Author Archives: Arab America

A 1924 study by Princeton professor Philip Hitti found that 13,965 Arab Americans served in World War I. Professor Hitti claims that a higher percentage of Syrians served in WWI than any other ethnic community in the U.S. Most scholars agree that 15,000 Arab Americans served in World War II. In a December 2012 report … Continued

A research study is being conducted by Danielle Balaghi, M.A., doctoral student in School Psychology at Michigan State University. At some point in peoples’ lives, people may experience discrimination based on their personal characteristics and beliefs. The goal of this study is to better understand how a person’s background, ethnic identity, and spirituality are related … Continued

With the passing of Maya Angelou on May 28, 2014, many believe that it would be most appropriate to imagine that this extraordinary phenomenal African American woman is now transcending high above the clouds in heaven. Marguerite Annie Johnson better known as Maya Angelou, was born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis Missouri. Maya … Continued

Juliette Kayyem, has mounted a formidable campaign and is emerging as the breakout candidate in this year’s race for Governor in Massachusetts. <a href=”http://www.myfoxboston.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=10201878″>Watch a Fox 25 Boston news segment</a> that sums up the state of the race and calls Juliette “the one to watch.” Juliette would be our nation’s first Arab American woman Governor. … Continued

Palestinian American organizer from Chicago, Rasmea Yousef Odeh, will appear in U.S. District Court at 231 W. Lafayette Blvd., in Detroit, Michigan, on Wednesday, May 28th, 2014, with a new attorney, Michael Deutsch of the People’s Law Office in Chicago. Last week, Odeh decided not to accept a plea agreement that would have revoked her … Continued

CAIR-MI yesterday filed another federal complaint with the Office of the Comptroller of Currency regarding summary bank account closure by Bank of America. Within the past year, CAIR-MI has also filed federal complaints against Chase Bank regarding account closures of Michigan Muslims in which no justification was provided. CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid this Saturday … Continued

A new exhibit at the Newseum in Washington D.C. tells the story of The Arab American News (TAAN), as a pioneer newspaper serving Arab Americans. The exhibit entitled, “One Nation With News for All” is about the origins of ethnic media in the United States, and opened Friday, May 16. It features the stories of … Continued

Pope Francis recently concluded his visit to the Holy Land. Now, I’m not a religious guy, but it doesn’t matter, this pope likes me! His visit was, of course, much more significant to us Palestinians than it was to Israelis. We like showing the reality of the situation to outsiders. Israel, well, she’s not so … Continued

A recently-opened “national” memorial museum depicts historic horrors. A controversial film suggests the culpability of religious concepts and adherents. Scholars and religious leaders appeal for review and re-editing. These sentences set the stage not only for the debate over “The Rise of Al-Qaeda,” the short, six-minute film at the new September 11 Memorial Museum in … Continued

The controversy is increasing among Palestinians regarding the visit to Palestine by the head of the Maronite community in Lebanon, Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai, as he accompanies Pope Francis in a visit scheduled for May 25. Although Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Presidential Higher Committee for Church Affairs welcomed Rai’s visit, the Popular Front … Continued

The 150-year-old ancestral home of the Alamuddin family is a solid stone edifice built in the traditional Lebanese style, a testament to the prominent role the family has played in their native Chouf village of Baakline for centuries. A large tree shades the courtyard, and a modest orchard stretches behind the house, which is located … Continued

It is an image that will define Pope Francis’s first official visit to the Holy Land. Head bowed in prayer, the leader of the Catholic church pressed his palm against the graffiti-covered concrete of Israel’s imposing “separation wall”, a Palestinian girl holding a flag by his side. It was, as his aides conceded later, a … Continued