Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem
By Ray Hanania Rania Abouzeid was named as the recipient of the prestigious George Polk Awards in Journalism for 2014 in the category of Foreign Reporting for her feature published by Politico.com on the rise of ISIS, “The Jihad Next Door: The Syrian Roots of Iraq’s Civil War.” Rania Abouzeid grew up in Australia and is the…
By Ray Hanania Talk of the Town Radio for Friday Feb. 13, 2015 features a discussion on the Chapel Hill shootings, the murder of American peace activists Kayla Mueller and the celebration of her killing by Israelis and American Jewish activists, and also remembering the killing by Israel of another American, Rachel Corrie. Guests include Alexandra…
Read More “Radio Podcast: Alexandra Halaby on Chapel Hill, Kayla Mueller and more” »
By Ray Hanania One of my first journalism reports was written in 1976 when I was asked by the City of Chicago to cover a meeting between Morocco’s Washington D.C. Ambassador and Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley. The meeting was at City Hall and was intended to commemorate the longstanding friendship between the Arab country of Morocco and the…
Read More “Morocco celebrates longest relationship with America” »
By Ray Hanania Arab and Muslim callers to The Arab Daily News radio show on US Arab Radio broadcast in Detroit (690 AM) and Washington DC (700 AM) said that the slaughter of three Arab Muslims on Tuesday is clearly a hate crime. The callers and guests who joined me, Chicago radio host Rush Darwish,…
Read More “Arabs, Muslims describe Chapel Hill shootings as hate crime” »
By Ray Hanania When I was a child, my mother took my younger sister and I to see the Reverend Billy Graham in downtown Chicago. It had to be around 1959. My mom was a very religious Christian. She was born in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus and of Christianity. And she was proud of…
Read More “Was Islamophobia Behind Grisly Slaughter of Chapel Hill Students?” »
By Ray Hanania Chapel Hill police have identified the alleged killer of three Muslim Arab students as Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, of 270 Summerwalk Circle. According to police, Hicks was involved in a “dispute” over a parking place at the condominium parking lot with the victims. Hicks is currently being held without bond, and many…
Read More “Update: Slaughter of Muslim students by American Christian” »
Three Arab Muslim students living in a region of growing anti-Arab and anti-Muslim anger were found slaughtered Tuesday night in Chapel Hill by a White man whose motives have not yet been determined by police. But the community is wondering whether or not this is another example of a racist hate crime by mainstream White America. By…
Read More “Three Muslim Arab students massacred at Chapel Hill” »
The latest edition of the popular and hilarious comic strip IkhrAss which lampoons the anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, anti-Semitic, anti-Jewish and anti-Christian (and poorly written) hate website Ikhras, authored by “Thabet al-Arabi” and “Qassem Lufti.” Ikhras is clearly funded by the Syrian regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad. Permission granted to republish the comic strip in its entirety…
By Ray Hanania Author and Muslim feminist rights voice Asra Nomani discusses the fight to confront growing extremism in the Muslim and the Arab World, and the more important battle to strengthen the voices of moderate. Nomani, the author of several books on her life as a Muslim woman, talks about the need to understand how…
Read More “Asra Nomani details her fight against extremism” »
By Ray Hanania The decision by Israel’s Arab political parties to create a “joint list” in the upcoming March 17 Israeli Knesset elections has put the spotlight on Israel’s historic contradictions claiming on one hand to be a “Democracy” but in reality embracing racist and discriminatory practices. In the past, the majority of Arab Israeli…
Read More “Arab election unity puts spotlight on Israeli racism & discrimination” »
Rabbis for Human Rights protests Israel’s collective punishment By Ray Hanania Rabbis for Human Rights, the only rabbinical based human rights organization in Israel, issued a statement this week calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the practice of punishing families and relatives of individuals accused of violent crimes by destroying their homes….
Read More “Rabbis for Human Rights protests Israel’s collective punishment” »
By Ray Hanania Longtime American Arab activists Warren and Amal David are touring the country to promote their newest online venture, ArabAmerica.com. At a luncheon they hosted in Saturday at Fattoush Restaurant in Chicago’s Southwest Suburbs, the heart of Chicagoland’s Arab American community, the David’s presented their community news and information website to a gathering of 40…
Read More “Warren and Amal David bring America to the Arabs” »
Muslim prisoner Mohamedou Ould Slahi offers a poignant story of an innocent man who faces torture by American soldiers at Gitmo with an inspiring sense of humor. His book “Guantanamo Diary” is a must read for Americans, Muslims, Christians and Jews. By Ray Hanania Most Americans are familiar with the story of Anne Frank, the…
Read More “Muslim Prisoner Details Torture at American Gulag in New Book” »
The truth is that President Al-Sisi of Egypt can move his nation forward both as a strongman and as a hero of the Arab Spring by learning the lessons of past failures of Democracy in the Middle East and understanding that George Orwell’s book 1984 cast tyranny in the wrong way. By Ray Hanania In the…
Read More “Egypt and the need to overcome Radical Islam, a 1984 re-do” »
By Ray Hanania Ever since al-Jazeera (AlJazeera, Al Jazeera) launched as a mouthpiece for the Government of Qatar in 1996, Arab governments have been slowly assessing the power of an in-house and controlled news media. Although al-Jazeera (“The Island”) claims to be objective the Qatar-based government run news channel has drifted far away from professional…
Read More “Arab governments investing heavily in Satellite TV News” »
By Ray Hanania While the Middle East and issues related to Arab countries dominate the attention of Americans through news media and national security, most Americans are avoiding travel to Middle East countries. A recent study by Hotels.com shows that of the top 50 destinations where Americans are traveling, only one Arab Middle East destination, Dubai in…
Read More “Americans shun Middle East as travel destination” »
By Ray Hanania I used to watch beauty pageants purely for entertainment. But in recent years, they’ve become the focus of a cultural debate between the Arab world, and the rest. The Miss Universe Pageant was held Sunday in Doral, Florida in the United States. It featured 88 female contestants competing in categories involving their…
The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU), a leader in global payment services, today announced its association with one of the Arab world’s most popular pop stars – Amr Diab, as a Brand Ambassador. As an Arab star with a strong international following, Amr Diab will now represent Western Union and its quick, convenient and reliable money transfer services, offered across…
Read More “Western Union Signs Amr Diab as Brand Ambassador” »