Center for Arab American Studies
April 2020
Dear Friends of CAAS.
We hope you are all staying safe and healthy in this period of stress and challenge. As the epidemic ravages our community in Michigan, we send our thanks and well wishes to everyone working on the frontline  - and this means many of you who are treating the sick, teaching the young, feeding the masses, and keeping us connected to one another through the internet. 
Our faculty have managed the transition to online teaching with grace and a sense of humor. They continue to care for our students in circumstances that are less than ideal for both the faculty and the students. 
We want to encourage everyone who has not already done so to fill out their 2020 Census form. As you know, the MENA community needs to be counted, so please identify yourself as such, if appropropriate, and in whatever manner makes sense for you. This article from Aljazeera lays out the stakes and the history behind the effort to count MENA folks as such. Please do your part! See videos below.
And on the theme of the census, check out the latest short story by Dr. Ghassan Abou-Zeineddine, which tracks the misadventures of a young census worker in Dearborn.
The Halal Metropolis team was frustrated to see our exhibition shuttered and public programs cancelled for the next few months, but we have not been idle. We have created a virtual tour of the exhibition and are happy to offer guided tours of the online site for any classes or community groups that may be interested. (Reach out to us on the Halal Metro website to arrange a tour.)
We are also working to document the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting everyday life in the local Arab and Muslim communities. We are now creating a series of short online interviews called Zoom in on the Halal Metropolis that are intended to share this story and to preserve it for posterity. If you want to participate, or to suggest people and topics for us to cover, please reach out to us. The project launched yesterday (April 2).
Thank you for your attention. We encourage everyone to stay home as much as your situation allows, and to reach out to us in matters where we can be of assistance. And please follow the Center on Facebook where we post the news of our faculty, students, and alumni and lots of other materials from the field of Arab American Studies and Arab American literature and culture.  

All best.
Sally Howell
Resources
UM-Dearborn COVID-19 Updates and FAQ
University of Michigan-Dearborn leaders have been working with University of Michigan officials and health professionals to closely monitor the spread of COVID-19 over the past several months.
Connect2Community Portal
The Ginsberg Center has a Connect to Community portal which has opportunities to support local partners. The portal which now has a ‘Remote Volunteering Projects’ button to find projects and activities that community partners have identified can be done remotely.
Office of the Vice President for Communications COVID-19 Updates
For the latest information regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19) updates in relation to the U-M community, please see the U-M Public Affairs page.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates and Questions & Answers from Michigan Medicine
Michigan Medicine is sharing updates, steps they are taking, and further information about the virus on their page. Scroll down to see specific Q&A information about COVID-19.
Coronavirus Bilingual Updates
Call-Ins available in Arabic, Spanish and Bengali. 
Click on a photo below for more information and times.
Census 2020 - Yalla, Count Me In!
Census 2020 information
Census 2020 info
Course Offerings for Fall 2020 
Introduction to Arab American Studies
Public Cultural Work in Arab Detroit
Halal Metropolis Updates
Halal Metropolis Virtual Gallery Tour
Explore the Halal Metropolis exhibition from the comfort of your own home. This 3D, virtual tour captures the installation at the Stamelos Gallery at UM-Dearborn. In this fourth iteration of the Halal Metropolis series, we focus on Dearborn to consider what makes, and has made, Detroit’s Muslims so very visible over the last century, focusing especially on the Arab food scene, politics, the body, and the celebration of Islamic holidays. 
How are You Coping?
Help the Halal Metropolis Team as we seek to understand how the coronavirus is affecting the Muslim communities of the region. We want to document this unfolding story.
We’ll begin by asking how the stay-at-home rules are affecting the way you Jumaa. Please share images, stories, videos, whatever you like, that illustrates how you are coping with this crisis.
You can post on FB, or feel free to PM us with your ideas!
We’ll post a new prompt each week, so stay tuned for ways you can contribute to the Halal Metropolis story.
Stay safe and healthy!
Zoom in on the Halal Metropolis
Join us as we Zoom in on the Halal Metropolis to take a closer look at how the Muslim communities of SE Michigan are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you have a story to share, please let us know.
Center for Arab American Studies
CASL College-Wide Programs, 2036 CASL Building
 University of Michigan-Dearborn
4901 Evergreen Road, Dearborn, Michigan 48128-2406
umdearborn.edu/caas
313-593-4925         313-593-5552 (fax)
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4901 Evergreen Road
Dearborn, MI | 48128 US
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