Author Archives: Arab America

Between 12 and 19 September, the International Festival of Classical Music brought a great number of musicians and orchestras to the Algerian capital. This year in its sixth edition, the growing success of the festival is apparent. Bouazzara Abdelkader, leader of the National Symphony Orchestra since 2001, is the festival’s artistic director since its inception … Continued

In a glittering ceremony replete with movers and shakers, Forbes Middle East on Wednesday unveiled its pick for the top 200 most powerful Arab women. Split into three categories, Arab women who have made headway in the fields of executive management, family business and government took to the stage to receive awards from the United … Continued

For its eighth edition, the Abu Dhabi Film Festival is boldly looking to bolster its standing as driver of the Gulf region’s still embryonic but increasingly vibrant film industry. Fest’s opening film — Emirati director Ali Mostafa’s hotly anticipated pan-Arab road movie “From A to B,” about three Western-educated Arab youths who travel from Abu … Continued

The Arab-American Civil Rights League is proud to announce that we have launched the ACRL Justice Committee as the newest addition to our rapidly growing organization. The Justice Committee will host an annual justice awards ceremony to celebrate those in the judicial and legal field who have shown commitment to ensuring the rights of all, … Continued

Sweden’s new center-left government will recognize the state of Palestine in a move that will make it the first major European country to take the step, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said on Friday. The UN General Assembly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine in 2012 but the European Union and … Continued

Tears flowed and prayers filled the air as the annual Muslim hajj by about 2 million believers from around the world reached its zenith on a vast plain in western Saudi Arabia Friday. “I am now a newborn baby and I don’t have any sin,” Nigerian pilgrim Taofik Odunewu told AFP, standing at the foot … Continued

Michelle and I would like to extend our best wishes to Muslims in the United States and around the world who are celebrating Eid al-Adha, and to congratulate those performing the Hajj this year. As our Muslim neighbors and friends gather for Eid celebrations, Muslim Americans are among the millions of pilgrims joining one of … Continued

The sixth biennial convening of DIWAN: A Forum for the Arts will be held at the Arab American National Museum (AANM), on May 7-9, 2015, in Dearborn, Michigan. The conference will coincide with the launch of the Museum’s 10th anniversary programming year, as well as the Museum’s new visual arts exhibition, Ten. The Conference Committee … Continued

Gaming is a far cry from finance and the military, but not only is American Thomas Tellner now creating games from his base in California, but he’s basing them on – and aiming them squarely at – the MENA and Asian markets with his startup Kawthar Media. Seeing the region as having been “marginalized” by … Continued

It may have taken him awhile, but it looks like waiting to get married was more than worth it for George Clooney. The 53-year-old actor, long billed as one of the world’s most eligible bachelors, told People that marriage “feels pretty damn great.” He married lawyer Amal Alamuddin in an intimate, 30-minute ceremony in Italy’s … Continued

An Arkansas gun range owner has declared her shooting range a “Muslim-free zone,” saying she refuses to cater to customers whose religion “commands” its followers to kill people. Gun Cave Indoor Shooting Range owner Jan Morgan said in an online post that she was banning Muslims out of fear that one of them might slaughter … Continued

The continuous upheaval of ideological forces and reconfiguration of geo-strategic conditions across the Middle East took a dramatic turn Sunday-Monday, as reflected in three principal developments in and around the Arab world: The combined American-Arab Gulf states air strikes in Syria, the control of the Yemeni capital by Houthi rebels, and the meeting in New … Continued