Author Archives: Arab America

Calling it the most ambitious project of its kind ever undertaken, officials from Dubai’s Department of Economic Development announced Tuesday the emirate’s plans to construct the world’s largest human rights violation.

Set to begin later this month, the project, dubbed Saqr Ganzeer, or “Chained Falcon,” will reportedly take as long as 10 years to complete and make use of more than 250,000 foreign workers from the Indian subcontinent and other parts of Asia. It is expected to easily surpass all previous record holders, towering over every other abuse of rights in the wealthy Middle Eastern city.

“With this bold new endeavor, we will create the biggest deprivation of basic human dignity the world has ever seen,” said DED deputy director Jamal Al Falasi, who according to reports was selected to oversee the project after successfully managing several of Dubai’s smaller violations of individuals’ freedoms. “None of the others will even come close. Once completed, it will be recognized everywhere as a symbol of Dubai and everything our city stands for.”

Emirati sources expressed confidence that before it is even finished, Saqr Ganzeer will generate a “huge splash” in the international community, easily overshadowing human rights offenses in countries like Sudan, North Korea, Syria, China, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which they said will look miniscule in comparison.

International observers agreed that as soon as the project is underway, Dubai’s claim to the title of world’s greatest human rights infringement will likely be measured and officially certified by several independent organizations.

Bangladeshi laborer Tajuddin Rahman, one of tens of thousands who was lured to the emirate for the monumental exploitation of fundamental liberties, told reporters that while he knows it won’t be easy toiling for countless hours on the project, he hopes his family back home will be proud of his sacrifice.

“It really is humbling to be part of an undertaking this historic in scope,” said Rahman, who explained he’s eager to begin working on the project, as he needs to start funneling all his wages to his labor contractor for the next several years to pay back the cost of funding his travel to the UAE. “It will take many years to complete, so I realize I might not be around long enough to see it finished.”

“I only hope that when this is done, people will take notice,” he added

Source: www.theonion.com

Recently, my wife and I have been searching for what could be our first home as we move from Boston, Massachusetts, to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, trying to figure out what’s important to us – hardwood floors, a second garage or an updated kitchen. The killing of three Muslim students on Wednesday added a new wrinkle: which neighborhood offers the best chance of me not being shot in the head for my religious beliefs?

While these events have given me great pause about our move, I also know that I am not immune from prejudice in a city as diverse as Boston.

Source: www.theguardian.com

The world rightly reacted with horror last week to the immolation of Jordanian pilot Mouath al-Kasaesbeh at the hands of ISIS. The execution has, at least for the time being, united Jordanians against the Islamic State, and with their hereditary monarch, King Abdullah II.

That the Jordanian king would wrap himself in his country’s flag during a time of national tragedy should come as no surprise; that so many American pundits would lap up the kingdom’s rhetoric is, on the other hand, a little puzzling.

Several websites have published fawning listicles and photo galleries in recent days depicting the charming and media-savvy dynast in combat gear. These media outlets have lauded his tough talk and pledges of revenge against ISIS. He’s “kind of a badass,” according to BuzzFeed; a “warrior king,” says Business Insider.

Source: theweek.com

A video has emerged showing the beheadings purportedly of 21 Egyptian Christians who had been kidnapped by Islamic State (IS) militants in Libya.

The footage shows a group wearing orange overalls, being forced to the ground and then decapitated.

Egypt reserves the right to respond in any way it sees fit, its President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said.

IS militants claim to have carried out several attacks in Libya, which is in effect without a government.

However, with many armed groups operating in Libya, it is not clear how much power IS actually wields.

National mourning
The kidnapped Egyptian workers, all Coptic Christians, were seized in December and January from the coastal town of Sirte in eastern Libya, now under the control of Islamist groups.

The video of the beheadings was posted online by Libyan jihadists who pledge loyalty to IS. A caption made it clear the men were targeted because of their faith.

“Egypt and the whole world are in a fierce battle with extremist groups carrying extremist ideology and sharing the same goals,” President Sisi said.

Source: www.bbc.com

The Islamic School of Rhode Island was vandalized over the weekend.
Hilmy Bakri, president of the school’s Board of Trustees, said Sunday that racial slurs were spray-painted on the school, at 840 Rear Providence St.

Photos of the school circulating on social media and sent to The Providence Journal show doors covered with the words, “Now this is a hate crime” and “pigs,” along with expletives referring to the prophet Muhammad and to Allah, the Arabic word for God.

“I find it very upsetting,” said Rabbi Sarah Mack, of Temple Beth-El in Providence. “The Muslim community in Rhode Island is very open and peaceful.”

West Warwick police would not immediately comment Sunday evening until a police report could be reviewed.

Source: m.providencejournal.com

The United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) offers its most sincere condolences to the families of the three Arab Muslim youth who were killed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, this week. Palestinian Americans Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, and Yusor’s husband, Syrian American Deah Shaddy Barakat, were shot execution style Tuesday afternoon by a neighbor, a white man named Craig Hicks. We mourn their deaths with the rest of the world.

Today, the Huffington Post wrote, “Chapel Hill police have said that they haven’t ruled out the idea that the shooting was ‘hate-motivated,’ but so far they’ve suggested an ongoing parking dispute fueled Hicks’ wrath.” But we support the father of the slain young women, Dr. Mohammad Abu-Salha, who was quoted as saying, “This has hate crime written all over it.” The FBI has launched a “preliminary inquiry,” but the Campaign to TAKE ON HATE, a project of the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC), has already published an online petition demanding a full investigation.

In addition, the public was not made aware of the killings until Wednesday morning, which does not at all suggest a cover up, but does raise the question as to whether a double standard is at play here. While the media and politicians of all stripes fall all over themselves to immediately ascribe acts of violence allegedly perpetrated by Arabs and Muslims anywhere in the world to an entire nationality or religion, law enforcement in Chapel Hill and the press did not even broadcast this crime until half a day later, and President Obama only today broke his silence on the killings.

We must analyze these murders in today’s social and political context. Institutional and structural racism against Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims in the U.S. have helped establish a culture of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hate that the media, Hollywood, and politicians here, ultra-right wing and otherwise, regularly perpetuate, especially in the post-9/11 world that saw the U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, its mass torture and indefinite detention of Arabs and Muslims in CIA black sites and Guantanamo Bay, and its relentless drone strikes in Arab and Muslim countries. It is impossible to divorce anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia in the U.S. from the dehumanization of Arabs and Muslims abroad, including the attacks on the Palestinian people fighting a righteous battle for our liberation from Israeli colonialism and apartheid. U.S. warmongering in the Arab and Muslim world, and its unequivocal support of Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians, fuels much of the discrimination and racism against Arabs and Muslims here.

Arabs and Muslims are victimized, scapegoated, and attacked by legislatures, courts, law enforcement, and even individuals full of hate like Hicks. They are profiled not only because of the color of their skin, but also because of their ethnicity, nationality, and religious beliefs. Just as structural racism combined with political repression devastated movements of oppressed nationality groups and communities of color throughout US history, including those for Black and Chicano liberation, Native American sovereignty, immigrant rights, and Puerto Rican independence, today’s attacks, even by an individual like Hicks, on Arabs and Muslims are also political in nature.

To justify a foreign policy that calls for a never ending “war on terrorism” in the Arab and Muslim worlds, the U.S. government must manufacture a local “enemy.” And to justify its unequivocal support for Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people, the U.S. government must convince people here that the struggle for Palestinian liberation is criminal, and that those who organize for our liberation like Rasmea Odeh are criminals as well. The Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, South Asians, Africans, African Americans, Asians, Latinos, and others directly affected by these attacks and policies experience a fundamental challenge to their personhood, an “un-citizening,” so to speak. They become personifications of “the enemy” abroad, extensions of the proverbial “other,” un-American and unwanted, regardless of whether they are undocumented or U.S. citizens like Yusor, Razan, and Deah. Unfortunately, this is what it often means to be Arab or Muslim in the U.S.

USPCN will not be able to describe the beautiful lives of these community members of ours any better than their friends, family, and acquaintances, so read below some of their stories, mourn their deaths, and pledge to continue to organize to stop hate crimes, national oppression, and the culture of violence, war, and occupation that so disgustingly permeates U.S. society today.

Source: us8.campaign-archive2.com

According to a genetic study the Druze community began to form genetically in the 11th century AD, and there has since been no genetic impact of other ethnic groups.

“This is the first genetic study to discover that the Druze community has genetic origins in the 11th century AD,” said Professor Atzmon of the University of Haifa’s Department of Human Biology and Department of Medicine and Genetics. This genetic finding correlates with the Druze community’s beliefs regarding their origin.

Traditionally, the Druze people believe that their community was founded in the 11th century AD as a new religious movement under the sixth caliph of the Fatimid Dynasty of Egypt. There are currently 1.5 million Druze around the world, residing mainly in Syria and Lebanon, with the remainder in Israel and Jordan. According to Druze tradition, marriages take place only within their community.

An international team of researchers was formed to carry out this current study, published in the European Journal of Human Genetics — Nature, which sought to examine whether the Druze  people of today have a similar gene pool and if so, when that gene pool began to take shape.

Family history

The study included 120 participants from forty families. Twenty families were from the village of Beit Jan located in the Upper Galilee and twenty were from Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights. The families were selected according to the origins of their extended families (clans), based on their family names and on information that was passed down orally from generation to generation. The mother, father and son of each family were genetically tested. All the families who participated in the study were from different clans so that the sample would be representative and it excluded first- or second-degree family relationships to any other participants in the study. These characteristics all significantly increased the study’s genetic accuracy. “In this study, we incorporated data that was published on the Druze of Lebanon, the Carmel Mountain region and various other populations in order to test the genetic structure of the Druze population relative to other populations,” said Prof. Zidan, director of the oncology department at Ziv Medical Centre and Faculty of Medicine at Bar-Ilan University

The results indicated that the Druze do indeed share a high genetic similarity that significantly distinguishes them from member of other groups and communities in the Middle East. When the researchers went back in time to discover when this genetic similarity began, they reached the 11th century AD, about 22-47 generations ago (there are differences of opinion over the duration of a generation). During this period a genetic “bottleneck” was formed, i.e., the genetic origin of many descendants came to an end, the community’s population decreased and the individuals in the population became more alike genetically. According to Prof. Atzmon, their research findings limit the ancestors of the Druze community to several hundred families, who founded the community in the 11th century AD.

Marriage within clan

The researchers also found that there is no evidence of new genes entering the Druze gene pool over the last 1,000 years. In other words, no additional groups from the outside joined this community. In addition, the researchers found evidence of genetic differences between Druze populations from different regions: Lebanon, the Golan Hights, the Upper Galilee and the Carmel Mountain. This strengthens the evidence that marriages take place only within each clan.

When they went further back in time, the researchers discovered another interesting finding. It came to light that, 500 years prior to the beginning of the Druze religion, around the 6th century AD and at the time of the birth of Islam, a genetic group began to take shape that formed the basis of the Druze community’s ancestors.

According to this study, the Druze genome is largely similar to the genome of other Arab populations in the Middle East. They also found a few genetic elements in the Druze genome that originated from Europe, Central and South Asia (the Iran region) and Africa.

“Our next step is to try to identify the genetic component of common diseases in this sector using the traditional family structure in a study that will allow genetic decoding of regular genetic diseases and provide data on diseases that have a genetic basis, such as cancer and diabetes. We are also planning similar studies in the future of the Muslim and Christian populations in Israel,” Prof. Friedman, of the Chaim Sheba Medical Centre, Tel Hashomer, concluded.

Source: www.pasthorizonspr.com

Although I’ve been to Israel many times, it wasn’t until this past December that I made my way to Nazareth, hometown of Jesus, center of Christian pilgrimage, and, depending on how you cipher the archaeological record, some 3,000 years old. Today, the agricultural village of Jesus’s time, thought to have a population of 500 or so, is a modern, primarily Arab city of steeples and domes and the hurly-burly of commercial enterprise. It is home to the largest Arab community in Israel (both Muslim and Christian), with a secondary, smaller Jewish community in nearby, newer and slightly suburban Upper Nazareth.

And herein lies just one of the conundrums that confront even the most casual visitor to modern-day Israel: who lives where, and why, and at what social, economic, religious or cultural cost?

But this is to get into a debate that has no end, when the pleasant reality is that the modern city of some 60,000 — sprawling, business driven, and nestled within a natural bowl of steep Galilean hills — presents itself as a place that primarily wants everyone to go along and get along. And if, while you’re at it, you can promote cultural understanding and sell religious tchotchkes to tourists, so much the better.

Source: www.vnews.com

No one was injured in the blaze that erupted before 6:15 a.m. prayers Friday in a storage area of the Quba Islamic Institute mosque and school, located in a residential neighborhood on Houston’s southeast side.

About 25 firefighters responded and extinguished the fire within an hour, according to Kenyatta Parker, a spokesman for Houston Fire Department, who said arson investigators were still trying to determine the cause of the fire late Friday. Institute officials said investigators told them the fire was intentionally set.

Source: www.latimes.com

S THE MUSEUM THE ONLY ONE OF ITS KIND IN THE COUNTRY? Yes, the Arab American National Museum is the first and only museum in the U.S. that is devoted to Arab-American history and culture. The museum documents, preserves and presents the history, culture and contributions of Arab Americans.

WHERE IS THE MUSEUM? The museum is located in Dearborn at 13624 Michigan Ave.

WHAT SORT OF EXHIBITS DO THEY HAVE? The museum has three permanent exhibits, according to director Devon Akmon. The first gallery, “Coming to America,” focuses on the immigration experience, Akmon said. He said the exhibit highlights the 22 different countries that Arab Americans come from. He said the first significant number of immigrants came between 1880 and 1920.

The second exhibit, “Living in America,” highlights how Arab Americans have become an integral part of U.S. history. The gallery shows some of the “traditions that they’ve retained and that have been passed down,” Akmon said.

The third gallery, “Making an Impact,” looks at individuals who have made an impact in their respective fields, such as entertainment and politics. Individuals such as world-renowned surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey, presidential candidate and consumer advocate Ralph Nader, White House journalist Helen Thomas, and auto racing legend Bobby Rahal.

The Arab American National Museum, located in Dearborn, is the only museum in the U.S. dedicated to Arab-American history and culture. (Photo: Bruce Harkness)
HOW LARGE IS THE MUSEUM? The museum is about 40,000 square feet. The museum has a separate building, called the annex, that’s used for special programs.

WHAT SORT OF SPECIAL PROGRAMS OR EVENTS DOES THE MUSEUM HAVE? The museum offers guided tours for students and other groups. The museum also hosts a number of events that can be seen on its website: www.arabamericanmuseum.org/Events.

HOW LONG HAS THE MUSEUM BEEN OPEN? It opened in May 2005. This May, the museum will be celebrating its 10th year.

WHEN IS THE MUSEUM OPEN? The museum is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. For general admission, tickets are $8. For students, seniors and children ages 6 to 12, tickets are $4. Children 5 and under are free.

WHAT’S ONE THING ABOUT THE MUSEUM PEOPLE MIGHT BE SURPRISED TO KNOW? The museum is among the few in Michigan to be affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, which allows it to collaborate often on projects. The museum previously partnered with the Smithsonian for a youth project on the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides. According to Akmon, the museum also offers a “full immersive experience.”

Contact Katrease Stafford: kstafford@freepress.com or 313-223-4759. Follow her on Twitter @KatreaseS_Freep.

Source: www.freep.com

Sarah Attar, one of the first female athletes to represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympic Games, has said her historic participation was not a “blip in the charts” and that it was “not an option” for the Kingdom to stop its women competing at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Attar, now 21 years old, got a standing ovation at the London 2012 Olympics despite finishing last in the 800-metre heats with a time of 2min 44.95sec, more than half a minute slower than her nearest competitor.

Attar and judoka Wojdan Shaherkani were the two Saudi female athletes awarded last-minute wildcards by the International Olympic Committee ahead of London 2012. And, despite their failure to advance in their respective competitions, Attar says they made a historic stand for equal rights.

Following the death of King Abdullah last month, his successor and half brother King Salman will continue his advocacy of women’s rights, and Attar is hopeful women’s sport will continue to grow in the conservative state.

Source: www.albawaba.com

AMMAN, Jordan — Whether three young students were shot and killed in North Carolina this week in a parking dispute or, as their families believe, because they were Muslims, online commentators here and outside the Middle East say the victims’ religion makes it a hate crime.

Failing to treat it as such, the commentators say on social media, indicates that Americans and the Western news media just do not understand the region.

Even before learning that two of the three victims — Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19 — were Jordanian citizens, their compatriots on social media called for wider coverage of the killings.

The shooting occurred Tuesday afternoon in Chapel Hill, N.C., but most news media outlets in the United States and abroad did not report on it until later the next day. This led some on social networks to suggest that the news media was slow to cover the story because the victims were Muslims.

Continue reading the main story
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Jordanians on social media added that the reluctance to report the story as a hate crime was evidence of Western bias.

The front page Friday of Al Ghad, an independent daily newspaper, read: “Two Jordanians victims of hate crime in the U.S.”

The police initially described the shooting as stemming from a parking dispute with a white middle-age neighbor, Craig Stephen Hicks, who later turned himself in and was charged in the killings. Late on Thursday, the F.B.I. said it would look into whether the shooting was a hate crime.

Still, people expressed outrage on Twitter at what they perceived to be inconsistent standards when either the suspects or the victims of a crime were Muslim.

The satirical Jordanian website Kharabeesh posted angry expressions from across the Arab world, and included a translation of a Twitter message by the CNN political commentator Sally Kohn with a hashtag, in Arabic, “#Western_Media_Standards.”

A comment to the post by Kharabeesh alleged “hypocrisy, media that sees with one eye only.”

A cartoonist for Al Ghad, Naser Al-Jafari, posted on Facebook a cartoon of Mr. Hicks, the suspect, standing beside a militant of the Islamic State who is dressed in black with his face covered. It is titled, in English, “The Visible & Invisible Face of Terror.”

Another popular Jordanian cartoonist, Osama Hajjaj, posted on Twitter a menacing depiction of Mr. Hicks in the colors of the American flag — red hair and ears, white eyes and a blue nose. His black beard and mouth resemble an Islamic State militant dressed in black. Many social media posts attempted to liken Mr. Hicks, 46, a former auto parts dealer who had been studying to become a paralegal, with Islamic extremists accused of killing Americans.

Dr. Mohammad Yousif Abu-Salha, the father of the two slain women, also questioned the attention his daughter’s killing had received in comparison with crimes committed by Muslims.

“If a Muslim commits a crime, it’s on the news 24/7 for two months,” Dr. Abu-Salha, a psychiatrist in Clayton, N.C., told The Associated Press. “When we are executed in numbers, it’s on the news for seconds.”

On Friday, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling on all Jordanians in the United States to be cautious and on alert after the shooting.

Queen Rania of Jordan, using the popular hashtag #muslimlivesmatter, sent her condolences to the victims’ families to her 3.6 million followers on Twitter.

And Natasha Tynes, a Jordanian-American media consultant, wrote on Facebook, “I guess there is no ‘Je Suis’ hashtag for the three Muslims gunned down in Chapel Hill,” and wondered if world leaders would march in the streets to condemn the killings as they did after the attacks in Paris on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery store last month.

Some Jordanian social media activists have called for a rally in Amman on Saturday, declaring: “Charlie is not more valuable than them.”

Source: www.nytimes.com