Not too far from the spires of Cinderella's Castle in Disneyland is Little Arabia, a vibrant community that is getting some long-overdue recognition.
Now an official district, the designation is a formal nod to Anaheim’s thriving Arab-American community, with its bustling shops, markets, restaurants, schools and houses of worship.
The decision was the result of years of tireless work by local Arab-American business owners and activists, led by Rashad Al-Dabbagh, founder and executive director of the Arab American Civic Council.
“This designation — which took about two decades of advocacy, education and outreach — gives the community a sense of belonging,” Mr Al-Dabbagh told The National.
“It says that Arab-Americans, Arab immigrants and immigrant communities in general are welcome in the city of Anaheim.”
A home away from home for Arabs in southern California, Little Arabia joins the ranks of regional government-sanctioned cultural enclaves such as Little Saigon, Little Armenia, Chinatown and Little Tokyo.
What over the years has grown into a vital community began quietly in the early 1980s with a small core of businesses centred around Anaheim’s Brookhurst Street corridor.
Mr Al-Dabbagh credits Altayebat Market, a Middle Eastern grocery, as the rallying point for the emerging community, where Arabs living in southern California and beyond would congregate to gather hard-to-find ingredients for traditional recipes.
Now home to more than 100 Arab-American-owned businesses — including doctor’s offices, barber shops, fashion boutiques, hookah lounges, cafes, halal groceries, and celebrated restaurants and bakeries — Little Arabia is thriving, and its roots in Anaheim have been strengthened by the success of its hard-fought campaign to become an official district.
“It gives confidence, hope and optimism to this community,” Mr Al-Dabbagh said. “It’s a tool for us to fight apathy — those who say, ‘They don’t like us’ or ‘It’s never gonna happen’ or that voting and civic engagement isn’t a good use of our time.
"It’s a tool for us to mobilise and engage more people — proof that this work is valuable and that, when we are engaged, when we advocate, we will see results.”
Arab-American businesses in and around Little Arabia praise the city’s recent steps, many of them already benefiting from the added attention on social media and in the press.
Forn Al Hara
When Palestinian immigrant Nader Hamda first visited Little Arabia in 2009, it was a revelation. Up to that point, he’d been living in Boston, Massachusetts, and was feeling isolated given the city’s relatively small Arab population.
Mr Hamda’s uncle, Mohammad “Mo” Alam, a Lebanese immigrant, had opened a bakery and restaurant, Forn Al Hara, a few years earlier in the Little Arabia shopping centre and needed help running it.
Since Mr Hamda had been the proprietor of a kebab shop and grocery back home, his uncle offered him a job. Mr Hamda jumped at the chance to move himself and his family across the country to Little Arabia, where they would be close to their own culture, joining a tight-knit community with shared traditions and values.
“The businesses here, we stick together, we advertise to each other, we help each other with ideas,” Mr Hamda told The National.
“If a new restaurant comes in, as a community, we help a lot — money-wise, business-wise, commercial-wise. When I first came here and saw how people treated each other, I was proud.”
Mr Hamda sees Anaheim’s Little Arabia designation as a boon for the neighbourhood. In the two months since the motion passed, he’s welcomed scores of new customers to Forn Al Hara, some of them coming from as far away as Santa Barbara County, almost 200 kilometres up the Pacific coast.
“It’s a big step for the whole community,” Mr Hamda said.
During a typical Sunday at Forn Al Hara, the line stretches out the door, with loyal customers coming in for fresh-baked Lebanese flatbreads topped with the popular herb blend za’atar, akawi cheese or lahm bi ajeen, a hearty mix of ground beef, tomato and vegetables.
The bakery also serves up fatayer — triangular hand pies stuffed with spinach, cheese or spicy sujuk sausage — as well as maamoul, traditional cookies filled with pureed dates, chopped walnuts or pistachios, dusted with powdered sugar.
Mr Alam opened the precursor to the restaurant — a tiny dessert shop called Tripoli Pastry — at the same location in 1998. By 2005, to meet growing demand, he expanded the menu and capacity, rebranding as Forn Al Hara.
When it first arrived on the scene, there were no other Lebanese bakeries near by and the shop filled a void in the burgeoning community, as did Mr Alam’s long-running Arab American Day Festival, which he launched with his brother Ahmad, publisher of local newspaper The Arab World, back in the 1990s. During its near two-decade run, the annual cultural event went a long way to solidify the identity of Little Arabia and promote it as a destination.
Now, for many Arab immigrants and refugees arriving in the US, their first choice is the Anaheim area.
“Every day, I meet Arabs who have just moved here from Michigan, Texas, Arizona,” Mr Hamda said. “We have groups on Facebook and WhatsApp, and people ask which is the best state where new refugees can live with our families, our kids. Ninety per cent answer ‘California, Orange County'.”
House of Mandi
Also located in the Little Arabia shopping centre is House of Mandi — the first Yemeni restaurant in southern California — which offers authentic food with a distinctive flair.
Inside their iron front gates, the full experience includes removing your shoes and piling into one of the raised booths along the wall with traditional floor seating. Many of the meals — consisting of heaped platters of rice seasoned with saffron and turmeric as well as succulent slow-roasted meats — are served family style, although you can also order individual plates if you’re dining solo.
“This is our daily food,” general manager Omar Alsameeai, a Yemeni immigrant, told The National. “With Yemeni cooking, there are a lot of spices and just as many choices — you can make it familiar or you can make it unique.”
Three years ago, when Mr Alsameeai first moved to the US, Little Arabia made perfect sense for him because of the strong sense of community and the cultural connections.
“It makes you feel like you are back home,” he said. “You can find all the different cultures that are also Muslim.”
Mr Alsameeai is keen to point out the uniqueness of Little Arabia and how there is nothing else like it in California.
Since the district designation came through, he said, the neighbourhood is being sought out not only by Arab immigrants and visitors, but by a diverse array of people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, all looking to immerse themselves in the rich traditions of the Arab world. House of Mandi, he said, is a reflection of this.
“We just want to share our food, our culture, our Yemeni experience.”
It’s a notion House of Mandi takes to heart. The restaurant’s giant discs of house-made flatbread are simple but perfect — the thinnest parts cracker-crispy; the thickest soft and satisfyingly chewy, perfect for dipping in the accompanying cucumber-yogurt sauce.
Other highlights from the menu include the aromatic chicken Mandi, a traditional oven-roasted chicken dish from the Hadhramaut region of eastern Yemen, and the flavourful lamb galaba, a staple of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, featuring diced lamb cooked with tomato, green pepper, parsley and spices, and served sizzling hot in a stone bowl.
Sababa Falafel Shop
The pitas at Little Arabia’s Sababa Falafel Shop are handheld works of art — custom built, gorgeously arranged and undeniably photogenic. The vibrant green of the parsley and deep reddish-purple of the pickled cabbage make them perfect for social-media posts.
Underneath the bursts of colour, the pillowy flatbread is stuffed full of either marinated chicken or crisp falafel, slathered in hummus and tahini and piled high with cucumber-tomato salad and chopped pickle.
Owned by Palestinian-American entrepreneur Salah Othman, and managed by his daughter Samantha, the space where Sababa operates was previously a Subway sandwich shop.
“So we took it over and made it like a Palestinian Subway,” Ms Othman told The National. “You use falafel or chicken as your protein and build it as you go.”
Despite opening two years ago during the pandemic, the counter-serve family restaurant was an instant success, with socially distanced lines often stretching out the door, around the edges of the parking lot, spilling out to the street.
“As soon as we opened our doors, the community was amazing,” Ms Othman said. “They welcomed us with open arms.”
Sababa is at the far south edge of Little Arabia and is emblematic of the neighbourhood's growth and expansion.
Ms Othman sees the recent official designation as a sign that the city really cares about its Arab community.
“It helps a lot. It allows small businesses that aren’t as well known, or maybe don’t have the money to do marketing, to make a name for themselves, too. And it brings the community closer together.”
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Super heroes
Iron Man
Reduced risk of dementia
Alcohol consumption could be an issue
Hulk
Cardiac disease, stroke and dementia from high heart rate
Spider-Man
Agility reduces risk of falls
Increased risk of obesity and mental health issues
Black Panther
Vegetarian diet reduces obesity
Unknown risks of potion drinking
Black Widow
Childhood traumas increase risk of mental illnesses
Thor
He's a god
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Squads
Sri Lanka Tharanga (c), Mathews, Dickwella (wk), Gunathilaka, Mendis, Kapugedera, Siriwardana, Pushpakumara, Dananjaya, Sandakan, Perera, Hasaranga, Malinga, Chameera, Fernando.
India Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Rahane, Jadhav, Dhoni (wk), Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Thakur.
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
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Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rob%20Marshall%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHalle%20Bailey%2C%20Jonah%20Hauer-King%2C%20Melissa%20McCarthy%2C%20Javier%20Bardem%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
'The%20Alchemist's%20Euphoria'
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Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Results
2.15pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,950m
Winner: Hello, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihi (trainer).
2.45pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,800m
Winner: Right Flank, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,000m
Winner: Leading Spirit, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
3.45pm: Jebel Ali Mile Group 3 Dh575,000 1,600m
Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,400m
Winner: Ode To Autumn, Patrick Cosgrave, Satish Seemar.
4.45pm: Shadwell Farm Conditions Dh125,000 1,200m
Winner: Last Surprise, James Doyle, Simon Crisford.
5.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,200m
Winner: Daltrey, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihi.
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
