Author Archives: Arab America

Abdeen Jabara was hardly shocked when the scandal over the National Security Agency’s global surveillance dragnet broke in June. “I was not at all surprised by the Snowden revelations about the NSA,” Jabara, a prominent lawyer and a founder of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, told me in a phone interview. “The United States has this … Continued

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) sets the record straight, clarifying key issues related to an independent review that determined inconclusive evidence that staff member, Imad Hamad, committed sexual harassment. Key and important facts: Immediately upon receiving a letter from Michigan State Representative Rashida Tlaib’s (D-Detroit) in May 2013, the ADC National Board of Directors immediately … Continued

It’s hard to describe what it felt like listening to Benjamin Netanyahu speak yesterday at the United Nations. Many phrases came to mind: “alternative reality,” “parallel universe,” “clinical denial,” and the list goes on. Then I remembered one of my favorite TV shows I used to watch as a kid: <blockquote>You are about to enter … Continued

Last week I caught a thoughtful and funny documentary about a group of comedians who embark on a cross-country road trip. Their first goal, of course, is to make people laugh. The second? To combat “Islamophobia” from coast to coast. The Muslims Are Coming! explores what happens when several Muslim-American standup comics, including co-directors Negin … Continued

Two more members of the advisory board of the Michigan chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) have resigned, blasting how the civil rights organization has handled the sexual harassment allegations against one of the group’s leaders. After serving the Arab-American organization for years, ADC’s co-chair Ali Hammoud and board member Siham Jaafar of Dearborn … Continued

An independent investigation has found “insufficient evidence” to prove a Dearborn-based senior leader at the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) sexually harassed multiple women over several years, the group said today. Imad Hamad will no longer lead the ADC’s Michigan office as its regional director and serve as a senior national adviser, but he will … Continued

Mustafa Umar, an imam in Southern California, is popular with the Muslim teenagers who attend his mosque. They pepper him with questions about sensitive topics like marijuana use, dating and pornography. Umar, 31, is a serious Islamic scholar who has studied the Quran in the Middle East, Europe and India — but he’s also a … Continued

Imagine asking a southern white man how he feels about the Confederacy. Imagine asking any white teenage American male why his peers would shoot up a high school, movie theater or elementary school. Imagine getting asked these questions by someone expecting expert answers. Such is the experience of many Arab-Americans living in a post-Sept. 11 … Continued

Negin Farsad and Dean Obeidallah are two New York City-based comics. They are very funny. They are also Muslims. They fear that fellow Americans, particularly in the boonies, are getting the wrong impression of Muslims based on the actions of a few and the rhetoric of non-Muslim pontificators. Rhetoric like this: “There is a virus … Continued

<center><iframe width=”460″ height=”259″ src=”//www.youtube.com/embed/fVHFNQlkggo” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe></center> <a href=”http://www.montereymedia.com/theatrical/films/citizen_the.html”>THE CITIZEN</a> is Sam Kadi’s feature film debut and was inspired by actual events. Like the main character (Ibrahim) Sam is also an Arab who became a legal U.S. immigrant with the desire to live the American Dream. This American film was made by a team of international … Continued

Hide your children. Lock your doors. Discard your alcohol and dispose of your pork “The Muslims Are Coming!” And here’s the worst part: these dastardly Muslims have camouflaged themselves as comedians in effort to make you like them. But don’t be fooled: They are trying to impose Sharia law, one joke at a time! That, … Continued

Last night, I received the kind of phone call that everyone dreads: a close friend was hurt, and on his way to the hospital. But the news got worse, as I learned that my friend, Dr. Prabhjot Singh, a young Sikh American professor at Columbia University, had been brutally attacked on a public street, the … Continued