Michigan Arab Americans cheer new Miss USA
Posted by Doug Stanglin USA Today on May 18, 2010, 00:14
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An American-Arab Anti-Discrimination official in Michigan hailed as "historic" the first Arab American and Muslim to be crowned Miss USA, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Rima Fakih, 24, of Dearborn, Mich., was named the winner in the pageant Sunday night in Las Vegas.
Miss Michigan Rima Fakih competes in the bathing suit portion of the Miss USA 2010 pageant Sunday in Las Vegas
CAPTION
By Isaac Brekken, AP
"This is historic," Imad Hamad, regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said Sunday night, according to the Free Press. "This shows the greatness of America, how everyone can have a chance to make it."
The newspaper said a crowd gathered at a restaurant in Dearborn, which is heavily Arab-American, and cheered, danced and sang into the night.
"This is the real face of Arab Americans, not the stereotypes you hear about," said Zouheir Alawieh, 51, of Dearborn. "We have culture. We have beauty. We have history, and today we made history. ... She believed in her dreams."
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