Radio listeners in Detroit and Washington DC discuss a wide range of issues from the opposition of Chaldean Christians from the Middle East and mosque fight in Sterling Heights, to the commemoration of the 14th Anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Listeners also sound off on the plight of Syrian Refugees and Israel’s refusal to help, and the FX anti-Arab hate series, Tyrant
By Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania interviews Nadia Hilou, October 7, 2008 on Morning Radio.
Radio listeners sounded off in force on Friday on the issue of the protests by Chaldean Christians from Iraq against the building of a mosque in Sterling Heights, a suburb of Detroit near Dearborn.
Sterling Heights is known as “Little Baghdad” and has a large population of Chaldeans, Christians who are non-Arab from the Middle East.
The Chaldean Christians in Sterling Heights came out in force to oppose a plan to build an Islamic Mosque there claiming it would increase traffic but not hiding their animosity against Muslims.
We received many phone calls from Muslims, Christians and Chaldeans during the radio show.
Many Chaldean Christians and Christian Arabs believe they are victims of Islamic violence and fear that the Mosque will attract extremist Muslims to their community.
Chaldean protestor opposing the building of a Mosque in Sterling Heights holds up image of a woman in a burqa as a reason why (screen capture from the Sterling Heights City Video.)
Although many American cities and communities have opposed the building of a mosques, the battle in Sterling Heights is unique because the opposition is led by Christians from the Arab World, known as Chaldeans.
Sterling Heights has been now called “Sterling Hates.” The Sterling Heights Planning Commission voted unanimously to reject the mosque plan after more than one month of community protests and political threats.
Listeners also discussed the 14th Anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Americans remember Sept. 11, but have they learned anything?
Also, listeners talk about the growing controversy of Syrian refugees fleeing the fighting between the radical Islamic State (ISIS, Daesh) terrorists, the tyranny of Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad, and the ineffective and poorly led and armed Democratic rebels fighting for freedom.
We also talk about the vicious, anti-Arab FX TV show Tyrant produced by anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hater Howard Gordon. Tyrant is one of the most vicious, racist and stereotype-filled programs on television. And in America that claims it is not racist, panders to racist hatred through many programs like this.
Here is the audio file podcast of the radio show, The Arab Daily News Radio Show, broadcast live in Detroit on WNZK AM 690 Radio and in Washington DC on AM 700 Radio Friday Sept. 11, 2015.
Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.
Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).
Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.
Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.
His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.
Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.
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