Too Arab to be American; too American to be Arab.

For some reason, these two phrases seem much truer from Doha, QA than anywhere else.
In America, I knew who I was. I was an Arab American, and I never had to question that identity. Other families like me existed, and I grew up with other kids (both Christian and Muslim) who felt the same way.
Now Portland, Oregon is no Dearborn, Michigan or Anaheim, California, but its Arab American community was still alive and well, though sometimes divided.
Although everyone in the room felt a connection to the movie ‘Amreeka.’ It tugged at my heartstrings because so many of the conversations of the Halaby household were near and dear to my own family, friends, and community as we dealt with the American post 9/11 atmosphere, especially after the invasion of Iraq.
In fourth grade, this one kid would consistently taunt me and question both my Arabness and Americanness. I remember listening to several of his class presentations that dealt with American weapons and military technology. I felt sickened, but also incredibly misunderstood. In retrospect, I am assuming that he bought into the culture of fear. The culture of fear is very difficult to swallow if one cannot trust the leaders who are orchestrating the media around it.
Around me, few other classmates seemed skeptical about the events leading up to the invasion of Iraq. This skepticism and disregard seemed to continue all the way into high school.
Meanwhile, my dad and I went to peace rallies, and anti-war marches. I remember coming home with a collection of pins and slogans; one read, “Inspections work. War won’t.”

I spent a good deal of high school trying, in my own way, to raise awareness about Arab issues. My high school had two other Arab families.
My school newspaper gave me a voice. I wrote a few op-eds, and co-wrote an article about protests of the Gaza bombardment. Activism wasn’t the hip and happening trend at the time.
In our US history class, I remember delivering an impassioned rebuttal against the PATRIOT Act, to which one classmate responded, “Does it really matter if your phone is being wiretapped? As long as you don’t say anything bad, what do you have to worry about?” This real or perceived threat was quite sickening. Was I supposed to let my civil liberties as an American citizen fly out the window?! Something didn’t add up.

We criticized Senator Joe McCarthy and the House of Un-American Activities Committee in the same history class. History repeats itself, over and over and over, yet people don’t learn. New era. New target. Old tactics.

Mass media, and the violent terrorist image frustrated me to no end. I began to seek out other portrayals of Arabs. When I thought of the best movie portrayal of my family, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” came into mind. But they were Greek. Until watching “Amreeka,” I wasn’t sure if that televised family existed.
I sought out Arab American literature, and found one of my favorite books at the time. “The Ten Things I Hate About Me” features a lead character by the name of Jamie. She is a 1st generation Lebanese Australian, and her real name is Jamilah. She was my alter ego in fictional form.

In addition, before there was FouseyTube, we had Remy, and his awesome songs about everything from Two Percent Milk to Hummus.



I think this is why I love the idea of narrative control so much. It not only sends out a true portrayal of one ethnic group to a large audience, but it also provides comfort and truth to the group that gets narrated.

Bombers, Belly dancers and Billionaires

Arabs have been stereotyped as sub-human throughout history and still are today to the west. They have been portrayed as barbaric, vicious and even as terrorists. Ironically enough, the power of the media industry still embraces these false mythologies. The power of both the media industry and Hollywood play a massive role in portraying these false images of Arabs to the western world at most times. Media tends to be a tool of propaganda as it is another means of expressing stereotypical and discriminatory views.


As a result of discrimination and stigma, Arab-Americans tend to be targeted the most. In this case, being an Arab is deeply discredited as it over-shadows all the other attributes they possess. In most cases, the stigma of being an Arab dominates interactions and the way others think of them. They are the minority group that are systematically excluded from participation in the American community and denied equal access to valued resources at most times. Sociologist Peggy McIntosh identifies a number of privileges that the members of the dominant group take for granted, however, the one that stood out the most was, “ I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race [or ethnicity].” This may be one of the greatest examples, as Arabs are stereotypically known for their bad timing, especially in the eyes of the west.



Racism against Arabs has increased along side the tension between the American government and the Middle East. Discrimination and racial violence increased towards Arabs following the September 11, 2001 attacks. The proposed development of building a mosque near Ground Zero of the former World Trade Centre site was another contributory factor that provoked the American community to anti-Arabism.



In reference to the documentary of “Reel bad Arabs,” by media analyst Jack Shaheen, Arabs have always been the “butt of a cheap joke.” Within the entertainment industry, Arabs have been looked at as the stupid but rich, wanting to buy chunks of American land. They’re often associated with not only living in exotic places where the men enjoy their time and money with the company of belly dancers, but also where the population is uneducated and surrounded by massacres. For instance, Dr. Shaheen insists in his documentary that the movie of “Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986),” portrays one of the worst images of Arab stereotypes. The movie represents Arabs as terrorists who want to set the place on fire, while killing millions of people and being ‘America’s most wanted’.



As once said by director of media relations for the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, “ Arabs in TV and movies are portrayed as either bombers, belly dancers, or billionaires.” More often referred to as “the three B syndrome.”

Some Americans have gone as far as removing nine Arab-Muslim passengers from flying with AirTran Airways in 2009. Is this the real democracy promised? What happened to equal rights?