(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese organization “Proud Lebanon” is calling on lawmakers to recognize the rights of LGBT persons in the country on the anniversary of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHO).
The group will host a rally at Hotel Monroe in Beirut on May 17 to challenge the legal status of LGBT rights in Lebanon.
LGBT status in Lebanon has prompted debate because Lebanese law doesn’t necessarily forbid homosexual rights. The wording instead forbids sexual acts that “contradict the laws of nature,” which is punishable by up to a year in prison.
Lebanese judges have dismissed the article as “invalid”, according to Global Voices Online. But in January 2014, a judge ruled that the law could be valid if a “clear interpretation” of what is “unnatural” is defined.
May 17 marks the 25th anniversary since the World Health Association removed homosexuality as a disease. The “Proud Lebanon” group created a promotional video to advertise their upcoming event.
“If you don’t recognize their existence, it doesn’t mean that they don’t exist,” said the video. “Protesting this injustice isn’t enough.”
The commercial features many prominent Lebanese personalities who lend their support to the LGBT cause, including TV host Fouad Yammine and film director Zeina Daccache.
A poll done by the Pew Research Center in 2007 shows that 79% of Lebanese believe “Homosexuality should be rejected”, as opposed to 18% who believe “homosexuality should be accepted”. Researchers say public opinion has changed in the past eight years, and that results would differ if the poll was done today.
WATCH the promotional video:
What do you think? Should LGBT rights be welcomed in Lebanon? Let us know on our Facebook page.
Examiner StaffComments Off on “Proud Lebanon” calls for LGBT rights in Lebanon 3123
(DEARBORN, MI) — It’s no secret that Dearborn-based businessman Ali Jawad likes to stay active. Even during Ramadan, the hands-on and self-made entrepreneur jogs for six miles per day.
In between exercises and frequent soccer matches, Jawad manages Armada Oil, one of Michigan’s largest motor fuel distributors which he founded in 1982. But he rarely speaks of his financial and professional success.
Jawad would rather talk about his philanthropic success and ambitious vision to create a gathering place for Lebanese-Americans in Dearborn, Mich., which is home to the largest concentrated Arab population outside of the Middle East.
But admittedly, philanthropic success didn’t come easy.
As Jawad describes, mobilizing the Lebanese community often presented more challenges than operating a major business.
“On many occasions we told the community that if you lose your heritage, you lose your identity,” he said. “We had many challenges, but it eventually stuck with people.”
From Soccer to Service
In the early 1980’s, Jawad and a few friends started “Dearborn Stars,” a local soccer team created to stay active and pass time. Although it was entertaining and engaging for a couple of months, Jawad was called in a different direction.
“I was reading that all these Lebanese from around the world were starting Lebanese clubs,” said Jawad. “So I looked at the guys and said let’s start one.”
From there, the Lebanese-American Heritage Club (LAHC) was born.
The Lebanese American Heritage Club community center is located on Maple Street in Dearborn. (Lebanese Examiner/Charlie Kadado)
Since 1989, the organization has given over $1.5 million in scholarships for deserving Lebanese-American students.
But it didn’t start that way.
Jawad recalls facing pushback from some community members who labeled him as a “right-winger” for his Lebanese patriotism.
“People started accusing me and putting labels on me,” he said. “But my goal was to end the discussion of politics and stop our self-created divisions.”
That’s when Jawad called on Lebanese youth to come forward and take leadership roles in community activities.
“We told the older generations that LAHC has no Amal, no Kataeb,” he said, referring to opposing political factions in Lebanon. “We told them if you want to get involved in politics, go fight in the Republican or Democratic arena.”
The Lebanese-American Heritage Club (LAHC) offices proudly display the flags of the United States, Lebanon, and state of Michigan. (Lebanese Examiner/Charlie Kadado)
Jawad wanted to see the Arab community more involved in American affairs. He said he emphasized involvement on “both wings” — both American and Lebanese community involvement.
“America is built on immigration,” Jawad said. “But for Arab-Americans we had to double our resources because of all the problems in the Middle East.”
Jawad said “doubling” resources began with encouraging undergraduate and post-graduate education.
“We started giving out four scholarships and it naturally kept growing and growing,” said Jawad. “We started getting American corporations involved and American politicians and it grew to a whole new level.”
Encouraging Future Leaders
Today, LAHC is one of the largest and most respected Lebanese-American organizations in the country. Jawad gives credit to many community supporters who helped craft his vision, including former Consul General of Lebanon Nasrat El Assaad.
But more importantly, Jawad credits future generations of Lebanese-Americans for continuing the organization’s legacy and contributing to its global success.
Ali Jawad said he’s proud to support future generations of Lebanese-Americans in Michigan. (Lebanese Examiner/Charlie Kadado)
“My proudest moments is when I see the youth get a scholarship and do something positive,” he said. “I’m always proud to see the next generation go to college, open businesses, and take leadership positions.”
Hussein Hachem, founder of the Youth Leadership Committee of LAHC, is one of them.
“For me, LAHC is a place for common ground,” said Hachem. “It’s a place where we can be proud of our community and grow together.”
Jawad said his vision can only improve in the hands of community members like Hachem. This year the organization will award $103,000 in scholarships to 43 students of high academic distinction at the 27th Annual Awards Gala on May 8.
“You never know when you start something where it will end up,” said Jawad. “Sometimes you see success from the angels.”
Examiner StaffComments Off on Ali Jawad: From Soccer to Service 8231
UPDATE: Harlan apologized on Thursday saying: “In no way did I mean to imply that because of our community’s make up, there was a higher risk of ISIS threats.”
(DEARBORN, MI) — WDIV-TV Local 4 news anchor Carmen Harlan upset many Michigan Muslims after making a comment on the state’s alleged ties to ISIS during a broadcast on the Detroit NBC affiliate on Wednesday.
When asked about a possible “ISIS threat in Michigan”, Harlan said “given the fact that we have the largest Arab population outside of the Middle East, I guess this should not come as a real surprise.”
Many Arab organizations have voiced concern over Harlan’s comments, urging the TV station to apologize.
“This shocking lapse of professional conduct was directed against law-abiding citizens who strive to create vibrant, diverse communities wherever they live,” said Fatina Abdrabboh, director of the Michigan American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
“Naturally, this type of analysis is very problematic for our community as we watch the impact of blanket indictments on the Arab-American and Muslim community that have nothing to do with the ISIS phenomenon at all.”
The threat of ISIS in Michigan has not been authenticated by security officials, according to media reports.
“These offensive comments based on an unconfirmed threat only stir up animosity toward Michigan’s Arab community,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. “Comments like these are an example of racial profiling at its worst and Carmen Harlan should apologize immediately.”
The Campaign to TAKE ON HATE, led by the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC), a program of ACCESS, urged Harlan to apologize on air.
“Carmen Harlan’s comment about the Arab American community is appalling, offensive and dangerous,” said Nadia Tonova, director of NNAAC. “As a reporter, she has a responsibility to remain objective in her reporting and not draw conclusions for her audience. We request that WDIV immediately address this racially charged comment.”
Examiner StaffComments Off on Detroit TV anchor upsets Muslim community in Michigan for ISIS comment 8388
(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The results of a new U.S.-based survey gives Lebanese and Armenians yet another thing to brag about. The two proud nationalities can now boast the “sexiness” of their women, as the survey ranks them among the world’s “sexiest.”
According to the survey by MissTravel, a destination dating website, Armenian women are considered the number one “sexiest” nationality, followed by Lebanese in tenth place.
The travel site polled over 110,000 Americans to determine who they thought was best looking. Last year, Australian men and Brazilian women topped the sexy charts.
The change of heart gives well-deserved recognition to the grace and glamor of Lebanese women. But more importantly, it recognies the intelligence and ambition of Lebanese ladies that contribute to the country’s economy, intellect, and sex appeal.
Lebanese TV journalist Rima Karaki made national news when she shut down a London-based Sheikh when he told her to shut up. (MEMRI TV)
And with curves like Kim Kardashian, who can question the bombshell beauty of Armenian ladies? The Armenian-American celebrity recently went on an eight-day tour of her homeland in mid-April.
Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and North all visit the Geghard Monastery in the Kotayk province of Armenia (Irish Mirror)
The survey also ranked sexy men, placing Irish, Australians, and Pakistani’s among the top.
The sexiest nationalities for women:
10. Lebanese
9. Bulgarian
8. Filipina
7. Brazilian
6. Australian
5. English
4. Colombian
3. American
2. Barbadian/Bajan
1. Armenian
The sexiest nationalities for men:
10. Spanish
9. Danish
8. Nigerian
7. Italian
6. Scottish
5. English
4. American
3. Pakistani
2. Australian
1. Irish
(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — American photographer and artist Matt Crump made Beirut his canvas recently, when he took to the streets to photograph local landmarks and transform them into minimalist artwork.
Crump is known for creating a movement called #candyminimal, a photography project which separates subjects in a photograph and edits them into a candy-colored image.
Crump collaborated with Beirut-born fashion designer Ryan Houssari to “glamorize reality” and showcase Beirut landmarks. Houssari is also the creative director of PLASTIK magazine, an independent art and fashion publication.
Crump’s work was recently published in the latest edition of PLASTIK, which was founded in 2009. The magazine’s highly stylized editorials have been acknowledged by the The Printing Industries of America in New York City with the “Premier Print” award in 2010, and the Golden Award for “Best Publication in the Middle East” by the DCCI Publishing Group at the 2009 Dubai Printing and Press awards.
Matt Crump is a full-time artist with a social-media following of over 125,000. Crump attributes his success to his distinctive use of candy-colored negative space and surreal compositions. He open-sourced his brand of photography with the hashtag #candyminimal, inspiring his international audience to create and tag over 50,000 of their own candy-colored photos.
Examiner StaffComments Off on American photographer transforms Beirut into minimalist artwork 2857
(WASHINGTON, DC) — The Christian Lebanese Foundation in the World (CLFW) will award two free tickets to Lebanon during a committee meeting on May 9, 2015 in Washington, DC.
The organization says they give out free tickets annually on Mother’s Day for Lebanese-Americans who successfully registered their marriages or childbirths through CLFW over the past year.
CLFW is an DC-based organization devoted to helping Lebanon maintain a demographic balance by registering Americans of Lebanese descent in their motherland.
Nada Abisamra, director of CLFW, said Lebanese businessman and CLFW Vice President Neemat Frem will join the executive board and members for the lottery.
She adds that those interested in participating in the lottery can do so by joining the Facebook event at this link.
In 2013, Charles Nemer of Ohio and George Korio of California won free tickets. In 2014, Michael Chebat of Virginia and Charles Haddad of Florida enjoyed the free flights.
Abisamra reminds Americans of Lebanese descent that registration is crucial in order to preserve their roots in Lebanon and help the country maintain its diversity.
The organization will host nine campaigns in May in the following cities:
Lebanese-Americans are urged to bring their Family Ikhraj Kayd (Civil Registry), birth certificate(s), and marriage certificate(s) to the campaign site.
(WASHINGTON, DC) — A delegation of Lebanese political groups representing the March 14 alliance, hosted the 10th annual commemoration of Lebanon’s Cedar Revolution on Thursday in Washington, DC.
A ceremony was held in the Rayburn House Office building at the United States Congress to mark the anniversary of March 14, 2005, when an independence uprising took place in Lebanon following the withdrawal of Syrian forces.
U.S. representatives Darrell Issa (R-CA), Mark Meadows (R-NC), and Ed Royce (R-CA) joined Lebanese-American activists and political leaders during the ceremony.
“This year’s commemoration comes at a challenging time for the Middle East and in particular for Lebanon, which strives for sovereignty, stability, and prosperity in a region beset by turmoil,” said a statement by the Lebanese Information Center.
“We of the Lebanese Information Center and of similar Lebanese-American organizations continue to stand against the destabilizing actions of ISIS and Al-Qaeda affiliates as well of Hezbollah, Iran, and the Syrian regime, which seek to transform Lebanon into their battlefield.”
The group adds that commemorating the Cedar Revolution sends a “powerful” message that Lebanese in the United States and the U.S. government hope to secure a “genuine democracy” in Lebanon.
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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The exodus of Christians from the Middle East will weaken moderate Islam “which, thanks to the Islamic-Christian conviviality, is so far the vast majority of Muslims in the Middle East,” said Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai.
Speaking at UNESCO in Paris on April 25, the cardinal said Christians were “irreplaceable peacemakers” and, without them, “Islam will fall into the hands of fundamentalists.” He called on Europe and the international community “to ensure that Christians remain in their countries.”
The first condition to save this presence, he said, is “the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
The speech at UNESCO was on the first day of a four-day visit to France, where the cardinal inaugurated the new Maronite Diocese in Meudon, near Paris. There are approximately 85,000 Maronite Catholics in France.
In his speech, the cardinal pleaded for an end to the ongoing conflicts, particularly in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, “through political negotiations and dialogue between the conflicting parties.”
“Stop supporting the belligerents with arms and money,” he urged. Instead, he said, “It is essential to assist countries in the region to emerge from the bloody conflicts that consume them, peoples and civilisations.”
Cardinal Rai also spoke on behalf of people uprooted from their homes in the region.
“I came to UNESCO to bring the voice of those who had it taken from them. I come here to vouch for the plight of millions of refugees, displaced people, children and seniors, women and men who lost loved ones, who had their country and property stolen, their future destroyed,” he said.
Lebanon is now hosting more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees. In April, Antonio Guterres, UN high commissioner for refugees, said that would be the equivalent of 80 million refugees entering the United States.
Thousands of Christian Iraqi families have also come to Lebanon since the Islamic State’s takeover of Mosul and the Ninevah Plain last summer.
Prior to the influx of refugees, approximately 33 percent of Lebanon’s existing population of about four million was Christian. That sectarian equation has shifted, as most of the Syrian refugees are Muslim.
Cardinal Rai was scheduled to meet French President Francois Hollande on April 28. High on the agenda, in addition to the crisis of the Christian presence in the region, was Lebanon’s presidential vacuum. Under Lebanon’s power-sharing system, the post is reserved for a Maronite but has been vacant since May, when the term of Michel Sleiman ended without the election of a successor due to ongoing disputes between rival political parties over a compromise candidate.
Source: Catholic Herald
Examiner StaffComments Off on Rai: Christian exodus weakens moderate Islam 1874
(WASHINGTON, DC) — Actress and film director Salma Hayek received the “Spirit of Humanity” Kahlil Gibran Award from the Arab American Institute on Thursday during an annual gala in Washington DC honoring successful Arab-Americans.
Hayek returned from a three-day trip to Lebanon on Tuesday, where she launched her new animated film “The Prophet”, which is based on Gibran’s book.
The animated film, which draws on the 1923 book by Lebanese-born writer Kahlil Gibran, tells the story of Almitra, a headstrong girl who forms a friendship with imprisoned poet Mustafa.
The Washington DC ceremony was held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, where Hayek was awarded in the category of “individual achievement.”
“I’m a citizen of the world, and my country is humanity, kids are poets from the moment they’re born; they get Gibran’s message without thinking about the meaning of individual words,” Hayek said.
The institute highlighted the Salma Hayek Foundation’s work to “end violence against women and attract global attention to humanitarian crises.”
Hayek said her trip to Lebanon was “very emotional” and called her new film a “love letter to my heritage.”
“Through this book I got to know my grandfather, through this book I got to have my grandfather teaching me about life,” she said in Beirut.
(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — 45-year-old Lebanese-born Texas resident Wissam “Sam” Allouche was sentenced to five years in federal prison for knowingly lying to federal authorities on his U.S. citizenship petition about his relationship with the Amal militia.
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth sentenced Allouche to five-year terms of imprisonment, to run concurrently, for making a false statement to a federal agent and for an unlawful attempt to procure and obtain naturalization and citizenship.
In a statement, the FBI said the judge found that there was evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Allouche was a member of the Amal militia and had command authority over Hezbollah.
That announcement was made today by Acting United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division.
Testimony during trial revealed that Allouche, who migrated to the United States after marrying his wife, a U.S. Army soldier, failed to disclose in January 2009 to U.S. immigration authorities the fact that in the 1980s, he was a member of the Amal militia in order to remain in the United States.
In addition, while seeking a contract linguist position with the U.S. Department of Defense that required top security clearance, evidence revealed that Allouche failed to disclose that he was held as a prisoner of war by Israel.
Present and former relatives testified Allouche later made statements that he subsequently killed an Israeli pilot captured by Hezbollah in retaliation for his imprisonment.
Evidence presented during trial also showed that in 2009, Allouche unlawfully obtained U.S. citizenship by claiming that he was living with his estranged wife when, in fact, they were in divorce proceedings.
On February 20, 2015, jurors convicted Allouche of both charges.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the San Antonio Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Examiner StaffComments Off on Lebanese man imprisoned for lying about ties to Amal Movement 1981
