Ihsan Alkhatib

There are a handful of Arab Americans from Dearborn that are well known locally, nationally and internationally. The remarkable Suehaila Amen is one of them. Dearborn is a community where first- generation male immigrants dominate community organizations- this is noticeable at community events and meetings. Suehaila is one of a few women who, strength of character and hard work, have achieved a high profile in this community. The Forum and Link approached Suehaila for an interview. The following are excerpts from this interview.   *Tell me about yourself. Who is Suehaila Amen? Born and raised in Dearborn, Michigan to Mohsen Amen and Lila Alcodray, I inherited the activism gene from my parents who have served the community for over 30 years through various organizations.   The eldest of 4, I have two sisters and a brother. I am currently employed as the Judicial Executive for the Honorable Mark W. Somers, Judge in the 19 th District Court in Dearborn, and was previously emp...

In the aftermath of Libya's settling the Pan Am claims with the families of the victims of the terrorist bombing, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri asked Libya’s Ghaddafi to account for the disappearance of the Imam and offered a willingness to forgive without getting the billions Libya’s former regime spent to rehabilitate its image in the West. Still the now demised regime refused and only with its demise it is becoming clear that the Imam was killed.   For many years there was hope, against the odds, that the fate of the Lebanese Shia Imam Sadr would be determined- that he was held captive with the possibility of release and return. After all, on the invitation of Ghaddafi himself, Imam Sadr visited Libya and met with Ghaddafi. Ghaddafi claimed that the Imam and his two companions left Libya for Italy. Lebanese and Italians investigations revealed that the Imam and his companions met Ghaddafi and never left Libya. Some reports indicate that the Imam and his companions were kil...

On ethnic media, the Arab American Journal and the future of Arab Americans Mr. Mohamed Ozeir is one of the well-known former residents of Dearborn. He was an editor at our sister publication the Arab American News and started his own newspaper, the Arab American Journal, that was published from 1997 until it stopped publishing in 2002. Mr. Ozeir wrote a regular column that was widely read for its insights on Dearborn Arab politics and Lebanese and Arab politics. The Forum and Link approached him for an interview with the hope of documenting an important part of the Arab American history and experience. The following are excerpts from the interview: *Tell me a little bit about yourself? I am a graduate of the Lebanese university where I studied political science. I have an MA from San Francisco State University and I am working on a PhD at Wayne State University. I had to interrupt my PhD studies for family reasons. I am a journalist by profession. I worked at the Lebanese daily As-Sa...

TLC's All- American Muslim Study based on the DAAS survey       Sunday was the debut of the much- awaited TLC show All American Muslims. Five Arab American Muslim families from the Detroit area were chosen for a reality show. Much has been written on the show and most of it is positive. This is good. There is national and international interest in Arab Americans and Muslim Americans- an interest that can be traced to the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent mix of curiosity, paranoia, suspicion and enmity displayed toward Arab and Muslim Americans, in part due to the fact that the community “looked” like the enemy. The show was supposed to stimulate conversations and challenge the negative stereotypes about the Muslim American community. No spelling bee queen, no Snooki Blessed are those who do not expect too much for they shall not be disappointed. It’s good to keep this saying in mind when thinking of anything in life, this show included. This is real...

Wayne county and a number of its officials are the news these days. A few media outlets are fixated on what they see as cozy political arrangements and are intent on bringing down the administration of Wayne County Executive Bob Ficano. Defamatory and Unfounded Allegations This is simply the media at its worst. The allegations of the county having improper relationship with political donors are defamatory and unfounded. One media outlet broke the news last year about the linkage between political donors and/or contractors and a fund that pays for overseas trips of county officials designed to bring business to the county. The media outlet brought this issue in an attempt to expose “government corruption.” The allegations are unfounded. Now the media is following up this unholy crusade with this anti- Ficano campaign by attacking the administration for the severance pay of Turkia Awada, a woman known for competence and integrity. The media has jumped onto this issue as proof of alleged ...

The FBI counter- terrorism training is clearly a problem. There seems to be a theme in the training of the FBI agents- Islam is evil and adherents are a threat. The story from Seattle is that a community leader from that area who attended the 2011 FBI Citizens' Academy class in Seattle reported that the training included material equating Islam with Nazism, part of that documents read: "A careful comparison of Arab/Islamist propaganda and Nazi propaganda reveals the closeness of these links. . .I would suggest that the current conflicts are a continuation of Nazi policies carried out by Arabs. . ." The document was signed by an FBI agent. Again, we have a problem. NPR reports that the FBI is reevaluating its whole counter- terrorism training that refers to culture or religion. This is a first step in the right direction. There is another problem. The NPR story posed the question: "The question that everyone is asking — and the FBI is trying to answer now — is how t...

The United States government killed Anwar Awlaki, an American citizen who joined, as a propagandist and cheerleader, the Al Qaeda's war against the U.S. This killing raises a number of constitutional questions regarding the seemingly summary execution of an American citizen. The Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution reads: "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." Was Awlaki "deprived of life" without due process of law? ...