No Longer Invisible: Arab and Muslim Exclusion After September 11

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e-Publications@Marquette Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Social and Cultural Sciences, Department of

10-1-2002

No Longer Invisible: Arab and Muslim Exclusion After September 11 Louise Cainkar Marquette University, [email protected]

Published version. Middle East Report Online, Vol. 32 (Fall 2002): 22-29. Permalink. © Middle East Research and Information Project 2002. Used with permission. Louise Cainkar was affiliated with the University of Illinois-Chicago at the time of publication.

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nlikeotherascribedandself-described "peopleof color" in the UnitedStates,Arabsareoften hiddenunderthe Caucasianlabel,if not forgottenaltogether.But eleven monthsafterSeptember11, 2001, theArab-American is no invisible. Whether walklonger traveling,driving,working, ing througha neighborhoodor sitting in theirhomes,Arabsin America-citizensandnon-citizens-are now subject to specialscrutinyin Americansociety.The violence,discrimination,defamationand intolerancenow facedbyArLouiseCpinkarworksfortheIllinoisCoalition andRefiugee fr Immigrant Rightsand is a research fellowat the University of Illinois-Chicago.

22MIDDLE 22

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abs in Americansocietyhas reacheda level unparalleledin theirover 100-yearhistoryin the US. In the seven days following September11, Arabsand South Asians reported 645 "bias incidents and hate crimes."'Accordingto the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations, the post-September11 anti-Muslim backlash has been characterizedby a higherdegreeof violence than in prioryears,and includesa numberof murders.2In Chicago, more than 100 hate crimesagainstArabsand Muslims, as well as personsmistakenfor them, were reported to the Chicago Commissionon Human Relationsby the end of December 2001. On September 12, the largest 2002 224 * FALL EASTREPORT MIDDLE EASTREPORT 224 * FALL 2002

predominantly Arab mosque in the Chicago metropolitan area was surrounded by a mob of hundreds of angry whites, some shouting "kill the Arabs," some wielding weapons. Local police and concerned citizens acted to protect Muslims in the area. Suburban police encouraged Muslims to close the schools affiliated with the mosque until their safety could be assured, and not to attend Friday prayers at the mosque. The schools were closed for one week, but prayer at the mosque continued. An Assyrian church on the north side and an Arab community organization on the southwest side were damaged by arson in the late fall. The rebuilt community center was again vandalized in March 2002. In the months immediately following September, Muslim women in Chicago repeatedly reported having their head scarves yanked off or being spit at on the street. Although the level of hate crimes and attacks against Arabs, Muslims and those perceived to be Arab or Muslim has sharply decreased since the fall, vigilant media monitoring reveals that there is still at least one reported hate crime or attack each week nationwide. Arab and Muslim concerns about profiling, intolerance and the long-term effects of discrimination are increasing.3 Some blame the US government and its sweeping and unfocused actions in their communities for encouraging anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiments.4 Indeed, the greatest source of discrimination against Arabs and Muslims in the US today is the US government, mostly the Department of Justice and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). According to a Council on American-Islamic Relations report released in April, more than 60,000 individuals have been affected by government actions of discrimination, interrogation, raids, arrests, detentions and institutional closures. Secrecy,due process violations, arbitrariness,unlawfulness and abuse of power are among the terms used to describe the Bush administration's post-September 11 activities by, among others, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Reporters' Committee for Freedom of the Press and the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.5

PotentialWarriors" "Watchful Public opinion polls continue to show widespread support for special treatment of Arabs in America. A poll conducted September 14 and 15 found respondents evenly divided over whether all Arabs in the US, including American citizens, should be required to carry special identity cards.6 Two late September Gallup polls found that a majority of Americans favored profiling of Arabs, including those who are American citizens, and subjecting them to special security checks before boarding planes.7 A December 2001 poll by the Institute for Public Affairs at the University of Illinois found that some 70 percent of Illinois residents were willing to sacrifice their civil rights to fight terrorism, and more than one quarterof respondentssaid Arab-Americans should surrender more rights than others.8 A March 5, 2002 CNN/Gallup/ USA Todaypoll found that nearly EASTREPORT 224 ?* FALL 2002 MIDDLE

60 percentof Americansfavoredreducingthe numberof admissionsto the US of immigrantsfrom Muslim countriesand an August8, 2002 Galluppoll found that a majorityof theAmericanpublicsaidthatthereare"toomany" immigrantsfrom Arab countries.9Possibly to push for deeperrestrictionsin US immigrationpolicy,the anti-immigrantCenterfor ImmigrationStudiesissueda reportin August 2002 whose most prominent finding was that "MiddleEasternersare one of the fastest-growingimmigrantgroupsin America."The reportadded:"By2000, an estimated73 percentof allMiddleEasternimmigrantswere Muslim."10One should note that the Center purposely defines the Middle East quite broadly,sweepingthrough Islamiccountriesin Asia, the Middle Eastand North Africa, includingTurkeybut excludingnon-Muslim-majority countriesbetweenit and Bangladesh.About40 percent of theirMiddle EasternersareArabs. Though not all Arabsin the US areMuslims(some 1.5 millionareChristian),the categoriesareoften fusedin the media,quiteoftenin a mannerthatopenlyadvocatesthe de of bothoverlapping groups.Statements factocriminalization that collapsedistinctionsbetweenArabs,Muslimsand Islamists-and call for regardingall threeas innatelysuspicious-are no longer the exclusivepreserveof right-wing commentatorslike Daniel Pipes,but havemovedinto the mainstreamof conservativeand even moderateopinion.A WallStreetJournal pieceentitled"Underthe Circumstances, We MustBe Waryof YoungArabMen"appearedon October 19, 2001. In her column, formerReaganspeechwriter PeggyNoonan said: In the past month I have evolved ... to watchful potential warrior. And I gather that is going on with pretty much everyone else, and I'm glad of it. I was relieved at the story of the plane passengersa few weeks ago who refused to board if some Mideastern-looking guys were allowed to board.

Noonan's"watchfulpotentialwarrior"has providedthe FBI with thousandsof tips about suspicious-acting Arabs thathaveprovedbaseless,nonethelesssubjectingArabfamiliesto intrusivehomeandworkvisitsby governmentagents. The specialhandlingof Arabsat airportssimplybecauseof theirnamesor looksrevealsjusthowwidelyandunguidedly the net in the terroristsearchis beingcast. Islam has come undervehementattack.Criticsof the NationalEducationAssociation's"September11 Remembered"website,featuringlessonplansfor teachers,say the topics covered"missthe mark."Schoolchildrenshould be warnedthat the root of the problemis in Islamicteaching, accordingto WilliamLind,terrorismexpertand conservative spokesperson.Right-wingChristianactivistsin North Carolinahavefileda lawsuitto barthe Universityof North workon the Quran Carolinafromassigningan interpretive A recently freshmen. scholar to American an by entering releasedbookletauthoredby evangelistsFranklinGraham and JerryVines, entitled WhyIslamis a Threatto America andtheWest,arguesthatMuslims"shouldbe encouragedto leave.They area fifth columnin this country."" 23

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ofExclusion History Many Arab-Americans view the post-September 11 scrutiny, denigration and harassment of Arabs living in and seeking to enter the US as something not altogether new. Over the past 35 years, a series of US government actions taken against Arab communities, particularlyagainst leaders and activists, has aimed to stifle the Arab voice in American civil society. For years after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the FBI spied on Arab-Americans and their organizations as part of Operation Boulder. Families, friends, neighbors and employers of Arab individuals were interviewed by FBI agents; profiles of community activists were developed. The intimidation resulting from these efforts discouraged Arab-Americans from participating in lawful, organized community-building activities just when the media began its steady anti-Arab pitch. In 1987, seven Palestinian activists and a Kenyan-the famous Los Angeles Eight-were arrested on charges of being "alien terrorists" in the service of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. (After repeated failed attempts to win this case, the US government is now seeking to retry it-and deport the eight-under the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, which shift the burden of proof onto the defendant.) The same year, the LosAngeles Times uncovered an INS-FBI Contingency Plan to detain Arabs in America en massein a camp in Oakdale, Louisiana. In the 1990s, Muslim activists in Chicago were arrested and had their assets seized despite the absence of criminal charges. Other actions have included repeated INS attempts to deport Palestinian activists who were naturalized US citizens, consecutive pieces of anti-terrorism legislation that replaced anti-communist laws with laws that mainly targeted Arabs and the exclusion of Arabs from political campaigns, including the intentional return of Arab-American campaign donations. These actions have been perceived by most Arab-Americansas ways to ensure that they are politically voiceless in the US.12In the view of Arab immigrants and their American-born children, over the past 35 years they have not been accorded the constitutional right to freedom of speech on the same scale as others. Research conducted in Chicago's Arab communities in the 1980s and 1990s'3 revealed an even broader exclusion of Arabs from American civil society, including community-based organizations, boards of directors, foundations and local political campaigns. Participation was awarded to those few Arabs who were light-skinned, and agreed to downplay their Arabness and keep quiet about US foreign policy in the Middle East. In the mid1990s, this local exclusion was beginning to change for the better.14Still, throughout the 1990s, Arab Christians and Muslims, low-income and middle-class, immigrant and American-born, shared the view that the Arab voice is largely not welcomed in American society. In Chicago, even highly educated Arab men and women explained their preference for working in small business partly as a 2002 * FALL 224 REPORT EAST MIDDLE MIDDLE EAST 224? FALL 2002 REPORT

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measure to protect themselves from the pain of interact- ferred an Arab identity. They were Arabs in America. During strong nationalist periods, national identities were highing with Anglo-Americans. Negative media portrayalsof Arabs and Muslims are not lighted, so they were Palestinians in America or Jordanians new either. In two books examining the portrayalsof Arabs in America. Many of the American-born children of these in American media, communications professorJackShaheen immigrants shunned a hyphenated identity, while they documents an extensive history of negative stereotypes of waited for a society more willing to incorporate them as Arabs.'5He concludes that from the late 1960s into the new full members of the American mosaic. Arabs who immicentury, Arabs and Muslims were the only group for whom grated around the turn of the twentieth century, and their it was socially acceptable to attach negative stereotypes on children, were incorporated more smoothly into Ameritelevision and in the movies. Long-standing,organizedArab- can society. It helped that they were largely Christian and American protests against these images, including meetings were considered white. Also, at the time, US government with Hollywood producers and network executives, have involvement in the Arab world was limited. Not all recent Arab immigrants and second-generation largelyfallen on deaf ears-yet another sign of the exclusion Arabs responded to the inhospitable American social conof Arabs from the norms of American civil society. text in this way. Some preferred to mask their Arab identity by changing their names from Muhammad to Mike and Farouq to Fred and by organizing their social relaAs a result of exclusion and denigration in American soci- tions around non-Arabs.16Arab women were far less likely ety, the normative pattern among Arab immigrants arriv- respond in this way, for reasons described in great detail ing in the last 40 years and their American-born children elsewhere.17Some were able to blend well their American was to develop a range of transnational identities. Global and Arab sides and comfortably viewed themselves as political movements affected the particulars of this iden- Arab-American. This type of self-identification was usutity, so that during the era that pan-Arabism was strong in ally found among college-educated members of the secthe Arab world, many in the immigrant community pre- ond generation, but it became conflict-ridden during

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MIDDLE EAST REPORT 224"* FALL FALL 2002 224 MIDDLE EAST REPORT 2002

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Lurking behind these failures, in the view of many Arabs and Muslims, was a US foreign policy that put its strategic interests first and the human and democratic rights of people second. Arabs in the US linked their civic exclusion, political voicelessness and popular denigration to the same US foreign policy interests. They shared a sense of powerlessness with many across the globe, who found faith in God the only hope for The strong support scu anchange. shown by many organized Muslims for George W.

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perceived as being more cadomestic or international crises involving Arabs. Younger pable of evenhandedness in Middle East policy than Bill Arab-Americans asked themselves: "How can I be Ameri- Clinton and the Democrats. The Bush administration's can when that means supporting the killing of my people, domestic activities since September 11 have all but dejustified by denigrating my ethnic identity?" The exclu- stroyed this support.18 sion of Arabs from American civil society and governWhether secular or religious, transnational identities are ment meant that the answer to this painful question was nourished by return trips to the homeland, interactions sought in transnational affiliations, rather than the affili- with new immigrants and foreign students and solidarities ations sought by minorities able to participate in cultivated by community institutions. Ties with the homea democracy. land are maintained in material form through periodic rein the a shift affilimittances to family members and charitable donations to 1990s, identification, major During ation and behavior occurred among a significant propor- support local projects. Satellite television and the Internet tion of Arab Muslims in Chicago, one that is mirrored have greatly expanded immigrants' capacity to communinationwide. Their primary affiliation changed from secu- cate with counterparts across the globe without traveling, lar to religious. They began to identify as Muslims first, but technology cannot replace the importance of face-toand Arabs, Palestinians or Jordanianssecond. Mosques and face encounters to the maintenance of family ties, buildreligious institutions replaced secular community centers ing communities and cross-culturalexchanges and linkages. as locales for community social life, organizing and educa- All of these homeland ties-return travel, family visits, tion. Secular Arab student organizations dwindled while foreign students, family reunification, remittances and Muslim student organizationsthrived. Muslim women who charitable donations-are likely to drop significantly due in the 1980s did not cover their hair began to do so. Islam to changes in policies, the social climate and Arab-Ameribecame more than a private way of life; it became a public, can fears after September 11. active way of being. These changes in identity and spirituality firmly locate the Arab community in the US as part of a global community. Their Islamicization was part of a global pattern, evi- US government initiatives since September 11 are desdent from Indonesia to Iran, Egypt to Morocco, France to tined to have a profoundly negative impact on an already Chicago. It is explained by scholars as an outcome of the alienated community in the US. Of the roughly 20 rule failure of secular political movements-nationalism, so- changes, executive orders and laws affecting immigrants cialism or pan-Arabism-to improve the basic living con- or non-immigrant visitors, 15 predominantly target Arditions of people or enhance their democratic participation. abs.' 9These changes have sent a chill through all of Arab Secular movements failed to save Iranians from torture by America. The number of Arabs able to study, work, atthe Shah'sregime, to end the Israelioccupation of the West tend trainings, meetings and conferences in the US will Bank and Gaza, or to put food on the table in Egypt. probably plummet. Profiling of Arabs at US airports, in-

AfterSeptember 11

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2002 224*"FALL REPORT EAST MIDDLE MIDDLE EASTREPORT 224 FALL 2002

cluding special security checks and removal from air- migration judge but had never left the US. There are an planes, has dampened their desire to travel domestically estimated 314,000 so-called "absconders"in the US-the or abroad. In February,Arab-AmericanBusinessmagazine vast majority from Latin America. Although less than 2 provided special safety tips for Arab-American travelerspercent are Middle Eastern, they are the government's tarin a sidebar to an article entitled "Flying While Arab." get. By May, the Justice Department reported that 585 Overall, these policies, most of which were never subject Middle Eastern absconders had been caught. In a meeting to a Congressional vote, target millions of innocent people with members of Chicago's Arab community, government on the basis of their religion, country of birth or ethnicity officials claimed that they were not engaging in racial proin response to the actions of tiny number. The finger- filing, since other communities would be approached next. On May 14, Congress enacted the Enhanced Border Seprinting and registry initiative announced on August 12, 2002 for persons from select Arab and Muslim countries curity and Visa Entry Reform Act. Among the many proviis only the latest in a string of actions targeting Muslim sions of this act, which includes calls for the integration of and Arab communities, which began with the detention INS databases, the development of machine-readablevisas, of upwards of 1,200 citizens and non-citizens, most of the requirement that all airlines submit to the US the list of them of Middle Eastern descent, directly after the Sep- passengerswho have boarded a plane bound for the US and tember 11 attacks. stricter monitoring of foreign students, is a restriction on In late October, the State Department issued a classified cable impos. ing a 20-day mandatory hold on all visa subapplications non-immigrant " mitted by men aged 18-45 from 26 countries, most of them Arab. All such applicants were to be subjected to special security clearances. Even stricter procedures have been put in place in certain countries. For example, in early August the US Ambassador to Jordan'S announced that visa applications were no longer being approvedat the American Consulate in Amman. All visa apy' are sent to for plications Washington approval, with no time limit imposed on the response. The ambassador N E Yw FOTTHCOMING stressedthat Jordanwas not singled out THE NEW CRUSADE THE CLASH OF BARBARISMS for this process; other Arab countries America's Waron Terrorism 11 andtheMaking September had similar rules.20 RAHUL MAHAJAN of the New WorldDisorder if In November, the Justice DepartGILBERT ACHCAR ment announced its intention to inter"Awell-researchcand :d carefully view some 5,000 individuals who came "Thisinquiryinto the probable TheNew Crusade argd poleai to the US from Arab and Muslim counshapeof thingsto comeis sober, w b a tries since January 1, 2000 on non-imdi to all those uncompromising, deeply-informed, resistingthe donlinantculture migrant visas. Later,Attorney General and full of list times.' in these provocative insights conform Ashcroft a announced second John andjudiciousanalyses.It should - TARIQALI round of interviews with an additional ^ be readandpondered." 3,000 persons.The subject'sknowledge ' of terroristactivity is the topic of these -NOAM CHOMSKY he New Crusa deals ie effectively ''' c interviews.The Justice Department has heavy :th. ' ?:',h heavycoostsof the 'war asked local police departments to par-' :,,?i..'~"~'l_,?: botthat homeand ?bo. V:::i:A'.fi~.m ? "Thisis the mostforceful,rigorous ti ticipate in interviewing the Arab resi* textthereis to readon thiswar." ia's supportive dents of their towns, placing them in -LE MONDE ' sibilities of " the position of monitoring persons they -; h-PeS i.,e state. are supposed to protect. | DIPLOMATIQUE In January 2002, the INS launched .f.M.AN an initiative to track down and deport iSF...3u67-070-X. $15.95 paper/128pp/ISBN:1-58367-081-5 s'j"1ie: } 6,000 non-citizen males from (un1 g80 6 70 CA49 named) Middle Eastern countries who had been ordered deported by an imMIDDLE EAST REPORT 224m * FALL FALL 2002 MIDDLE EAST 224 REPORT 2002

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Introduction The Editors On the Collective Criminalization of Political . Protestors Rina Rosenberg Law's

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. Co. n ceConceptions of State Violence Samera Esmeir Violent Jurisdictions: On Law,

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Intifada

Administrative

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Fragmentation

Court, the Occupied

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Discourse under Oslo AmrShalakany The

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The Supreme and

Territories,

Nimer Sultany

Detention:

A Lawyer's

Testimony Jamil Dakwar with Jake Wadland Kufr Qassem: Between Ordinary Politics and Transformative Politics

.:. .Neighbors: Palestinian

Leora

Bilsky

A Story Women

Unwanted

of Three

Yousef Taiseer

Jabareen Fire and Advance: The Promotion of Benzy Sau, Case et. H.C. 3286/01, The Committee of the Martyrs' Families, al. v. The Minister of Internal Security, et. al. Muhammad Dahleh Special Inquiry The Editors Indictment, The Arab Citizens of the State of Israel Comment:

v. The State of Israel The High Follow-up Committee for the Arab Citizens in Israel Statement of the Committee of the Martyrs' Families Mahmoud Yazbak An Open Letter to the Families of the Palestinian Martyrs Tony Doherty Tribunals of Inquiry: Excerpts from a Legal Opinion on the Fundamental Principles of Practice and Procedure Lord Gifford, QC, lan MacDonald,QC,Jonathan Hall, Sara MansooriRequest to Cancel Notices Hassan Jabareen of Warning Given to Arab Public Representatives Adalah's Review, a Journalof the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.Published in English, Arabic and Hebrew To Order: Send check or money order made payable to Adalah. Please indicate language(s) and number of copies. Abroad US $15 / Israel and the Occupied TerritoriesNIS 40. POB 510, Shefaiamr20200 Israel,Tel: +972-4-950-1610, Fax: +972-4-950-3140 Email: [email protected],Web: www.adalah.org (Publications)

I

Newts and analysis out of Israel-Palestine

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non-immigrantvisasfor individualsfromcountriesidentified as statesponsorsof terrorism. In lateJune,the Departmentof Justiceissuedan internal memo to the INS and US Customs requestingthat they seek out and searchall Yemenis,includingAmericancitizens, enteringthe US. As a result,YemeniAmericanshave beenremovedfromplanesandfromboardinglines,waiting hoursfor securityclearances. On July 14, 2002, the INS announcedthat it will begin and Nationality enforcingsection265(a)of the Immigration within allaliensto register of Act,whichrequires changes address ten daysof moving.Thereis nothingto preventthe INS from selectively enforcingthisrule.Infact,a statementmadebyINS TV nationalspokesmanDan Kaneto the Spanish-language news Univision-that the INS will not deportpersonsfor changeof addressviolationsandwill seekjailtimeonlyin extremecases-indicatesthatthe agencyintendsto enforcethe In North rulein differentwaysfordifferentgroupsof people.21 a Palestinian Carolina, legalimmigrant stoppedfordrivingfour milesoverthe speedlimitwas detainedfor two monthsand finallychargedwith a misdemeanorfor failingto reporthis OnAugust5, addresschange.The INSsoughthisdeportation. that he could not be deported a localimmigration ruled judge forthisinfractionbecausehe did not willfullybreakthislaw. On August12, Ashcroftannouncedthe implementation of a programthatwill requiretensof thousandsof approved, photographed visa-holding foreignvisitorsto be fingerprinted, and registeredupon entryto the US. The programwill be implementedin selectedlocationson September11, 2002 and will targetArabsand Muslims.Aftera 20-day testing period,it will be implementedat all US portsof entry.Arabs canonlyleavefromportswith the andMuslimsso registered in Carl Baron,an immigrationattorney registrysystem place. at the Universityof Texas,commented:"Just and researcher on the basisof wherea personis comingfrom the governYou'regoing mentis goingto subjectthemto thesemeasures. to see fewerMiddleEasterners willingto cometo the United States,and I wonderif thatisn'tthe realagenda."22

AFewGoodThings

TheAlternative m inorma Center Pleasevisitu at:www.altemativenews.g Subscribe issuesof N/W($40). at:nlfw alt-info.oQg for 12monthly -- ----- -28 28

In the midst of this environmentof attackson Araband Muslimcommunities,a few good thingsarehappening.On a locallevel,thereappearsto be a markedincreasein public educationaboutIslam,largelysponsoredby localnon-profit Yearsof Arabactivists'effortsto find receptive organizations. hosts and fundersfor such publiceducationsuddenlybore fruitafterSeptember11, oftensponsoredby institutionsthat hadclosedtheirdoorsto Arabsin the past.Curriculaarebeing examinedfor their treatmentof Arabsand Islam.In a majorinitiativesupportedbythe ChicagoCommunityTrust, the Chicagopublicschoolsystemis studyingwaysto reform itscurriculumto includeArabs,Islamandbroadertreatments of the MiddleEast.Earlierattempts,includingby the UniMiddleEastStudiesCenter,to makethese versityof Chicago's had been consistentlyrebuffed.Arabsand Muslims changes arebeinginvitedto speakat publicforums,to engagein dia2002 * FALL 224 EAST MIDDLE 224 a FALL 2002 MIDDLE EASTREPORT REPORT

logue and to sit "atthe table."A May 2002 Arab American Institute Foundation survey found that 42 percent of ArabAmerican respondentspublicly discuss events in the Middle East more since September11, as opposed to 14 percentwho do it less. According to Muslim American organizations,the vast majorityof Arabsand Muslims reportexperiencingspecial caring, kindness and often protection from persons outside their communities in the past year, despite the overall negativeclimate.Islamicorganizationsreportthat conversions to Islam in the US have increasedsignificantlysince September.23For perhapsthe first time, Islam is being recognizedas an American religion.These events revealthe apparentparadox of this historicalmoment: repressionand inclusion may be happening at the same time. But the plethora of new restrictions on immigration, which plainly zero in on Arabs and Muslims, and the continued acceptability of stereotyping about Arabs and Islam in the media and popular culture, tell a much less encouraging story. The Arab in America is no longer invisible. Neither is some of the ugliness in America, and it's not coming from Arabs and Muslims.1 Endnotes 1 SouthAsianLeadersof Tomorrow,AmericanBacklash: Terrorists BringWarHomein More WaysThan One(Washington,DC: September28, 2001). 2 Council on American-IslamicRelations,TheStatusof MuslimCivil Rightsin the United States:Stereotypes and CivilLiberties(Washington,DC: April2002). 3 ArabAmericanInstituteFoundation,Profilingand Pride:ArabAmericanAttitudesand BehaviorSinceSeptember11 (Washington,DC: July2002). See also the CAIR reportcited above. 4 CourierNews,August,26, 2002. 11 5 Human RightsWatch,Presumption of Guilt:HumanRightsAbusesof Post-September Detainees(New York,August2002); AmericanCivil LibertiesUnion, Safeand Freein Times Committee of Crisis DC: for Freedom the Press, of (Washington, August2002); Reporters Post,August23, 2002. HomefrontConfidential(Arlington,VA:April2002); Washington 6 DanielSmith,"When'Fora While'BecomesForever,"Weekly DefenseMonitor,October2, 2001. 7 ChicagoSun-Times,October2, 2001. 8 NewsSun (Ill.), December20, 2001. 9 GallupNews Service,August8, 2002. 10 Centerfor ImmigrationStudies,Immigrantsfrom theMiddleEast:A Profileof theForeignBornfrom Pakistanto Morocco(Washington,August2002). 11 HartfordCourant,August11, 2002. 12 See NabeelAbraham,"Anti-Arab Racismand Violencein the US," in ErnestMcCarus, ed. The Developmentof ArabAmericanIdentity(Ann Arbor,MI: Universityof Michigan Press,1994). 13 The most recentpublicationbasedon this researchis LouiseCainkar,"TheDeteriorating Ethnic SafetyNet Among Arabsin Chicago"in MichaelSuleiman,ed., Arabsin America: Buildinga New Future(Philadelphia:Temple UniversityPress, 1999). See also Cainkar, PalestinianImmigrants in the UnitedStates:Gender,Cultureand GlobalPolitics(Philadelphia: TempleUniversityPress,forthcoming). 14 LouiseCainkar,MeetingCommunityNeeds,Buildingon CommunityStrengths: Chicagos ArabAmericanCommunity(Chicago:ArabAmericanAction Network,1998). in AmericanPopularCulture 15 JackShaheen, The TVArab:Araband MuslimStereotyping (BowlingGreen,OH: BowlingGreenStateUniversityPress,1984) andReelBadArabs:How a Olive Branch York, Press, (New 2001). HollywoodVilifies People 16 This patternis very differentfrom the name-changingthat seems to be occurringafter September11. See BeaconNews,March21, 2002. 17 LouiseCainkar,"Copingwith Tradition,Change and Alienation:PalestinianMuslim Womenin the US" (Ph.D. diss., NorthwesternUniversity,1988). 18 Council on American-Islamic Relations,"Poll:Majorityof MuslimsSufferedPost-9/11 Bias,"(Washington,DC: August21, 2002). 19 Thanksto FredTsaoof the IllinoisCoalitionforImmigrantandRefugeeRightsforkeeping currenton this information.See IllinoisCoalitionforImmigrantand RefugeeRights,Losing TheLossofFreedom, Ground: SinceSeptember Equalityand OpportunityforAmericas Immigrants 11 (forthcoming). 20 JordanTimes,August8, 2002. 21 JorgeCancino,"Rectificael INS: no habradeportaciones,"Univision.com (August2002). 22 ChicagoTribune,August 16, 2002. 23 New YorkTimes,October22, 2001.

224 -* FALL MIDDLE EASTREPORT 2002

SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCHCOUNCIL Programon the MiddleEast& NorthAfrica COLLABORATIVE 2002-2003 INTERNATIONAL RESEARCHGRANTS PUBLICSPHERESIN THE RECONCEPTUALIZING MIDDLEEASTANDNORTHAFRICA

The MiddleEast & NorthAfrica(MENA)Programof the SSRCis pleasedto announceits secondannualgrant collaborative competitionsupportinginternational researchfocusingon the MENAregion(definedas Iran to Morocco).We inviteproposalsthatbringtogether researchersin differentlocationsto addressissues relatedto the changingnatureof publicspheresin the region.The notionof "publicspheres"is used in a broad of sociosense, encompassingthe transformation economicconditions,stateandnon-statestructures, individualandcollectiveidentitiesandcultural production. Eligibility: * Applicantsandall researchpartnersmustbe holdersof a PhDdegreeor its equivalent. * Applicantscan be of any nationality,fromany countryandfromany disciplineas long as the proposedresearchis well groundedin social sciencetheoryand methodology. ? The plannedcollaborationcan includeas many partnersin as manylocationsas desiredbut must includeat leasttwo researchersin two differentcountriesof the MENAregion. The researchitself can focus on one site or many sites in the MENAregion,andintra-regional, cross-regionalor globalcomparisonsarealso encouraged. * Pleasesee ourwebsiteor contactprogramstaff for completeeligibilityrequirements. The researchgrantsawardedwill be for a maximum amountof $35,000 andfor a maximumperiodof 18 months.The deadlinefor preliminaryproposalsis November 15, 2002. ISCONTINGENT OFTHISPROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION FUNDS. OFPENDING UPONRECEITr

Forfurtherinformationcontactthe MENAProgram: Phone:(212) 377-2700, ext. 441 E-Mail:menasssrc.org URL:http://www.ssrc.org/programs/mena

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