The Arab American’s Misplacement and Marginalization

in the Unjust American Society 

The first thing the majority of the American society thinks of when Arab or Muslim Americans are mentioned is the tragic occurrence of 9/11. Whether they hold prejudice or not towards the minority, there is no doubt that the terrorist attack shapes a big part of their first impressions of Arabs. The American society’s acknowledgment of Arab Americans and their culture was rendered invisible until 9/11, which then led to them being stereotyped and marginalized. This also leads to thinking about the irony of Arabs being practically forced to identify themselves racially as white when they are one of the most diverse groups of people. What is also ironic about this is that Arabs are not treated anywhere near the white supremacy in the United States, where they aren’t offered any of the same privileges as them or even respected as they are. There is no other explanation for this other than Arab Americans and Muslims are racially, culturally, and religiously neglected and judged in the US, while the majority of them are only trying to secure a better future and life for themselves and their families.

Before September 11, the attention on the Arab American community was nearly nonexistent, putting Arabs far away from societies judgemental, hateful radar. A turning point occurred after the September 11th terrorist attack and there was definitely a shift in society’s attitude towards the Arab American, whether they were Muslim or not.  “Arabs are often hidden under the Caucasian label, if not forgotten altogether… [they] are now subject to special scrutiny in American society…In the seven days following September 11, Arabs and South Asians reported 645 “bias incidents and hate crimes”’(Grazda, 22). Acts of violence and hate crimes broke out against Arabs and Muslims, deeming the once invisible minority as an alleged threat to society. Prior to 9/11, Arab Americans were living peacefully aiming to make a life for themselves in “the land of the free”. After the incident, “some blame the US government and its sweeping and unfocused actions in their communities for encouraging anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiments” (Grazda, 23). It was then proven that the negligence of the Arabs by the US Government is what resulted in hate crimes against Arabs that were never addressed. “Indeed, the greatest source of discrimination against Arabs and Muslims is… mostly the Department of Justice and the Immifration and Naturalization Service…[where] more than 60,000 individuals have been affected by government actions of discrimination, interrogation, raids, arrests, detentions and institutional closures” (Grazda, 23). How can a group of people live peacefully in a community where their source of protection is actually their source of misery.

Because my family only came to the United States in 2006, we never really experienced the intense post 9/11 acts of prejudice and discrimnation. Although it’s still existent in our present day, the horrific stories I’ve heard from family friends who were here during and after the incident made me petrified and disgusted. One particular story I heard from my mother’s friend forced me to look more into the injustice my community has been facing. She described how she was in constant fear and horror, being forced to remove her hijab after she fell victim to a racist, white person snatching her hijab off her head. This resulted in her making the strenuous decision of trying not to look as Arab or Muslim as possible. She felt stripped from her identity, neglected, threatened, and forced to put on a facade in the country she lived most of her life in safely. Her experience is one of many others that were not paid any attention to, neglected and ignored, and that showed how racist, discriminatory, and prejudice driven the US is. 

Before and after 9/11, the Arabic manifold ethnicity was never given any justice. When filling out an application and asked to fill out my race, there is never an option that satisfies what I actually am. Census data in the US played a role in the negligence of the diversity of Arabs. “The conventionally used census data acts as a source of statistical…social and political marginalization by rendering Arab Americans, who poorly fit into its racial classification, either invisible or lacking in internal heterogeneity” (Pavlovskaya, Bier). What makes Arab’s association with the White race difficult is that MIddle Easterns or North Africans have very diverse, manifold backgrounds making fitting them into a specific group almost impossible. “We suggest that while the designation Arab American maybe practically and politically useful, the recognition of the heterogeneity of Arab community along multiple dimensions of difference must be built into the methods of analysis” (Pavlovskaya, Bier). The omission of the Arab American identity results in Arab Americans feeling pretermitted when it comes to being part of the American society, deeming them as not even a secondary existence in society, but a group that isn’t even considered part of this society. 

The relationship between the treatment of Arab Americans before and after 9/11 relates to their identity and ethnic representation in the US because of it’s ironic nature. I’ve always asked myself why we as Arabs are basically forced to associate ourselves to a race we aren’t part of and aren’t treated like. Arab Americans definitely do not attain the same privileges White Americans do, so what is the point of considering us part of that race if you aren’t going to treat us that way? “In contrast to “black”, “Asian Indian”, or “Hispanic” populations, they do not “exist”, statistically speaking, even in the areas of the highest concentration. As part of the “white” majority, they are ineligible for federal loans, benefits based upon minority status, and protection from hate crimes” (Kayyali, 2006; Ayoub, 2010). Not only aren’t they given opportunities like White Americans, but they are also forced to not receive federal support because of the illusion of them being as financially stable as the white supremacy.

The older Arab American generations don’t really give the issue much attention, preferring to focus more on work and securing a good life. On the other hand, when the younger generations such as my friends and I venture into topics concerning politics or the treatment of Arab Americans in the US, we always refer back to us not being recognized as a unique group of people. Because of the negligence of the Arab American identity by the United States, we as Arabs feel as if this identity is stripped away from us. Since the older generations of Arab Americans don’t discuss this topic, we couldn’t find a platform to lay out our demands of recognition. As an Arab community, we aren’t currently doing much to correct this misconception, but I think the upcoming generations of Arab Americans are aiming on fixing this miscategorization that lead to the marginalization of the Arab American identity.

I think a starting solution for the Arab American crisis is the acknowledgment of there being a crisis. Initially, the Government should recognize that there are other groups that diverge from the basic ethnicities they force upon us. If Arab Americans are considered in the census, there would be more opportunities to address their lifestyle and financial and social status. As long as they are under the notion that they are part of the White race, their individual problems will never be acknowledged. Arab Americans should be given their own category, enabling them to shine the light on problems they’re facing in our society. There also should be more attention on the hate and prejudice Arab Americans receive rather than focusing on violent actions that extremists in the injust name of Islam and Arabs commit. I think if minorities like us Arabs aren’t neglected, our society would live in much more harmony.

The most unjust thing a society can do is neglect a group of people who play a huge role in it. If people feel underrepresented in their own community, where would the passion to be an effective member of the community come from. All cultures, ethnicities, and beliefs should be recognized or else there is no way a society can exist peacefully and progressively.

Works Cited

 

Pavlovskaya, Marianna; Bier,Jess.  Mapping census data for difference: Towards the heterogeneous geographies of Arab American communities of the New York metropolitan area.

Geoforum, May 2012, Vol.43(3), pp.483-496

 

Ayoub, Abed., 2010. Legal Advisor to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Interview with National Public Radio on January 4, 2010. <http:// www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122217013> (accessed 21.01.10).

 

Kayyali, Randa A., 2006. The Arab Americans (The New Americans). Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut.

 

Cainkar, Louise. No Longer Invisible: Arab and Muslim Exclusion After September 11

Middle East Report, 1 October 2002, Issue 224, pp.22-29