US
Arabs And Muslims: The Search For Common Identity
By Ramzy Baroud
07 September, 2007
Countercurrents.org
As
the security check line began moving slowly at Washington Dulles airport,
one passenger standing a few steps ahead of me appeared particularly
uneasy. His dark skin, long beard, trimmed moustache, prayer spot centered
on his forehead, and overall demeanor quickly gave away his identity,
though he had obviously labored little to hide it. He was a Muslim and
a religious one at that. Predictably, a few minutes later he was singled
out and his clothes spread across a separate station reserved for those
"randomly" selected for extra security check.
In the current climate, those
who are not singled out for the humiliation of extra checking are still
often daunted by their names — any Arabic or Muslim sounding name
—, birthplace — any Arab or Muslim country —, suspicious
travel destinations — all Arab and Muslim countries, although
some are more "suspicious" than others —, or past records
— which can include anything from conventional crimes to a single
antiwar comment made to a local newspaper. Airport authorities across
the US would vehemently deny any racial discrimination, but indeed such
selective screening and harassment is real. Many civil rights organizations
and human rights groups have worked tirelessly to verify this, but all
it really takes is one candid conversation with any Muslim or Arab American.
Each person seems to have a personal record of injurious stories, if
not at a port of entry, then at some other public place. Whenever I
run into an Arab or a Muslim during my frequent travels, the subject
often serves as an icebreaker.
Obviously such ill treatment
is neither deserved nor justified, although I find it interesting that
Americans continue to be treated with grandeur status wherever they
travel in an Arab or Muslim country. In some Gulf countries, US soldiers
also freely roam the streets during their short breaks from Iraq, without
a word of objection from the hapless locals.
At the same time, decent
American Muslim intellectuals, students, and all sorts of law-abiding
citizens are losing their posts, fleeing their country, and, at best,
being made to endure the suspicious eyes of fellow travelers and security
personnel wherever they go. If one compares the collective harm inflicted
by individual Muslims on the US and the latter government's actions
against Muslim nations, the contrast seems all the more astonishing.
Although the flow of Arab
and Muslim immigrants to the US spans decades, it has never been accompanied
by a corresponding "sense of community," one that developed
evenly along racial, religious, or geopolitical lines. The nature of
immigration to the US was often political — for example, allowing
tens of thousands of Iraqi Shiites access to and residence in the US
after the 1990-1991 Gulf war, while almost completely blocking the immigration
of displaced Iraqis after the 2003 invasion of Iraq —, economic
— the oil boom of the 1970's saw a huge influx of Arab students
from the Gulf, now able to afford studying and living in the US —,
or a combination of the two.
In their 1986 study, scholars
McMillan and Chavis identify four elements of "sense of community":
membership, integration and fulfillment of needs, influence, and shared
emotional connection. In the case of Muslim and Arab communities in
the US, it is nearly impossible to apply these four points in any meaningful
sense. Even religion cannot in this case serve as a unifying force.
The main differences are
not just between Shiite and Sunni Islam, but also along national lines;
in the US, a Sunni of Moroccan background can hardly relate to a fellow
Sunni from Cambodia. Mosques are divided by ethnicities — for
example, a Libyan mosque — rather than by denomination only, as
is the case with most Christian churches in US cities. Identity issues
are also affected by the fact that not all Arabs are Muslims. Christian
Arabs were in fact some of the earliest Arab immigrants to the US, and
their mark on American culture is unquestionable. However, many Christians
still often find themselves lumped as Muslims.
While some might prefer to
opt for assimilation in these hard times, others cluster in their own
clubs and small societies to preserve whatever they can of their cultural
heritage.
But "assimilation"
is now becoming a tool for survival for Arabs and Muslims. Many women
date the removal of their headscarves to September 11, 2001, the same
day that many men quietly shaved or significantly trimmed their beards.
Even Arabic-sounding names have begun to find an American equivalent,
such as Ghassan turning into Gus, or Sami into Sam.
What is truly dangerous in
these phenomena is the development of a collective sense of escapism
and detachment, as opposed to community. Many are starting to redefine
the way in which they exhibit their background, for example, Muslims
meeting on religious occasions only, or Arab gatherings based around
the redundant themes of humus, belly dancing and Salma Hayek.
No other minority groups
in the US are in as urgent a need for collective action as Arabs and
Muslims, yet many remain incessantly inactive. While this can be explained
or even justified by the very real fear of retaliation, the truth is
that the post-9/11 backlash against US Muslims and Arabs can hardly
compare with the collective punishment endured by the peoples of Iraq
and Afghanistan. Millions of Arab and American Muslims can take advantage
of their privileged status to reach out to and educate the public, to
get involved in city, state, and national politics, to stop trying to
prove their patriotism by distancing themselves from the "extremists"
back home. Instead, Arab and American Muslims must develop a greater
sense of pride in their identities, backgrounds and contributions to
society — if not as Arabs or Muslims, at least as decent Americans,
members of a democratic society, and worthy of respect.
Ramzy Baroud
is a Palestinian-American author and editor of PalestineChronicle.com.
His work has been published in numerous newspapers and journals worldwide.
His latest book is The Second Palestinian Intifada: A Chronicle of a
People's Struggle (Pluto Press, London). Read more about Baroud at his
website ramzybaroud.net
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