(Detroit Free Press) In a historic victory, a 31-year-old state legislator born to immigrants from Lebanon defeated a 66-year-old veteran politician to become the first mayor of Arab descent of Dearborn, a city long known for its sizable population with roots in […]
(Detroit News) A Muslim woman who claims Ferndale police forced her to remove her Islamic headscarf for a booking photo in June has filed a federal lawsuit against the city. Helana Bowe filed the suit Friday in the U.S. District Court for the […]
(National-UAE) Though it is affectionately known as the capital of Arab America, Dearborn, Michigan, has never had an Arab-American mayor. Abdullah Hammoud hopes to change that. The 31-year-old Democratic state legislator has already broken barriers. In 2016, at 26, he became the […]
(Arab News) Arab Americans are among the thousands of candidates across the US who are seeking election to local municipal and regional offices on Nov. 2. Key races include campaign battles for the mayoralty in Boston, Massachusetts, and in Dearborn and Dearborn […]
(Detroit News) A judge Tuesday dismissed what remained of a landmark criminal case that started with allegations members of a Muslim sect abused young girls, saying prosecutors vindictively pursued new charges after a federal female genital mutilation law was declared unconstitutional. In a […]
(Detroit News) An Ypsilanti man indicted on gun charges who the FBI accused of being an Islamic State supporter was convicted Monday in the first federal, criminal jury verdict in Metro Detroit since the start of the pandemic. Yousef Ramadan, 32, was convicted […]
(Detroit Free Press) Northville Dr. Jumana Nagarwala may be the only physician on trial on charges of performing female genital mutilation on minor girls in the U.S., but she wasn’t the only doctor who was cutting children, federal prosecutors disclosed Thursday. Rather, they said, […]
(Detroit Free Press) Nearly five years after it emerged, the nation’s first female genital mutilation case has taken yet another turn in a heated feud between a government that says children were unlawfully cut and a doctor who says she only “scraped” young […]
(Detroit News) A Muslim woman and an advocacy group Wednesday called on the city of Ferndale to address allegations that police removed the woman’s Islamic headscarf to take a booking photo. Amy Doukoure, staff attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Michigan chapter, which is representing […]
(Fox) The campaign of “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., has paid out over $100,000 for “fundraising consulting” to a Florida-based progressive firm founded and operated by a defund the police and anti-Israel activist, campaign filings show. Tlaib’s campaign and PAC sent […]
(Detroit Free Press) Arab American advocates are asking the city of Dearborn to provide more voting information and ballots in Arabic language with the Aug. 3 primary for local races approaching. After complaints from civil rights advocates, the city added to its […]
(Detroit News) A one-armed Islamic State soldier testified Monday he served alongside a Dearborn man accused of fighting on behalf of the terrorist organization, an unprecedented admission in federal court during the war on terror. Minnesota resident Abdelhamid Al-Madioum testified during a […]
(Detroit News) A convicted Islamic State soldier is expected to make federal court history Monday by testifying against a Dearborn man captured on a Syrian battlefield three years ago. Prosecutors on Monday plan to call Minnesota resident Abdelhamid Al-Madioum, 24, as a cooperating […]
(WOOD) A Michigan man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy after he was accused of helping his cousin try to leave the country to join the Islamic State group. Mohamed Haji, from Lansing, pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to a […]
(Detroit News) The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights organization, joined a Wayne State University student organization in a complaint Tuesday against the school’s president, saying he wrongly censored the group’s statement on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. […]
(Detroit Free Press) After facing criticism from some in the Arab American community, Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad has apologized for liking a Facebook post that showed support for Israel. In his apology, Haddad also called for a free Palestine. Earlier this […]
(Detroit Free Press) Saying they feel betrayed, thousands of Arab Americans protested across Dearborn on Tuesday afternoon as President Joe Biden arrived in the city to tour a Ford Rouge plant, blasting the president over his support for Israel during its conflict with Palestinians. […]
(Detroit Free Press) As tensions heat up in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians, metro Detroit’s Jewish and Arab American communities are reacting with frustration and anger at times, but also are looking at ways to keep the peace among the […]
(Detroit News) Fighting in Gaza that has flattened buildings and killed nearly 200 Palestinians is creating tensions in Metro Detroit ahead of President Joe Biden’s visit Tuesday. On Sunday, several hundred people gathered for a Justice for Jerusalem march at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center […]
(Detroit News) A federal judge Monday refused to release on bond an accused Islamic State soldier captured on a Syrian battlefield three years ago, saying there is a risk the Dearborn man could flee the state. U.S. District Judge David Lawson said […]
(Detroit News) An accused Islamic State soldier from Dearborn has threatened to kill his lawyer if released on bond, federal prosecutors say, but his legal team is trying to free him anyway. The alleged threat, Ibraheem Musaibli’s support of violent extremism and contempt for the United […]
(WILX) One of the nation’s largest advocacy groups for religious civil rights has filed complaints with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) against Wendy’s. The complaint involves the alleged treatment of two customers by one of the fast food chain’s store […]
(MLive) Four women convicted of murder say in a federal lawsuit that Michigan prison officials violated their rights when they forced them to remove religious headwear for mug shots. The lawsuit is seeking class-action status on behalf of all prisoners, requesting a […]
(Detroit Free Press) Starting next month, the new top federal prosecutor in Detroit will be Saima Mohsin, the first Muslim to be a U.S. attorney in Michigan and the country, according to federal officials and Muslim advocates. On Feb. 2, Mohsin, 52, is to become the […]
(WJBK) A civil rights group is suing the state’s prison system for taking photos of Muslim women without their religious headscarves or hijabs. “It’s embarrassing, it is humiliating and it is degrading for Muslim women,” said Amy [Doukoure]. More than 15 Muslim […]
(Detroit Free Press) The owner of a Sterling Heights hotel who is Muslim and of Pakistani descent alleges in a lawsuit filed Monday that city officials targeted and drove him out of business because of his faith and ethnicity and because he had […]
(Middle East Eye) In one of his first decrees as president in 2017, Donald Trump signed an executive order banning travellers from several Arab, Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Less than four years later, Arab and Muslim communities in Michigan […]
(Religion News) Mauree Turner, a 27-year-old member of Oklahoma City’s Muslim community, became Muslim after learning about the faith from her father, who converted while incarcerated. Black and nonbinary, Turner is also a community organizer who’s long been involved in criminal justice […]
(Hill) Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) was projected to win reelection in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District early Wednesday morning. The Associated Press called the race for the Michigan lawmaker at 4:12 a.m. EST with over 66 percent of precincts reporting. One of the […]
(AP) In the 2016 presidential election, Mohamed Abukar didn’t like his options, so he didn’t vote. This year the 26-year-old Michigan resident has already cast his ballot — and urged others to follow suit. “It’s your civic duty” to vote, Abukar said […]
(Religion News) With his Lebanese last name and his Muslim background, Mike Chehab, an attorney from Sterling Heights, Michigan, said he has heard prejudiced comments during his run this fall for a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives. Chehab is a […]
(VOA) When Michigan voter Dr. Mahmoud Al-Hadidi casts his ballot in the November election, there is one issue that rises above all others as he makes his choice — respect. “In this election, honestly, respect and recognition,” the emergency room physician told […]
(France 24) In Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit where one-third of residents identify as Arab-American or are of Arab descent, Muslim voters lean decidedly towards the Democrats. And while Joe Biden wasn’t the first choice for many here, widespread opposition to President […]
(Detroit News) A 36-year-old woman is suing the city of Detroit and the Michigan Department of Corrections in federal court, alleging violations of her religious expression and freedom after being forced to remove her hijab while taking a booking photo last year […]
(Detroit Free Press) U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, on Wednesday morning took a huge step toward winning reelection to a second term, beating Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones in the Democratic primary. The Associated Press called the race for Tlaib in […]
(Hill) Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) is facing a formidable challenge from former Rep. Brenda Jones (D-Mich.) in Tuesday’s primary, putting the political future of the progressive first-term congresswoman in the balance. Tlaib gained national name recognition in 2019 when she became a member of the […]
(JTA) An Islamic civil liberties and advocacy organization will represent a man who has been denied kosher food in a Michigan jail. The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, said in a statement issued Monday that it would […]
(NY Times) Last year, on a Thursday in June, long before live events and large gatherings bore the threat of contagion, the ballroom of the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, Mich., was in full pageant form. Pink mini cupcakes […]
(Jerusalem Post) An American Shi’ite Islamic scholar has called on the followers of Imam Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, to follow Khomeini’s example in liberating the globe from America’s tyranny. The riots taking place across America following the death of […]
(Christian Century) This November, Jad Salamey will vote in a presidential election for the first time — and he’s hoping to bring his entire community with him. The 20-year-old student at Wayne State University in Detroit spends his free time phone banking, […]
(AP) At a Michigan gas station, the message is obvious — at least to Arabic speakers: Be counted in the 2020 census. “Provide your community with more/additional opportunities,” the ad on the pump handle reads in Arabic. In the fine print, next […]
(Detroit News) An Ypsilanti man arrested by the FBI’s counterterrorism team wants out of federal prison during the COVID-19 pandemic despite being caught with an escape kit and scrawling a message of support for the Islamic State in his cell, according to prosecutors. […]
(WDET) The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Michigan chapter is advising Muslim medical professionals to shave off their beards. CAIR says it has received calls from Muslim medical professionals who’ve been asked by hospital staff to shave their beards in order to properly wear […]
(Detroit News) A U.S. House committee on Wednesday advanced bipartisan legislation meant to fix the federal law prohibiting female genital cutting. The bill was introduced in response to a ruling by a federal judge in Michigan who declared the statute unconstitutional in 2018. That ruling […]
(Daily Caller) The Bernie Sanders campaign distanced itself Tuesday from “offensive and toxic” remarks from a Muslim cleric who spoke at a rally for the presidential candidate Saturday. Faiz Shakir, the Sanders campaign manager, issued a statement responding to resurfaced video from […]
(Daily Caller) A Michigan-based Islamic cleric who spoke at a Bernie Sanders rally on Saturday has claimed in sermons that the terrorist group ISIS is “somehow connected to Israel,” and that homosexuality is “a form of disorder.” Imam Sayed Hassan Qazwini, the […]
(Middle East Eye) Hassan Almusawy is only 17, but in November, he’ll be voting for the first time. To ensure that his preferred candidate is on the ballot, he’s travelled more than 1100km from Lincoln, Nebraska, to Dearborn, Michigan, hoping to convince […]
(Politico) Muslim and Arab-American voters were critical to Bernie Sanders’ upset victory in Michigan that gave his 2016 campaign a second life. On Tuesday, he’s counting on them again to help revive his bid for the White House. The Vermont senator has […]
(Detroit News) After packing the TCF Center in downtown Detroit Friday night, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders jumped to Dearborn Saturday morning, speaking to its large Arab American and Muslim community. About 900 people, according to Dearborn police, packed into the gymnasium of Salina Intermediate […]
(Middle East Eye) Rashida Tlaib has an outline of Senator Bernie Sanders’ hair and glasses attached to her maroon blazer. She points to it with joy and pride — “Do you like my pin?” As the congresswoman waits to give a speech […]
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