Reflecting on a tumultuous year of Occupy movements and the Arab Spring, the U.S. government has passed not one, but two new anti-protesting laws. With the exclusion of single word - from “willingly and knowingly” to simply “knowingly” - the Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act is further restricting Americans first amendment rights.

The film “follows a predominately Arab-American high school football team from a working-class Detroit suburb as they practice for their big cross-town rivalry game during the last ten days of Ramadan, revealing a community holding onto its Islamic faith while they struggle for acceptance in post 9/11 America.“  Watch a  trailer for the movie here: http://fordsonthemovie.com/trailer.php

Kudos to the Tribune for a fine feature piece that showcased interviews with four Arab Americans. It is high time we heard from and about Arabs and Muslims who are ordinary citizens and not terrorists or alleged terrorists. This type of coverage that sheds light on the human face of Arabs and Muslims will go along way in diffusing myths and stereotypes about them that sadly remain prevalent among many.

The Arab voices included in the December 8th Metro section are a great start to inviting readings to engage with the people who are talked about so much yet rarely heard from (“Arabs-from fascination to hatred to tolerance”).