Dearborn Imam Finds Drone Policy 'Troubling'

Imam Hassan Al-Qazwini of the Islamic Center of America expressed concerns over the Obama administration’s drone policy after remarks made by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul.

A Dearborn imam expressed concerns over the Obama administration’s drone policy after remarks made by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul during a filibuster last week, according to a report on MLive.com. Paul criticized the notion that the president could use drones against American citizens on U.S. soil, including Arab-Americans in Dearborn. “If you are sitting in a cafeteria in Dearborn, Mich., if you happen to be an Arab-American who has a relative in the Middle East and you communicate with them by e-mail and somebody says, ‘Oh, your relative is someone we suspect of being associated with terrorism,’ is that enough to kill you? For goodness sakes, wouldn’t we try to arrest and come to the truth by having a jury and a presentation of the facts on both…

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Interfaith Rally Against Hate in Dearborn: 'We Have to Work Together'

Michigan Muslim Community Council rallies to denounce Mideast violence and video that sparked it.

The Michigan Muslim Community Council rallied outside the Islamic Center of America this afternoon, and this time, it wasn’t because Terry Jones was coming to town. The message was loud and clear as the MMCC, along with hundreds of protesters, condemned the violent unrest that resulted from an infamous movie trailer of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad entitled “Innocence of Muslims.” The nearly 14-minute long amateur production portrays the Prophet Muhammad in a disgraceful manner, according to Imam Hassan Al-Qazwini, leader of the Islamic Center of America. “It is filthy, it is disgusting and it is a true disgrace and cheap propaganda,” said Qazwini of the video. “Instead of others depicting our prophet, we need to depict our prophet as a true …

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Greg

11:34 am on Saturday, September 29, 2012

Its simple we need to stop the Islamatization of America....if you don't like it do us all a favor and pack your bags and go back to the middle east   more ›

Memorial for Murdered Dearborn Man to be Held Friday

Hassan Zeidan was killed July 13, 2011, in a shooting at a basketball court in Dearborn.

A memorial service this Friday will honor a Dearborn man who was murdered one year ago, according to friends and family. The memorial, scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at the Islamic Center of America, will remember Hassan Zeidan. All family, friends, and those wishes to pay respects are welcome to attend. Zeidan, 23, died July 13, 2011, in a fight during a basketball game that turned deadly. According to police, Zeidan was playing basketball with 34-year-old Dearborn resident Fadi Faraj that evening at a court near Riverside Academy West, located on Schaefer Road in east Dearborn. An argument between the two led to Faraj retreiving a gun from his car, and reportedly shooting Zeidan four times. Zeidan died from the gunshot wounds. Faraj pleaded…

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Lebanese Patriarch Makes Visit to Dearborn Mosques, Cultural Center

Lebanese Maronite Catholic Patriarch Bechara Rai stopped by Bint Jebail Cultural Center, the Islamic Center of America and the American Muslim Center in Dearborn on Monday.

Leaders of Sunday's Anti-Islam Conference Slam Dearborn Imam

Armed with footage of Friday's sermon at the Islamic Center of America, Pamela Gellar and Robert Spencer claim that requests to join their conference in Dearborn are coming in 'fast and furious.'

Two commentators leading a conference in Dearborn this weekend–protesting what they say is evidence of honor killings in the Islamic faith–spoke out against Islamic Center of America Imam Sayed Qazwini in advance of the event on their respective blogs. Citing video footage of the imam's Friday sermon to worshippers at the ICA, Pamela Gellar and Robert Spencer call Qazwini "pro-honor killing." "If the mainstream media narrative about Islam were true, this imam and others would be standing with us against Islamic honor killing," Spencer wrote in his blog, Jihad Watch. Spencer and Gellar are heading up the Jessica Mokdad Human Rights Conference, being held Sunday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dearborn. Mokdad, for whom the conference was …

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Terry Jones's Dearborn Protest Takes Place Without Incident

Quran-burning Pastor Jones used the Islamic Center as a backdrop to discuss what he says are signs of Sharia Law in Dearborn.

For the first time in his several visits to Dearborn, Quran-burning Florida Pastor Terry Jones's demonstration Saturday in front of the city's Islamic Center of America was rather uneventful. Jones and a handful of supporters gathered in front of Dearborn's largest mosque Saturday afternoon to speak out against what they say are signs of Sharia–or Islamic law–in Dearborn and other U.S. cities. While several of Jones' supporters were heckled by counterprotesters on their way to the grassy area in front of the mosque, no arrests were made and things stayed relatively peaceful. The majority of the anti-Jones crowd came as part of the southeast Michigan-based activist group By Any Means Necessary. Last June, several members of BAMN were …

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Detroit Historical Society to Host Tour of Historic Dearborn Houses of Worship

Limited tickets are still available for the March 5 tour.

A limited number of tickets are still available for the Detroit Historical Society’s Historic Houses of Worship tour on Monday, March 5. The tour will feature the following Dearborn houses of worship: St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Parish, Christ Episcopal Church, the Islamic Center of America, and Sacred Heart Parish.  St. Alphonsus was originally formed by German-speaking families from Westphalia-Rhineland that settled in the area of Warren and Schaeffer between 1825 and 1845. The church, which has been rebuilt on the same property three times, was erected on land donated by the Esper family. The current church features Pewabic tiles, stained glass windows and an alter made of 38 feet of Roman stone and Italian marble. Christ Episcopal …

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Jessica Carreras

5:10 pm on Saturday, February 25, 2012

That sounds like an excellent idea for the Dearborn Historical Museum, Carla! Considering that this event is nearly sold out, I think people would be interested!   more ›

Terry Jones Announces Planned Return to Dearborn

The Quran-burning Florida pastor is planning to hold a protest on April 7 in front of Dearborn's Islamic Center of America.

Nearly one year to the day since his plan to host a protest in front of Dearborn's Islamic Center of America was thwarted, anti-Islamic pastor and Florida politician Terry Jones said he is coming back. Jones, who is most famously known for his public burning of the Muslim holy book the Quran, announced on Feb. 1 that he will hold a demonstration on April 7 in front of Dearborn's largest mosque. Jones' two previous public demonstrations in Dearborn both led to arrests after counterprotesters stormed the streets. The event prefaces his International Judge Muhammad Day, planned to take place on Sept. 11 in Gainesville, FL. The original day of anti-Islamic speech and action was the occasion for Jones' Quran-burning stunt; however, he has not …

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Detroit News: Stockham Ruled Incompetent in Mosque Bomb Plot Trial

Roger Stockham, who was accused of allegedly threatening to blow up the Islamic Center of America, was ruled incompetent, the Detroit News reports.

The Detroit News reports that Roger Stockham was ruled incompetent Monday to stand trial on charges that he allegedly threatened to blow up the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn. Wayne County Circuit Judge Bruce Morrow made the ruling. He said Stockham, 63, must stay in a mental facility until he is either ruled competent for trial or committed, the News reports. Here is the complete story in the Detroit News.

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ACCESS, Arab-American Community Continue to Address Problems of Poverty

Education services and support help break down the barriers faced by new immigrants and struggling families.

The Arab-American population in Dearborn has dramatically changed over the last 10 years. There are far more youth (more than 30 percent of its population is below 18 years of age), the immigrant population is still growing and the city took in 3,000 refugees last year. But poverty is a continued and growing issue. In the south end of Dearborn–where almost 90 percent of the population is Yemeni–the city has the highest area of families living in poverty in Dearborn. In some areas, poverty rates rival those of Detroit, and four out of 10 children live in households with incomes at or below poverty, according to Inkster-based Starfish Family Services. Their studies also show that in Dearborn, 15 percent or more of households earn less than $…

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