Author Archives: Arab America

Arab Americans plan to meet in the nation’s capital next month for several days of advocacy that include meeting lawmakers and Obama administration officials. Organizers say the fourth annual Arab American National Advocacy Week April 16-19 includes attending a White House policy briefing. The event is organized by the Dearborn-based National Network for Arab American … Continued

In classic fashion cable television’s The Daily Show recently reminded those of us who have conveniently forgotten that, for the most cynical of reasons, the US government has cut funding to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The cut was carried out in October 2011 as a US response to UNESCO accepting … Continued

An energy company in the United Arab Emirates said Tuesday it is developing a terminal to receive liquefied natural gas supplies on the country’s eastern coast, bypassing the strategically sensitive Strait of Hormuz. The new terminal will be located in the port city of Fujairah, which unlike most of the country faces the Gulf of … Continued

Arab American, Muslim and South Asian community leaders are urging Mayor Ed Lee to approve an ordinance that they believe could re-establish trust between their communities and the San Francisco Police Department. Last week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors narrowly passed the Safe San Francisco Civil Rights Ordinance, intended to prevent civil rights abuses … Continued

A year ago, Syrian Americans watched with incredulous, dawning hope as a popular uprising began against Syria’s 40-year autocratic regime, inspired by similar protests sweeping other parts of the Arab world. Saturday, they came together in alarm and frustration on that anniversary, begging the Obama administration for help after months of growing repression and bloodshed … Continued

Dubai’s Burj al-Arab is green today, as are the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Niagara Falls, the London Eye and South Africa’s Table Mountain. No, a mysterious pollutant isn’t shrouding international landmarks – it’s St. Patrick’s Day. Celebrated annually on March 17, Ireland’s patron saint’s feast day commemorates the man credited with bringing Christianity to the … Continued

He hardly notices them, because his mission is to locate a lost chapter of famed Arab explorer Ibn Battuta’s book on his 14th century travels across Africa and Asia — a chapter stolen from the original manuscript long ago and detailing the location of a secret treasure. Fares is an important figure in the Arab … Continued

New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly on Thursday challenged city council members who want to create an inspector general to regulate the department’s surveillance of Muslims, saying his department needs no additional oversight. In sometimes heated exchanges with council members at a budget hearing, Kelly defended his department’s counterterrorism surveillance program as well as another … Continued

For the past decade, KARAMAH’s Law and Leadership Summer Program (LLSP) has brought together an exceptional group of Muslim women from around the world who are interested in leading positive change on a variety of issues. LLSP alumnae have gone on to do amazing things, from advocating for legal reform in South Africa to starting … Continued

The comedian who made his name on the “Axis of Evil Comedy Tour” made one thing clear when he opened a recent set at Michigan State University: “Tonight, it’s not Islam 101.” For every joke Dean Obeidallah made about his Arabic heritage or Muslim faith, there were others about student loans, Asian-American basketball phenom Jeremy … Continued

Arab-American Friends of Nazareth are holding their 5th bi-annual family reunion in Las Vegas at the Paris Hilton Hotel and Casino. Arab-American Friends of Nazareth have announced that the mayor of Nazareth Mr. Ramez Jaraysi will be attending the reunion together with Mr. Ahmad Afifi, President of the Nazareth Fund; Prof. George Kanazi, President of … Continued

When the 11 members of the Palestine football team walked out on the pitch of the Dashrath Stadium on Thursday to play host side Nepal, probably only a small fraction of the 17,000 spectators knew that their country was playing against another that does not even exist in the conventional sense. They could be forgiven … Continued