Author Archives: Arab America

Call Yussef El Guindi a “political playwright” and he will refute that. That’s despite the fact that the nationally known prizewinning author, a Capitol Hill resident, has taken on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the domestic war on terror, detainees at Guantánamo and other thorny subjects in his plays. But the animated, articulate El Guindi insists, in … Continued

The National Network of Arab American Communities, a project of ACCESS, is one of more than 50 signatories on a letter to Rep. Peter King (R-NY) expressing “serious concern” about an upcoming congressional hearing on “the threat of Muslim-American radicalization” in U.S. prisons. In the June 15 letter, civil and human rights groups including the … Continued

E’rootha still needs a few more camp leaders for refugee kids this summer. The kids are 5-18 years old. The deadline to apply has already passed, so if interested, please apply online ASAP <a href=”http://erootha.org/refugee_ESL_Summer.html”>here</a>. Camp leaders will be responsible for groups of 5-10 kids during various learning activities, games, sports and field trips. Minimum … Continued

<b>Opening September 8, 2011</b> It’s been four years in the making…the most significant exhibition ever created by the Arab American National Museum. Patriots & Peacemakers: Arab Americans in Service to Our Country tells true stories of heroism and self-sacrifice that affirm the important role Arab Americans have played in our country throughout its history. Arab … Continued

In the spring of 2009, a dozen American and international comedians and I set out for the Middle East on a four-country comedy tour. What we embarked on was groundbreaking, to say the least. Two years prior to that, I had toured the Middle East with a group of strictly Middle Eastern comics, and we … Continued

You know you are attending a Saudi Arabian comedy night when the sprawling performance tent is pitched 50 miles out into the desert to avoid the morals police and, astonishingly, the ushers are women, even if they remain shrouded by the standard-issue black garments. Then the swirling disco lights and giant speakers thumping out “I … Continued

You know you are attending a Saudi Arabian comedy night when the sprawling performance tent is pitched 50 miles out into the desert to avoid the morals police and, astonishingly, the ushers are women, even if they remain shrouded by the standard-issue black garments. Then the swirling disco lights and giant speakers thumping out “I … Continued

ADC announced today that it will open its annual Gala with the playing of the song “Watani Ana” by Syrian composer and pianist Mr. Malek Jandali. We regret the series of events that led to the cancellation of Mr. Jandali’s performance. We hope that by playing the song, with its powerful message of freedom, that … Continued

he Arab American & Chaldean Council (ACC) will host its 9th Annual Golf Outing & Scholarship Awards Dinner, benefiting the ACC Scholarship Awards Program on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at West Bloomfield’s Shenandoah Country Club, located at 5600 Walnut Lake Road. ACC is proud to announce that this year’s event will provide nearly twice as … Continued

A few years ago, Albert Brooks went Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World. With Just Like Us, Ahmed Ahmed found it. The documentary – of a tour of Middle Eastern countries by Ahmed and a group of other Arab-American comedians (and comics of other ethnicities) – opens Friday (6/10/11) in New York and elsewhere … Continued

he Youth & Education Department at ACCESS has been awarded a $187,217 grant through the Michigan Department of Education to expand its summer youth programs. These programs will include math and literacy enrichment, weekly field trips, and both youth development and recreational activities for schools around Metro Detroit. Last year, ACCESS programs served 210 students … Continued

Yes, that was the cover of the most recent edition The Atlantic, one of America’s foremost magazines on foreign affairs, politics and culture. At first, I wondered why this magazine would be advertising a Kung-Fu movie. After reading the headline, I quickly realized that it was referring to a different kind of ninja… a much … Continued