Conversation 5

Right off the bat the article, “Arab and Other Middle Eastern Americans”, broke down the vast  ancestry that is included in the category “Arab Americans”. Arabs only make up .5 percent of what the category includes. Immigrants from the Middle East came in waves over the decades, but the vast majority of these immigrants were Arab speaking, therefore all were assumed to be strictly Arab. I feel that the political and socio-economic issues highlighted in this article were something I was very aware of. This is due to the media’s portrayal of the Arab community and the systematic anti-Arab and anti-Iranian prejudice that has spread like wildfire through the United States. More currently, we are still seeing the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. A group of monstrous human beings created a narrative for anti-Muslim and anti- hate. It’s devastating to still see this hate speech carrying through to 2023. This article just further highlighted what I already knew, I have Indonesian, Indian, and Southeast Asian friends that are constantly encountering stereotypes and Muslim hate speech because of the assumption that all those who appear “Muslim” or “Arab” must be so. This creates a fear of judgement due to the media narrative of what these cultures represent. It is devastating and disgusting in my opinion.

Both of this week’s videos highlighted the stereotypes that effect the Middle Eastern community. Our first video shows a woman describing the types of questions she gets when asked about her culture. They are very media motivated; do you live in the desert? Do you ride camels? One particular topic that she stresses is the assumption of wardrobe due to the fact that everyone assumes all Middle Eastern people are Muslim. She shows us how wrong misconceptions can be, showing city streets, thriving architecture and modern fashion that is seen amongst the youth population where she is from in the middle east. Our second video focuses on the experience of middle eastern students on a US college campus. It really builds upon the idea that the university, not the students themselves, are the ones that have to do more adjusting. Stereotypical assumptions were made about these students, and they came with a positive outlook and a willingness to be taught and to also teach the university how they wish to learn and how they will be integrated into the university. Both videos really showed how easy it is to stereo type middle eastern culture and how wrong we can really be.

The article discussing the literacy reform in the Middle East really broke down the literacy struggle in the Middle East being linked directly to, yet another culture riddled with poverty, health issues and politics. The percentage of literacy of most Middle Eastern countries falls below 50 percent. The bulk of these low percentiles falls on women. This further pushes into the statistics of the work force, women make up less the 30 percent in most Middle Eastern countries. Thankfully, there is a conversation and an effort to push a literacy reform. This would create more jobs and opportunities for adults in the Middle East. This initiative would also fuel the possibilities of more schools and libraries, with the possibility of catering directly to young girls. This could dash the narrative that keeps women from literacy.

Perceived Religious Discrimination and its Relationship to Anxiety and Paranoia Among Muslim Americans: Journal of Muslim Mental Health: Vol 1, No 1 (tandfonline.com)

I found this article personally interesting being a psychology major. See the mental health impact on Muslim American’s due to bigotry and racism has only increased over the years. It seems to be a direct correlation and cause to anxiety and the fear that fuels Muslim Americans paranoia.