitoring the vital signs and general health status of the hunger strikers" at ...
Rare exhibit of real bodies on display
Feb 03, 2007; ... DETROIT - An eye-opening educational exhibition comprised of actual human bodies and organs made its Midwest debut at the Detroit Science Center January 13, 2007 and will appear there until May 28, 2007. Our Body: The Universe Within, will include approximately 20 bodies and 135 other anatomical ...
New web resource on race in time for Black History Month
Feb 03, 2007; ... In time for Black History Month, the American Anthropological Association (AAA) offers children and parents, students and teachers, researchers and many others a new Web resource for exploring African-American history and the history of race in the United ...
In nation's capital, thousands protest war
Feb 03, 2007; ... Just days after President Bush asked the nation to give his new Iraq plan a chance, hundreds of thousands of anti-war protestors descended on the nation's capital. President Bush's annual State of the Union speech did little to dissuade opponents of the war from coming to Washington DC for the ...
'Ex-terrorists' bring their show to Ann Arbor
Feb 03, 2007; ... (ProQuest-CSA LLC: ... denotes text stops here in original.) ANN ARBOR - On January 30, three Christian speakers took the stage in University of Michigan Ann Arbor's Rackham auditorium at 7 p.m. to condemn Islamic fundamentalism and proclaim support for Israel. What set them apart from ...
Experts question credibility of speakers
Feb 03, 2007; ... Shoebat - the names aren't real, which he justifies on the grounds of his and his family's safety. But that is only the tip of the iceberg, as far as his critics are concerned. "No way they're real," SAFE board member Salhi said in her email. "The translations were bad, the accents ...
Arab woman receives First Freedom Award
Feb 03, 2007; ... University of Richmond Law School Professor Azizah Y. al-Hibri was recently awarded the 2007 "First Freedom Award" by the Council for America's First Freedom. Professor al-Hibri was one of four distinguished advocates of religious freedom to receive First Freedom Awards at a dinner held on ...
Interfaith leaders applaud termination of 'LA 8' case
Feb 03, 2007; ... LOS ANGELES - A prominent group of interfaith leaders this week applauded the decision of Judge Bruce Einhorn to terminate deportation proceedings against two members of a group known as the "LA 8" two decades after they were targeted for having distributed magazines and raised humanitarian aid ...
Lebanese judges recognized for service
Feb 03, 2007; ... FARMINGTON HILLS Eight Detroit-area judges of Lebanese descent were honored this week by the Lebanese American Chamber of Commerce. The event featured several high-profile speakers and performances by a choir from North Farmington High School, the Northern Lights. A lifetime ...
Guido honored by sister cities program
Feb 03, 2007; ... WASHINGTON - To honor a mayor who built friendship ties with the Middle East in the name of peace and understanding, Sister Cities International announced this week that its Distinguished Leadership Award will be known as the Sister Cities International Michael A. Guido Distinguished Leadership ...
Diwan forum announces 2007 schedule
Feb 03, 2007; ... Last year's DIWAN Forum for the Arts was one of the best conferences I've ever been to. Leading Arab-American artists and writers gathered at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan to present their work, converse and network. It was an amazingly energetic and refreshing ...
Mayoral candidates meet to discuss the issues
Feb 03, 2007; ... DEARBORN - Dearborn citizens gathered at the City Council Chambers in Dearborn City Hall on January 31 for a Mayoral Candidate Forum hosted by the League of Women Voters, Dearborn-Dearborn Heights. The event, which was open to the public, allowed the eleven candidates running for mayor ...
Syrian club celebrates ninth annual banquet
Feb 03, 2007; ... ROCHESTER - Members of the American Syrian Arab Cultural Association (ASACA) met in Rochester last Saturday to raise funds, announce initiatives and have fun. ASACA's ninth annual banquet was held at the Royal Park hotel, where singer Usama Buulbaki performed and the group's president ...
Davenport to close Dearborn location
Feb 03, 2007; ... Davenport University announces changes to better serve area students. Plans include new location. Warren improvements, closing Dearborn. DEARBORN - To belter serve more students in southeast Michigan, Davenport University will be opening a new locution in the area while continuing to ...
Son testifies his father confessed to killing
Feb 03, 2007; ... DEARBORN - Hussein El-Astal, the son of Mohammed El-Astal, a Dearborn artist accused of murdering his son-in-law in 2001, testified in 19th District Court Friday that his father told him he had killed Walid Alyoussef. Mohammed El-Astal, 68, was arrested on January 22 after he was seen ...
Parents' rights group supports father in fight for visitation rights
Feb 03, 2007; ... DEARBORN - A local parents' rights group has pledged its support for a Jordanian American who filed a federal lawsuit in January against the Michigan Department of Human Services. The lawsuit, filed by Abraham Ben-Abbad, alleges that the Department of Human Services has denied him the ...
Founder of Islamic cemetery in Michigan dies
Feb 03, 2007; ... DEARBORN - Robert Berry, founder of the first Islamic cemetery in Michigan, died here this week at the age of 58. Berry was born in the Southend of Dearborn. At age two his family moved to Lebanon where he resided until age five. Upon his return to Dearborn at age five, unable to speak ...
The Arab World in Muskegon!
Feb 10, 2007; ... MUSKEGON - Muskegon Community College is hosting a Global Awareness Festival on campus from February 12-16, 2007. The focus is on the Arab World. Events spanning the entire week include an international film series, international cuisine on campus and a collection of artifacts from the community ...
War against Iran makes no sense
Feb 10, 2007; ... The relationship between Iran and the United States is one of peculiar temperament: intense hut accommodating at times, barefaced and seemingly sell-destructive at others. Currently, the latter estimation rings truer: the U.S. naval military build-up in the eastern Mediterranean and the ...
There's unanimous opposition to a U.S. attack on Iran
Feb 10, 2007; ... CAIRO - As the level of tension rises between the U.S. and Iran, I am very concerned that the Bush administration is trying to paint a scenario of the probable consequences of a possible U.S. military action against Iran that is far rosier than the situation warrants. One key example: ...
There is no new anti-Semitism
Feb 10, 2007; ... The "New York Times" reported on January 31 about the most recent attempt by the American Jewish community to conflate intense criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. In a neat little example of slippery slope, the report on "Progressive Jewish Thought and the New Anti-Semitism" written ...
Glenn Beck: Catalyst for anti-Semitism
Feb 10, 2007; ... Last year, Keith Ellison became the first American Muslim to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. It is an historic, noteworthy accomplishment, reflective of the diversity in America and the effective integration of Muslims into our nation. But when CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck ...
Al-Arian goes on hunger strike
Feb 10, 2007; ... Dr. Sami Al-Arian, the former Florida professor the government accused of being a terrorist, remains imprisoned by the U.S. government despite their failure to convict him of terrorist ties to Palestinian militants. Instead of freeing him, the government is keeping him holed up to testify in ...
Senators still have questions about Arar
Feb 10, 2007; ... On February 1, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales arranged a briefing for ranking Democratic and Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy and Arlen Spector, about the Maher Arar case. The fact that both men were given the briefing under conditions of secrecy - both have ...
Immigrant entrepreneurs fuel urban growth
Feb 10, 2007; ... The Center for an Urban Future, a New York City-based think tank, this week released a major new study revealing that immigrant entrepreneurs have become increasingly powerful economic engines for cities. The report, titled "A World of Opportunity: Understanding & Tapping the Economic ...
Detroiter uncovers new find in Egypt
Feb 10, 2007; ... A few days ago an unusual discovery was made in Egypt. A team from the Brooklyn Museum excavating in the precinct of the goddess Mut at Karnak in Luxor found a rare and important example of ancient Egyptian art. In a routine clearance of one of the walls of the precinct a single block of ...
Leader in Muslim non-profits shares essential information
Feb 10, 2007; ... SOUTHFIELD - The tragedy and resulting tempest of Sept.11, 2001 forever changed the global scope and mechanics of nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and around the world. In the aftermath of this tragedy, the nonprofit world changed forever and all nonprofits found themselves the focus of ...
Little drummer baby has huge future ahead
Feb 10, 2007; ... BLOOMFIELD TWSP - Julian Pavone is a Detroit-area drummer who has accomplished more than most musicians do in a lifetime. And he was born in 2004. Julian has performed around the country and has appeared on Good Morning America, the Martha Stewart Show and various local TV news ...
Success hasn't made him forget heritage
Feb 10, 2007; ... Assad Jebara is a community activist and donor who has received awards from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Network of Arab American Professionals of New York (NAAP) and ... JCPenny. President and CEO of a national supplier of women's and girls' clothing, Jebara ...
Lowrey School wins national award
Feb 10, 2007; ... DEARBORN - The National Association of State Title I Directors (NASTID) has selected Lowrey Elementary School as a Distinguished Title I School. The official announcement came during the NASTID Conference held at the end of January. Lowrey is one of two schools in the state that was recognized ...
Macomb group begins cultural exchange
Feb 10, 2007; ... A group of Macomb County residents curious about Muslims and Islam met in a Mt. Clemens church on Monday for the first of a series of cultural learning sessions organized by the Interfaith Center for Racial Justice (ICRJ). The group, about 50 people made up of mostly senior citizens, was ...
Village Ford celebrates 25th anniversary
Feb 10, 2007; ... DEARBORN - West Dearborn Ford dealership Village Ford recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. The dealership, with a franchise history that dates back to 1910, became Village Ford in January, 1982, after being bought by James Seavitt. Village Ford has become one of the most successful ...
Mayoral election: Voters can get absentee ballots through Feb. 24
Feb 10, 2007; ... DEARBORN - If the recent bout of bone-chilling cold sticks around for the rest of the month, some Dearborn voters might think twice about trying to get to the polls on election day to cast their ballots in the Feb. 27 mayoral election. But Dearborn voters should remember that there is ...
Learn a foreign language with Air France!
Feb 10, 2007; ... NEW YORK - Starting in April, Air France passengers traveling on Boeing 777-300s will be able to take language lessons on their individual screens. There are no less than 23 languages available at beginners level, these being English, French, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese, ...
Feel Palestine in your heart and soul
Feb 17, 2007; ... Feel Palestine in your heart and soul When you read "The Scar of David," you know why God put author Susan Abulhawa on this planet. In a chaotic world where Orwellian doublespeak has overtaken governments and the media, it becomes more and more difficult to clearly enunciate the case for ...
Who will secure Iraq for us?
Feb 17, 2007; ... As more U.S. troops arrive in Iraq to help quell the violence, a key question which must be answered is: If and when these forces ever stabilize the country and restore a semblance of law and order, to whom are they supposed to hand over security? If the answer is the current Iraqi ...
Israel, recognize unity government
Feb 17, 2007; ... The Israeli government can and should recognize the Palestinian unity government. Can recognize - because in his letter of appointment, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas calls on Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh "to honor the legitimate Arab and international resolutions and to honor the ...
Palestinians will honor their word
Feb 17, 2007; ... I know of no way to measure suffering, no mechanism to quantify pain. All I know is that we Palestinians are not children of a lesser God. Had I been a Jew or a Gypsy, I would consider the Holocaust to be the most atrocious event in history. Had I been a Native American, it would be the ...
Saudi brokering of accord is important
Feb 17, 2007; ... The Mecca Agreement, signed between rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah on February 8 under the auspices of the Saudi leadership, was welcomed by thousands of cheering Palestinians throughout the Occupied Territories, and seen as the closing of a bloody and tumultuous chapter in their ...
Palestinians surrender to religious fanaticism
Feb 17, 2007; ... The Palestinians will never be able to achieve national independence and statehood until they can first define themselves and speak as one voice. But if that voice is one of religious extremism, the Palestinian national identity will be subsumed by the more demanding and less tolerant ...
Evidence of Iranian hand in Iraq
Feb 17, 2007; ... NAJAF (IPS) - New evidence is emerging on the ground of an Iranian hand in growing violence within Iraq. As the United States heads for a confrontation with Iran over allegations of Iranian involvement in bombings, the massacre in Najaf last month indicates that Iran could be working ...
Is Bush cooking the intelligence on Iran?
Feb 17, 2007; ... Increasingly, the war in Iraq has gone from a "war against tyranny" to a war against reality. Rather than admit any mistakes and try to change course - as the 2006 congressional election clearly showed is what the American public desired - Bush instead opted tor more ...
UN Council okays probe into Lebanon bus bombings
Feb 17, 2007; ... UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council approved on Thursday a probe into two recent bus bombings in Lebanon to be conducted by the U.N. commission investigating the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora had requested assistance from ...
Using the Salvador Option in Beirut
Feb 17, 2007; ... "The only prospect that holds hope tor us is the carving up of Syria ... It is our task to prepare for that prospect. All else is a purposeless waste of time." Zionist militant Zeév Jabotinsky, From "We and Turkey," in "Di Tribune," November 30, 1915 "We should prepare to go over to the ...
Muslims address contentious code in Quebec
Feb 17, 2007; ... Canadians have had the prejudice that rednecks hold sway in Alberta. That will now have to change. The village of Hérouxville, 1300 strong, is now hands-down champion of red-neckery. It is a community that is overwhelmingly white, Catholic, native-born, and French-speaking. Its mayor and council ...
Palestinian mural in San Francisco at center of battle
Feb 17, 2007; ... A mural project started by Palestinian students at the San Francisco State University has run into a serious obstacle. The university President, Robert A. Corrigan, unilaterally rejected the project despite support from student government and other administrators. The mural, which was going to ...
Borat movie makes funny with much cultural learnings
Feb 17, 2007; ... Borat movie makes funny with much cultural learnings "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," is the dirtiest, racist, most ridiculous and most offensive movie in recent years, perhaps of all time. That's why anyone reading this needs to go ...
'Son of a Refugee' to be released
Feb 17, 2007; ... Arab fans of hip-hop have something new to be excited about. Patriarch, a rapper of Palestinian descent from California's Bay Area with the anger, passion, and guts to legitimately use rap in expressing Arab perspective, will release his first album "Son of a Refugee" in ...
Making an Arab-American film in Hollywood
Feb 17, 2007; ... LOS ANGELES - Oscar-winning producer, Mark Johnson (Rain Man, Bugsy, Narnia), recently took on the challenge of making the first Hollywood film about Arab Americans. Isa Totah, an Arab American, and two of his friends, Will Potter and Eric Matheny, wrote the screenplay, entitled "America." This ...
A groundbreaking Muslim-Jewish partnership
Feb 17, 2007; ... LOS ANGELES - The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and the Progressive Jewish Alliance (PJA) have recently launched NewGround, a bold new program that aims to jumpstart dialogue and community building between American Muslims and Jews. The program intends to put forth a new initiative for ...
O'Reilly reassures Dearborn residents city is stable
Feb 17, 2007; ... DEARBORN - Mayor Pro Tem John "Jack" O'Reilly gave the annual State of the City Address on Monday at Henry Ford Centennial Library, reassuring residents of the city's stability in a time of "tragedy and uncertainty." O'Reilly said that at first he did not want to give the speech, having ...
Protesters support dad in fight against DHS
Feb 17, 2007; ... TAYLOR - Protesters picketed outside of the Western Wayne County Children and Family Services office on Friday, in an effort to bring attention to a federal lawsuit filed by a Jordanian American man in January. Plaintiff Abraham Ben-Abbad filed the suit against the Michigan Department of ...
Ryan Berry receives the Dearborn Rotary Harry A. Sisson Scholarship
Feb 17, 2007; ... DEARBORN - On Thursday, February 1st, Dearborn Rotary presented its annual $5,000 Sisson Scholarship Award to Ryan H. Berry of Dearborn High School. The Harry A. Sisson Memorial College Scholarship Award is presented in recognition of an outstanding senior attending a public or private ...
Expect no progress on Mideast
Feb 24, 2007; ... U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appears to be an intelligent, well-intentioned woman who, like a number of her predecessors, would genuinely like to make a personal contribution to the cause of Arab-Israeli peace. But after no fewer than eight visits to the region, she has failed to ...
Lebanese should unite under one flag
Feb 24, 2007; ... History has already proven to be a thorough commentator on the potentials of the constantly growing rift between various factions within Lebanon. The lack of institutional precedent within which to express "disagreements" casts a shadow over the next few months, and taking to the streets is ...
The Democrats' disdain for Palestine
Feb 24, 2007; ... Look, Howard Diamond, legislative director and deputy chief of staff for New York Democratic Rep. Gary Ackerman, basically told me, if you want your issues raised, get somebody to stand for office, get the candidate 25 years of seniority and the chairmanship of the subcommittee, and then you can ...
Removing Iran from the 'new Middle East'
Feb 24, 2007; ... The configuration of the new Middle East - as envisaged by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during the Israeli war against Lebanon in July and August 2006, most certainly has no place for more than one regional power broker, namely Israel. Under such an arrangement - subservient ...
It's time for U.S. to leave Iraq now
Feb 24, 2007; ... There are a number of reasons why the Iraq war was a mistake. However, this is not the issue now. The issue is that the U.S. presence in Iraq, whatever you call it, an occupation or a nation- building- work- in- progress, is not helping Iraqis take ownership of the mess that is Iraq today. More ...
U.N. envoy criticizes Israeli 'apartheid'
Feb 24, 2007; ... The U.N.'s Special Rapporteur, John Dugard, describes the Israeli regime as being designed to dominate and systematically oppress the occupied population. Mr Dugard is a South African professor of international law assigned to monitor Israeli human rights abuses. He has ...
Egypt imprisons blogger as 'threat to security'
Feb 24, 2007; ... Though only a small percentage of people in the United States and the world turn to blogs for information, it is becoming a significant form of new media. A new blog is set up every second somewhere in the world. The term "blog" is short for "web log," a type of on-line diary that anyone ...
U.S., Arab journalists fight censorship
Feb 24, 2007; ... Over the past few months, I've had the opportunity to be interviewed by a dozen Arab World radio stations and satellite news stations. What is obvious is that the discussion has been more open, inclusive and free than what I witness in the so-called "model of free speech," the mainstream ...