Friday, May 17, 2013
The Arab American Chamber of Commerce says it will re-evaluate the future of the 18-year-old event for 2014.
In an effort to refocus the Arab International Festival, organizers announced on Friday that the event has been postponed for 2013. The festival was scheduled to take place June 14 to 17 at Ford Woods Park. In previous years the event was held along Warren Avenue. The one-year hiatus will allow organizers to work with Dearborn city officials and better plan for the festival, the Arab American Chamber of Commerce said in a press release. "With the move to a new location, Ford Woods Park, we needed more time to ensure we provide a quality event that the community has come to expect from us. The purpose of the 18-year-old annual celebration has been to enhance economic vitality of the region, cultural awareness and promotion of business along…
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The Gainesville pastor plans to attend the Arab International Festival in Dearborn in June.
Officials at Dearborn Public Schools said there are no plans to meet with Pastor Terry Jones next month, when Jones returns to Dearborn for the Arab International Festival. Jones announced on his website on May 9 that he will meet with Scott Casebolt, principal of Edsel Ford High School, to discuss his concerns about Muslim students bullying non-Muslim students at the school. Jones traveled to Edsel Ford in October 2012 to protest what he calls “aggressive bullying by gangs of Muslim youths” in public places, including schools. Jones said in the press release that he contacted Casebolt’s office, and a school employee told him they were unsure which day Casebolt could meet with Jones. “In aftermath of the Boston Bombings it is now widely …
Monday, May 6, 2013
The city agreed to pay an undisclosed amount of money to Acts 17 Apologetics to settle a lawsuit stemming from a 2010 incident.
The city of Dearborn has agreed to publicly apologize to a group of Christian missionaries arrested in 2010 while protesting at the annual Arab International Festival, according to a lawsuit settlement announced on Monday. The lawsuit was filed by the American Freedom Law Center in Ann Arbor on behalf of Dr. Nabeel Qureshi, David Wood and Paul Rezkalla, members of the Christian missionary group Acts 17 Apologetics, who said their rights were violated when they were arrested by police on June 18, 2010, and charged with “breach of the peace” for their protest. Under the terms of the settlement, the city must post an apology on its website for three years. It also must remove a news release and letter from Dearborn Mayor John O’Reilly that …
Friday, May 3, 2013
The controversial pro-Christian pastor will return to Dearborn on June 14.
Terry Jones, a Christian pastor from Gainesville, Fla., announced Friday that he and his group, Stand Up America! will be returning to Dearborn on June 14 to protest the annual Arab International Festival. The festival is scheduled for June 14 to 17 at the city-owned Ford Woods Park. According to Jones' website, Jones will be joined by Ruben Israel, a representative of the Bible Believers, Pastor David Grisham of Repent Amarillo, and Rabbi Nachum Shifren of the California Security Council. The controversial Qur'an-burning pastor gained notoriety in the city after staging an anti-Islam rally outside of Edsel Ford High School in October 2012. Speaking to Patch.com, Jones said his reason for attending the festival is to preach the message of …
Monday, April 29, 2013
The 18th annual festival will move to Ford Woods Park with approval from Dearborn city officials.
Big changes are coming for the 18th annual Arab International Festival, scheduled for June 14-16 in Dearborn. Organizers have petitioned the city of Dearborn to allow the festival to take place at Ford Woods Park, with restricted admittance to paid attendees due to attacks from Christian missionary groups in recent years. The festival is the biggest annual outdoor gathering of Arab Americans in the United States. In previous years, the free festival was held on Warren Avenue and included games, activities, and a public celebration of the Muslim religion. Last year, however, several Christian missionaries picketed the event and brought a pig's head in protest. According to a report in USA Today, Mayor Jack O'Reilly, Jr. said one of the …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
The City of Dearborn suggested that festival officials are discussing refreshing the annual event.
The idea of moving one of Dearborn's iconic events to a different location is again a topic of discussion amongst city officials. Mayor Jack O'Reilly said Tuesday that talks would begin soon about moving the Arab International Festival from its usual spot on Warren Avenue. "We offered this the last couple of years, and they were adamant about staying," O'Reilly said of festival organizers, led by the American Arab Chamber of Commerce. However, O'Reilly shared that changes on the organization's Executive Board also meant a change in popular opinion on the subject of moving the festival. Support for moving the festival centers around the fact that hosting the event at a closed site would protect the city from liability concerning protestors…
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Carnival games are hard to win–but are they illegal? Dearborn resident Richard Margittay says yes.
A retired Dearborn police officer trained in enforcing proper use of carnival midway games claims that some of the games at Dearborn's Arab International Festival are rigged. Dearborn resident Richard Margittay filed a complaint in June with both the Dearborn Police Department and Wayne County Sheriff's Department, alleging that he watched 166 people play one of two basketball games, and not a single one made the free throw shot required to win a prize at the carnival game. In a blog posted on Dearborn Patch, Margittay said he saw similar results at the 2012 Spirit Festival in Dearborn Heights in June. North American Midway Entertainment, which is the company in charge of the carnival games and rides at both festivals, runs more than 100…
Friday, June 15, 2012
Despite a littering of thrown debris and profanity, the majority of the festival remained undisturbed as a radical Christian group made its way through the fair Friday.
For a brief moment Friday, the song "Why Can't We Be Friends?" blared over the speakers of a ride at the Arab International Festival in Dearborn; but nearby, an anti-Islamic protest made its way down Warren Avenue, drowning out the lyrics' message of friendship with the angry shouts of attendees. The incident led to two charges of disorderly conduct, according to the Wayne County Sheriff's Department. While the majority of the festival remained unscathed, the Bible Believers–a small contigent with an anti-Islam message–protested at the fair on Warren Avenue. Near them, separated by Wayne County police, a crowd of 50-100 counter-protesters contested the group's presence with words and actions. Most were teenagers, while several adult …
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Thursday, June 14, 2012
An organization known as the Bible Believers says that “there will be a lawsuit” if they get arrested or assaulted.
A national anti-Muslim group has announced that it will have a presence at the Arab International Festival in Dearborn this weekend–and is asking police to ensure that their free speech rights are protected. The organization, known as the Bible Believers, caused a stir at the 2011 festival when a crowd of counter-protesters gathered around them. The situation resulted in the arrest of several festival attendees. Bible Believers leader Ruben Israel told Dearborn Patch this week that the group will return to Dearborn to “preach” at the festival on Friday and Sunday. But concerns have arisen that the group will not be properly protected. According to Israel, the group hired the Memphis-based Center for Religious Expression to assert their …
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The 2012 festival will take place June 15-17 on Warren Avenue.
The Arab International Festival will once again happen in Dearborn this June–but approval of the event didn’t come without a fight. City Council on Tuesday gave approval for the festival to take place June 15-17 along Warren Avenue, conditional upon the signing of an agreement that the city will take a backseat to Wayne County in terms of providing police support for the event. In May 2011, the city told the American Arab Chamber of Commerce–which organizes the event–that they would have to reduce the cost of the festival to the city, or else discontinue it. Festival organizers were able to provide their own clean-up, while the Wayne County Sherriff’s Office provided security, and that goal was accomplished. But at a meeting held April 19…
Daniel Lai
8:46 am on Monday, May 20, 2013
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