MAKING TIMER WAY

Sensational headlines obscure the steady economic,
political and social gains of local Arab Americans.

DIANA LI E BERMAN

StaffWriter

firlhe Dearborn Arab Ame'rican
A community burst into the

1

world's consciousness the first week
of October, when television stations
and newspapers showed young men
at a city hall rally burning the Israeli
flag.
Left on the cutting room floor were
photos of an estimated 5,000 other,
mostly peac,efill, participants in the
event designed to show solidarity
with Palestinian Arabs.
The rally and the march that pre-
ceded it were led by Imarn Hassan
Qazwini of the Islamic Center of
America, located in Detroit, just out-
side Dearborn. When told that pro-
testers were about to burn a flag, the
Imam appealed for order.
"Please, my brothers," newspaper
reports quoted him as saying, "this is
not what we want the world to see."
Osarna Siblani, founder and pub-
lisher of the Dearborn-based Arab
American News, was among organiz-
ers of the solidarity march.
"Just as there is a Jewish communi-
ty that supports the State of Israel,"
Siblani said, 'there is an Arab core-
m unity that supports Arab interests
in the Middle East. Unfortunately,
there is extremism on both sides.
"You can't control the response of
every individual," he added.

Strength in Numbers

While Americans of Arab descent live
throughout Michigan, Dearborn has
the biggest concentration in the state,

making up about 18-20 percent of
the city's 100,000 population.
This group is just beginning to show
its political muscle, said Abe Turaani,
regional coordinator for the American-
Arab Anti-Discrimination (ADC)
Committee, the largest Arab American
grassroots organization in the United
States. The Dearborn chapter is one of
82 across the country
"The Arab American community is
becoming empowered to take respon-
sibility for what happens, to be
proactive rather than feel victimized,"
said Turaani, a financial and retire-
ment planner born in a refugee camp
in Syria. "As a result, more doors are
opened for them."
Abed Hammoud is president of the
Arab American Political Action
Committee (AAPAC), an independ
ent political committee. Founded in
1998, the Dearborn-based organiza
tion has members from other states.
Hammoud came to the United
States from Lebanon in 1990,
became a Wayne County assistant
prosecutor in 1996, and was a dele-
gate to the national Democratic con-
vention last year.
The catalyst for AAPAC's forma-
tion was a school bond pmposal
Hammoud and other residents of
Dearborn's largely Arab American
east and south ends found unaccept-
able. The proposal, with minor varia-
tions, has since been defeated t-svice.
"People used to believe that if we
vote it's not going to matter,"
liammoud said. "They even thought
the city wouldn't count their votes.
Tutaani said Arab Americans would
voice their protest by boycotting the

in shtetl (village) fashion, setting up bakeries, meat
markets and restaurants side by side. The females
working behind the counters peer out of head-
scarves, while men in street clothes inspect plastic
bags of freshly baked pita piled in baskets. Arabic is
often the only language spoken.
The area is a magnet for new immigrants, who
may live 10 to a house to save money.
Good demographic data aren't easy to come by
because the U.S. Census doesn't track the Arab
American community, but there have been
attempts, most notably by John Zogby's polling
firm, Zogby International. John is the brother of
Arab American leader James Zogby.

said its success comes
from the good will of its
members — and their
refusal to discuss politi-
cal issues.
"There were 36 other
Arab-Jewish groups in
the United States at the
time. I went to a confer-
ence in Chicago; I was
on the agenda and I told
them not to dialogue,"
Michlin said. "They did-
n't listen to me, and
most of them have fold-
ed."
Arnold Michlin of Commerce Tbumship, American
Among the AAJF pro-
Arab and Jewish Friends founder, (seated), is sur-
rounded by this year's co-chairs: Ahmad Ezzeddine of grams are lectures, din-
ners, tours of religious
Farmington, Jeff Kahn and Mike Donenftld of West
institutions and an essay
Bloomfield and Tarik Daoud of Bloomfield Hills.
contest for teens. Last
election. "Now they are partaking from year, scholarships totaling more than
the inside and making a difference."
$15,000 were awarded.
Hanunoud said he had no prob-
,s solve
In addition, the group,
lems with Democratic vice-presiden
local conflicts. Soon after its forma-
tial candidate Joe Lieberman. "I don't
tion, Michlin recalls, there was con-
judge people by their religion," he
siderable iension at North
said. "He has friends in Israel; he
-SehoOl, evidently
e two ethniC
could have made a very big difference
in the negotiations."
was asked to .
OPAItt

Friendshii).s.

244
most s€ cress meeting grow
Jewish and Arab Americans is the
group American Arab and Jewish
Friends (AMP).
A program of the National
Coalition for Community and Justice
(NCCj), it provides an opportunity
to socialize and network, while also
encouraging friendships between
teens of both ethnic groups. Founded
in I 981_ , it is one of the only organi-
zations of its type in the United
States to survive for more than a few
years.
Arnold Michlin of Commerce
Township, a founder of the group,

In a comparison of six ethnic groups in early
2000, the Zogby survey found that half the Arab
subjects surveyed had at least a college education;
more than half said they were better off financially
than four years ago; and 30 percent had a personal
income second only to the Jewish subjects in the
poll.
One of the more significant findings of the survey
is that the majority of Arab Americans are
American-born for. the first time in their century-
old history in the United States.
Second- and third-generation Arabs are further
from the conflicts that displaced their parents and
grandparents, but there is a strong solidarity with

Unite&
He agreei`44`
glements" policy
"The Detroit metropolitan area
presents enough challenges," he said,
"it doesn't leave us the time to argue
about anything else."
Tarik Daoud of Bloomfield Hills,
owner of Al Long Ford in Warren, is
Christian Arab co-chair for the
group. After 45 years in the United
States, he sees great changes in the

MAKING THEIR

Wm on page 22

their progenitors on issues ranging from ethnic dis-
crimination to Palestinian rights. They aren't con-
strained by language and "foreignness."
"These kids went to school and learned their cul-
ture was backwards and their people are violent,"
said sociologist Louise Cainkar of the University of
Illinois. "There's nothing like negativity and racism
to keep people politically engaged, plus the uprising
in the Middle East. Their parents faced this kind of
racism and discrimination and thought they were
just never going to become fully American."
Ramy Eletreby, a 19-year-old college student from

GROWING CLOUT

on page 12

1/12
2001

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