With all of the dramatic and sometimes discouraging developments taking place across the Arab world, the challenges faced by the small but vibrant Arab American community are often given short shrift. This week we took time to acknowledge the threats to the community's security and well-being and the efforts being made to address these challenges.
On Wednesday, the Arab American Institute hosted its annual Kahlil Gibran Spirit of Humanity Awards Dinner, giving special recognition to the community's resilience, personal resources and the courageous allies who stand in defence of Arab American rights.
In the past year, the seriousness of these dangers has come to light. In some cases, threats have emanated from "hate groups" that have been emboldened in their efforts to defame the community. Once-marginal websites that have long spewed propaganda against Arabs and Muslims have now become mainstream, finding their hate echoed on Fox News or in the rantings of some presidential candidates. They paint all Muslims as a danger and make no distinction between "Arab" and "Muslim". Targeting an entire community, they promote intolerance and fear.
While Arab Americans have relied on law-enforcement agencies to defend against violence, threats of violence and acts of discrimination, all is not well on that front either. CNN has reported that training manuals used by the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies are filled with gross misrepresentations of Arab culture and Islam, and other recent reports (in a series of AP articles that just won a Pulitzer prize) show that the New York City Police Department has implemented a massive domestic-spying operation targeting Egyptians, Syrians, Palestinians and Muslims in general.
Arab Americans have drawn on their resources and their allies to fight back. One of the groups honoured with the Gibran "Spirit of Humanity" award was the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil-rights organisation born in the Deep South during the struggle for African-American rights. Today, the Center has become a leading voice speaking out against Islamophobic hate groups and discrimination in all forms.
Also honoured was a remarkable initiative launched by an Arab American, Dean Obeidallah, and an Iranian American, Negin Farsad. Their effort, "The Muslims Are Coming" comedy tour, last year travelled across the South, even to communities that had tried to block the construction of mosques. The tour relied on comedy to educate and break stereotypes.
The awards also recognised the work of the Arab Thought Foundation, an institution that promotes learning, cultural pride and self-reflection.
Each year the Gibran awards recognise an Arab American who has made an outstanding contribution in the area of public service. The Najeeb Halaby public service award was presented to former US ambassador Ted Kattouf for his three decades in the foreign service and his leadership of AMIDEAST, one of the largest US NGO's serving people in the Arab world.
The award was presented by US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, himself a former recipient. As unremarkable as all this might appear, the fact that a Lebanese American presented an award named after a Syrian American to a Palestinian American makes a statement itself about rising above divisions.
The night concluded with a tribute to Anthony Shadid, whose untimely death in February took a writer who had devoted his life to serving as a bridge between Americans and the Middle East.
Despite the challenges Arab Americans have faced and continue to face, the community remains proud of its heritage, and prouder still of its accomplishments in America.
James Zogby is the president of the Arab American Institute
On Twitter: @aaiusa
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Saudi Cup race day
Schedule in UAE time
5pm: Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors Cup (Turf), 5.35pm: 1351 Cup (T), 6.10pm: Longines Turf Handicap (T), 6.45pm: Obaiya Arabian Classic for Purebred Arabians (Dirt), 7.30pm: Jockey Club Handicap (D), 8.10pm: Samba Saudi Derby (D), 8.50pm: Saudia Sprint (D), 9.40pm: Saudi Cup (D)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
What is type-1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a genetic and unavoidable condition, rather than the lifestyle-related type 2 diabetes.
It occurs mostly in people under 40 and a result of the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugars.
Too much or too little blood sugar can result in an attack where sufferers lose consciousness in serious cases.
Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the more common type 2 diabetes.
Company%20Profile
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BABYLON
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Brief scores
Barcelona 2
Pique 36', Alena 87'
Villarreal 0
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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More on Quran memorisation:
The specs
Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric
Transmission: n/a
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 659Nm
Price estimate: Dh200,000
On sale: Q3 2022
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Aquaman%20and%20the%20Lost%20Kingdom
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
More Iraq election coverage:
Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
Profile Box
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif
Based: Manama, Bahrain
Sector: Sales, Technology, Conservation
Size: (employees/revenue) 4/ 5,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($100,000)
Investors: Two first-round investors including, 500 Startups, Fawaz Al Gosaibi Holding (Saudi Arabia)
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
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The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
|
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
