US Arab Radio celebrates 11 years of achievements. Radio host Laila Alhusini brings together Detroit’s American Arab talent to build a progressive voice for American Arab rights in Michigan
U.S. Arab Radio celebrated successfully Friday 11 years as the only daily radio program addressing Arab-American issues. The celebration attracted a record number of local, national, and international journalists, community and business leaders, supporters, professionals, sponsors, youth, prizes, speeches and aspiring journalists.
The celebration, which was a Sahra with the Arab-American Community highlighted the role of ethnic media in the United States, the need to improve media presences in immigrant communities and bridging the gaps between the Middle Eastern American communities and other communities in the United States, including the African-American communities. U.S. Arab Radio has been a leader in providing news and information to the Arab and Muslims communities in North America.
Founder of U.S. Arab Radio and renowned journalist Laila Alhusini thanked sponsors, supporters and listeners for making the event possible and for the great success of U.S. Arab Radio.
She began the event with a well-received speech about the role of ethnic in the United States and the need to start a national radio station to serve the rapidly growing Middle Eastern American community. The response was overwhelming from business and community leaders and the plan resonated well locally, nationally and internationally.
“Starting a nationwide station can be accomplished by forming a nonprofit organization, utilizing grants, selling advertising, establishing private-public partnership, attracting sponsorships and relying on your support. And yes if we build it, they will come and we will be successful,” she said.
U.S. Arab Radio host Adel Mozip dazzled the crowd with a multi-media presentation about U.S. Arab Radio and its programs, including the award-winning Ramadan program and its rippling effects through out the nation and the Middle East.
U.S Arab Radio presented several awards to journalists and business leaders, including world-class speaker and author Al Cole, Dr. Sahar Khamis of the University of Mary land and Washington Report on Middle East Affairs director Delinda Hanley.
Hanley spoke about responsibility in reporting and writing news and the dedication to telling the truth about the Middle East and local and national issues.
Cole focused on empowerment and encouraging sponsors and supporters to stand behind U.S. Arab Radio and its great and quality programing. He saluted Alhusini for her dedication and tenacity to maintain the radio and moving forward and for her aspiration to establish a national station to address Arab-American issues.
Dr. Khamis discussed the need for the Middle Eastern-American communities to stand behind ethnic media to ensure accuracy of telling their own narrative and combating Islamophobia and extremism.
Wayne Tree Manor served an exquisite variety of Middle Eastern dishes, and Syrian opera singer Lubana Alquntar thrilled the crowd with her golden voice and aspiring vintage songs of the greatest stars of the Middle East.
The event concluded with performances by Turab beladi dance group, giving participants a night of fun and celebration.
Awards for presented to guest speakers including:
Dr. Sahar Khamis for volunteering her time to host “The Bridges,” a popular U.S. Arab Radio program that airs on the third week of every month. The program tackles a number of important and timely issues, including countering the two parallel evils of Islamophobia and violent extremism, and the causes and cures for it. It also offers a unique platform for interfaith voices to be heard, in an attempt to build bridges of coexistence, tolerance, reconciliation and understanding, in addition to showcasing examples of successful community engagement and activism, especially among women of different backgrounds.
Adel Mozip for his work at the U.S. Arab Radio as a journalist and a technician and for his volunteer work to encourage youth to become journalists and enhance education in the community. He is currently running for the Dearborn Board of Education.
Delinda Hanley for her support of U.S. Arab Radio and young Arab-American journalists and her dedication to uncovering the truth about the conflict in Palestine and excellence in news writing and reporting.
Mohamad Alkhashab. Reach Media president and CEO, for an outstanding role in connecting Arab Americans with their motherland and maintaining their culture and traditions through Reach Media and ART.
Mohamad Abelzaher for his volunteering to direct programing at U.S. Arab Radio, for his training of young journalists to become acquainted with western media and for expanding U.S. Arab Radio reach into the Middle East and connecting Middle Eastern journalists with their audience in North America.
U.S. Arab Radio broadcast covers Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland, Baltimore, Columbia, Michigan, Chicago, Windsor Canada, Toledo, Ohio, and New York, Connecticut and New Jersey.
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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