Book Review: Race and Arab Americans before and after 9/11: From Invisible Citizens to Visible Subjects

Abstract

This co-edited volume was motivated by debates among Arab American studies scholars over anti-Arab racism and discrimination in the United States during the last several decades. The book examines theories of racialization within Arab American studies, and illustrates how racialization has affected Arab American citizenship and civic engagement. In the background of an ongoing national debate surrounding the erection of the Park51 mosque and community center in New York City, and numerous other instances of alleged discrimination toward Arabs and Muslims in the U.S., this book is particularly timely. It highlights the heterogeneity of Arab American histories and ''the shifting and contradictory historical contexts through which Arab Americans have engaged with immigration, assimilation, and racialization'' (p. 4). Many chapters demonstrate that 9 ⁄ 11 constituted a turning point, not a starting point, for anti-Arab discrimination in the U.S. The contributors provide a comprehensive account of relevant experiences of several Arab and Muslim communities across the U.S., and analyze identity construction and popular images of Arabs and Muslims in the U.S.

Experiences of gender among Arab American women: A qualitative study.

“…As posited by Ajrouch, Jamal, and Naber (2011), the shift from predominantly Christian to Muslim immigrants has impacted the widespread portrayal of Arab Americans in the U.S. media. Even though 77% of all Arab Americans identify as Christian, not Muslim (Samhan, 2006), Ajrouch et al (2011) have argued that the racialization of Islam, as well as the conflation of Islam with Arabness, has contributed to the othering of Arab Americans, as well as to the lack of a clear understanding of what constitutes Arabness. Accordingly, this conflation has not only hindered the exploration of the intersectionality of ethnicity and religion, but has also perpetuated the invisibility of non-Muslim Arab Americans.…”