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Thursday April 12, 2012
By Danielle Malaty
When The Spiritual Life Center, a Sacramento Christian church, found itself without a venue to hold its Easter Sunday services this past weekend, the church's Reverend Michael Moran came up with what many may call an unconventional solution. He sought the help of a local mosque. Read More »
Posted by Guest at 9:25 am / / Leave a comment
Monday April 09, 2012
For as long as they have been around, the Muslims are Coming! Comedy Tour has been trying to supplant our traditional Gibran Awards ceremony with a Sharia-compliant program. This year they have finally infiltrated the Gala. But seriously, the comedy tour will receive a Special Recognition Award at this year’s Kahlil Gibran Spirit of Humanity Awards Gala for their use of comedy to break down cultural barriers and for their efforts to dispel misconceptions about Muslims and Arabs throughout the country. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 3:52 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday April 04, 2012
The FBI and the DOJ have placed themselves in a tough position. Currently they sit isolated somewhere between a disappointed American Muslim and Arab American community and a contingent of powerful Senators who want answers. The FBI's training division and subsequently the DOJ have come under intense scrutiny since September 2011 in the wake of revelations that FBI agents were taught blatantly false and bigoted things about Muslims and Arabs as part of their counter-terrorism training. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 2:30 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday March 28, 2012
And it wasn’t only Muslims who were demonized with preposterous allegations of genocidal tendencies and such, but Arabs were also depicted in a racist fashion, said to be prone to “temper tantrums” and “Outburst and Loss of Control,” in contrast with the “Western mind[‘s] even keel.” Then, there was a bunch of silly stuff, like advising agents to not shake hands with Asians or stare at them (I’m totally serious). Read More »
Posted by Omar Baddar at 3:18 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday March 07, 2012
The Department of Homeland Security has attempted to set the record straight about the video “The Third Jihad.” The film sparked a serious controversy in January when New York Times reporter Michael Powell revealed that the New York Police Department had been showing the video on a continuous loop as part of a training program for New York City Police officers. Powell’s report implicated New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, whom the video’s producers, The Clarion Fund (a group known to harbor anti-Muslim views), interviewed for the video. As a result, several American Muslim advocacy groups called for Commissioner Kelly to step down. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 5:52 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday March 07, 2012
With exception of Ron Paul, the GOP presidential candidates all spoke at the AIPAC policy conference yesterday. All of the three candidates delivered a similar message on Iran, taking the opportunity to hit out at president Obama's policies. Iran's nuclear program was the clear focus of the conference, overshadowing any other issue, including the peace process, by far. Despite similar messaging on Iran, the candidate speeches each have their own unique takeaways. I've outlined the ones I thought were the most important in this post. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 10:45 am / / Leave a comment
Wednesday February 29, 2012
Yesterday, the Florida Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Subcommittee pushed through SB1360, the Sunshine State’s own anti-Sharia bill in a 5-2 vote. The next step is a vote by the full Senate. Read More »
Posted by Jane Kaddouri at 11:20 am / / Leave a comment
Thursday February 23, 2012
The New York Police Department is under scrutiny—but in an ironic twist, it’s the Arab American and American Muslim communities that are putting the NYPD under the looking glass. And this time, we have support from Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Rob Menendez (D-NJ) and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Read More »
Posted by Jane Kaddouri at 4:27 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday February 15, 2012
Last Wednesday, AAI along with a number of community and interfaith organizations met with FBI Director Robert Mueller to discuss inflammatory, anti-Muslim training materials the Bureau used in trainings and presentations to FBI agents. In September of 2011, Wired Magazine reporter Spencer Ackerman made them public. The meeting with Director Mueller focused on steps taken by the Bureau to rectify the matter. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 5:00 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday January 31, 2012
By Jeffrey Wright
The United States Military Academy at West Point announced today that an Islamophobic retired general has withdrawn from his planned role as the speaker at West Point’s ceremony marking the National Prayer Breakfast. Read More »
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Friday January 27, 2012
Earlier today, the Arab American Institute formally submitted a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano regarding recent revelations of the widespread dissemination of an extreme anti-Muslim video in NYPD officer trainings. Read More »
Posted by AAI at 11:47 am / / Leave a comment
Friday December 16, 2011
Was Marianne Gingrich soliciting a $10 million bribe to get the House Speaker to lift Iraqi sanctions or was she just soliciting a donation on behalf of her former boss? And what kind of guy actively seeks a donation from a known arms dealer nicknamed “The Merchant of Death?” We’ll tell you… and you may not be so surprised. Read More »
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Friday December 16, 2011
One year after the spark of the Arab Spring, we remain inspired by the courageous efforts of ordinary people across the Arab world to rise up and change their countries. In recent months, Arab Americans across the country have engaged in various efforts to change the national narrative on a number of important issues facing our community. In October, a coalition of Arab American organizations launched Yalla Change, a national campaign devoted to bringing about the change we need here at home. Read More »
Posted by AAI at 12:36 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday December 15, 2011
Today, Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA), who earlier this week wrote a fantastic op-ed in the Washington Post condemning the King Hearings, has officially weighed in on the controversy surrounded Lowe's decision to pull its advertising from TLC's All-American Muslim. Read More »
Posted by Samer Araabi at 11:36 am / / Leave a comment
Tuesday December 13, 2011
The controversy around Lowe’s decision to pull its advertisements from TLC’s All American Muslim has ignited an inspiring response from tens of thousands of Americans who were dismayed by the corporation’s willingness to succumb to the pressure of hate groups and Islamophobes.
Today, the United States Congress is weighing in. Read More »
Posted by AAI at 2:58 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday December 12, 2011
A few days ago, a right-wing group in Florida protested the TLC series “All American Muslim” on the grounds that “the show profiles only Muslims that appear to be ordinary folks” and not violent jihadists, demanding that advertisers pull their ads from the show. The result? Advertisers, including the national hardware chain Lowe’s, pulled their advertisements. Read More »
Posted by Omar Baddar at 4:16 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday December 08, 2011
On Tuesday, AAI co-sponsored a town hall meeting on Islamophobia in Philadelphia with the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at Villanova University. AAI Executive Director Maya Berry, Matt Duss of the Center for American Progress (CAP), and Villanova Professor Marwan Kreidie moderated the discussion which was attended by over 100 community members and students. The panel addressed a multitude of questions about Islamophobia, the perceived threat of Sharia in the United Sates and the network behind what Center for American Progress has identified as Fear Inc. Matt Duss, co-author of CAP’s report, Fear Inc. The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America, explained what the report found – a vast and incredibly potent contingent of scholars, validators and activists perpetuating anti-Muslim propaganda in political discourse and civil society. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 3:44 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday November 28, 2011
Congresswoman Sue Wilkins Myrick (R-NC) doesn’t shy away from anti-Muslim/anti-Arab controversy. In 2003, she fatuously identified Arab Americans as a threat to U.S. national security, saying "Look at who runs all the convenience stores across the country." In 2009, then newly appointed to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Myrick (with Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA), amongst others) was part of group that claimed Council on American-Islamic Relations was planting Muslim Intern “spies” in certain key congressional offices. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 5:35 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday November 21, 2011
I am not attempting to exaggerate the sentiment, I genuinely cannot think of a bigger indictment of American political culture than that a disastrous clown of Cain’s proportions can continue to be taken seriously as a presidential contender. Read More »
Posted by Omar Baddar at 6:24 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday October 20, 2011
If you’ve ever taken a look at the right-wing blogosphere, or bothered to read the unregulated comment sections of even more mainstream websites, then you’ve definitely stumbled across a despicable racist rant at one point or another. But the reason we’re taking the time to highlight this despicable racist rant is because you don’t often hear or read one by the wife of a former Assistant Secretary of State. Read More »
Posted by Omar Baddar at 4:11 pm / / Leave a comment
Looking at Iran by James Zogby
Kahlil Gibran Awards Gala - April 16, 2013
