Author Archives: Arab America

CAIRO — A donor conference in Cairo to raise money for Gaza after this year’s war between Hamas and Israel ended with pledges of $5.4 billion, half of which will be ‘‘dedicated’’ to the reconstruction of the coastal strip, Norway’s foreign minister said Sunday. Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende offered the figure at the end … Continued

Kristin Szremski is a 53-year-old mom from Palo Hills, Illinois. Born into a Missouri-Synod Lutheran family, she first converted to Catholicism before finding her place in Islam. This year, Szremski was one of the hundreds of thousands of Muslims who were drawn to Mecca between October 2 – 7 to complete the fifth pillar of … Continued

The week after President Obama announced a stepped-up military campaign against jihadists in Iraq and Syria, the online magazine Jadaliyya responded. An essay by the Lebanese historian Fawwaz Traboulsi argued that the so-called Islamic State was born of the United States’ 2003 war on Iraq, local despotism and the thwarted hopes of the 2011 Arab … Continued

There are exciting voices in Israel today – Mizrahi (Eastern Jewish) voices that are celebrating their Arab origins and looking East. Some of these voices can be heard on Café Gibraltar, a radio station and website. The Cafe’s staff told us that their idea is “…to honour the cultures of people around us”. They explained … Continued

Masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci and Vincent van Gogh will be among 300 works displayed at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Emirate said Sunday, as it aims to become a leader in fine art. The museum, built at a cost of 500 million euros ($630 million) and set to open in December 2015, will feature … Continued

The Arab American and Chaldean Council (ACC), a premier nonprofit human service organization serving southeast Michigan, announced it has relocated its headquarters to Troy, Mich. from Lathrup Village, Mich. The new office is located at 363 W. Big Beaver Road, Third Floor. Administrative staff members will be housed in the new 11,000-square-foot space, which will … Continued

Amlik.com has launched as your Saudi friendly marketplace where buyers and sellers meet to exchange products. The main goal of the site remains to facilitate commerce by providing a marketplace that develops entrepreneurial growth in a flexible and leading platform across the Gulf. Through their community portal, they aim to pioneer the way consumers view … Continued

Conflict Kitchen in Oakland’s Schenley Plaza debuted its rotation of Palestinian dishes Monday. By noon, more than 30 customers stood in line to order fattoush, falafel, musakhan and other foods. Though the lunch hour went smoothly, not everyone was happy with the restaurant’s decision to focus on Palestine as part of its rotation to serve … Continued

When Arab American Hania Masri (not her real name, which I’ll explain later) wanted to meet and settle down with someone from a similar cultural background, she turned to an online matchmaking service for help. One husband and two children later, she’s glad she did. Hania — outgoing, attractive and personable, with an advanced degree … Continued

Bill Maher’s recent rant against Islam has set off a fierce debate about the problem of religious violence, particularly when it comes to Islam. Mr. Maher, who has argued that Islam is unlike other religions (he thinks it’s more “like the Mafia”), recently took umbrage with President Obama’s assertion that the terrorist group known as … Continued

Jordanian-American author and Huffington Post Passionista, Hadel S. Ma’ayeh is entrancing readers with her new book FROM THE HEART – A JOURNEY OF LOVE. Set to be released to the general public on October 16, 2014, From the Heart is a collection of 56 poems, 14 haikus and various sayings which has been receiving rave … Continued

A few days ago, I was on a panel on Bill Maher’s television show on HBO that became a religious war. Whether or not Islam itself inspires conflict, debates about it certainly do. Our conversation degenerated into something close to a shouting match and went viral on the web. Maher and a guest, Sam Harris, … Continued