Tag: middle-east
Blueprint or Band-Aid? Why the “Levant Peace” Pitch Misses the Mark
A newly advanced U.S. vision for Syria and Lebanon frames them as “next pieces” in a regional peace architecture. But from a pro-Green-Party, pro-Palestine vantage, the plan falls short on sovereignty, justice and lasting remedy. We unpack the fault lines in Tom Barrack’s article and relate them to the values we champion at Dearborn Blog. The ...
Cairo–Ankara–Riyadh–Islamabad: Sketching a New Security Spine
Excerpt:A flurry of high-level calls between Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia is reviving an old conversation with new urgency: can four pivotal states in the Arab-Islamic world assemble something NATO-like—a durable security architecture with shared planning, procurement, and political leverage—without importing the downsides of bloc politics? This piece maps the real building blocks already ...
How U.S. and Israeli Interests Are Elevating a Faux Iranian Regent
By Dearborn Blog Staff An eye-opening essay in the Boston Review sheds light on a disturbing and ongoing campaign: the U.S. and Israeli-backed push to position Reza Pahlavi—the exiled son of Iran’s deposed shah—as the face of regime change in Iran. The article, “Our Man for Tehran” by Alex Shams, unpacks how this nostalgia-fueled political ...
The Ugly Cousin Scoop: “Dear Dearborn Heights…”
They say sarcasm is anger’s ugly cousin. And cheating’s ugly cousin is flirting, or so I’ve heard. Well, Dearborn has an ugly cousin too. About as ugly as a festering boil on the red side of a baboon’s ass. Well, maybe not THAT ugly. But certainly that inflamed. Fellow outsiders, I introduce to you: the ...
The Islamic Centers Scoop: Five Customs That Are Unique To Dearborn Mosques
Dearborn, Michigan is home to highest concentration of Arabs outside of the Middle East, as well as the greatest number of Islamic institutions in the Western world. These centers and organizations have been invaluable in serving the Muslim community and in keeping Islamic traditions alive and active. Muslims throughout the Americas and Europe have envied ...
” Beirut, I Love You ” booktrailer for Zena el Khalil
Beirut I Love You is Zena el Khalil’s rollicking yet tender memoir about living in a city that thrives on contrasts and contradictions. This is the story of Zena, a young woman who has fallen under the spell of a city that threatens to engulf her in war, grief and love affairs. In the streets armed militias ...
The Death Camp Scoop: Confessions Of An Arabic School Survivor
Previously, I touched upon the horrific institution of Arabic School as a last resort for parents who want to discipline their kids. Of course, that is an exaggeration. Arabic School is not meant to punish kids. It’s meant to serve a number of far greater purposes, such as language education, cultural awareness, and religious foundation. ...
Is Dearborn A City or A Settlement?
What makes a city a city and not a settlement?! A bunch of people living in houses in a large place makes a settlement. In order for a settlement to become a city, things need to happen. A city is where humans build a network of services, activities, and relationships, paint it with culture, literature, ...
Why Lebanese Love Their Raw Kibbeh And Where To Try It in Dearborn, Michigan
MAUREEN ABOOD wrote in NPR: Growing up, I never knew I was eating raw meat. Or maybe it was just that I didn't think "raw" was something worth noting. I simply knew that kibbeh nayeh was incredibly good. And so I was stunned by a recent spate of salmonella cases here in Michigan – home ...
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