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Arab Americans: Those Who Followed Columbus
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| Reprinted from the Middle East Studies
Association Bulletin, July 1993 (with changes in orthography to HTML standards). Copyright 1993 by the Middle East Studies Association of North America |
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AS I CONTEMPLATED today’s topic, I was thinking of my many experiences while teaching in the heart of Arab communities in Detroit, where a mini-skirted, second generation Iraqi Chaldean sits next to an African-American Muslim fully covered except for her eyes. Or an Iraqi Christian boy, majoring in social work, who falls in love with the Yemeni Muslim girl sitting next to him. She is among the first women of that community to enter college. Their parents break up the romance causing the young people much suffering, and the Iraqi youth is sent to Iraq, a country he has never seen, to become engaged to his cousin. After he returns to the US, the Gulf War erupts and he, being a US marine who speaks Iraqi Arabic, is sent to Saudi Arabia under a Polish name to guard Iraqi prisoners of war. Meanwhile, America executes one of the largest bombing raids in history on his ancestral home, in which his new fiancee waits for a visa. The conflicts and multilayered identity crises are great for this young Arab American of 20 years. But he explains that equally difficult is his father’s insistence that he take over the family grocery store while he wants to become a social worker, an occupation scorned by his father. The 50,000 Iraqis in his community had anguished over the fate of their relatives, and feared for their own safety, as flags and ribbons blanketed the neighborhoods. Most suffered in painful silence, afraid to speak. After the war, relief efforts united them with local Arab groups, both Christian and Muslim, such as the Lebanese and Palestinians, who had suffered in the past and with whom they had barely interacted previously. Of course the recent Detroit headlines which read “Kuwait Tank Deal Saves Michigan Jobs” (Detroit Free Press October 13, 1992) is also a fundamental part of the equation. I am also reminded of the non-Arab American girl who is in a mut’a relation ship with a boy from South Lebanon, and, who, as she reads more about mut’a in my class, sits further and further away from him. Or the prominent local labor leader named Yokich, only part Arab as you might guess, who is described in the newspaper as ambitious and tough: union leaders comment that one need only read Uris’s The Haj to understand his character, after which the journalist quotes a passage which states, “The Arabs have no half-tones in their register of vision. They exclude compromise and pursue the logic of their ideas to its absurd ends. Their convictions are by instinct, their activities intuitional.” The journalist then states that this does not describe Yokich who is “far more complex” (Lippert 1992: 13). The Arab community reacts with anger and disbelief. Or we witness the members of the Palestinian village, Beit Hanina, increasingly squeezed into Dearborn Michigan, as an Israeli settlement expands on its borders in part through the efforts of Max Fisher in his positions as Chairman of the Board of Jewish Agencies for Israel for 12 years and a major consultant to Republican presidents (Marquis 1990-91: 1046). Max lives a few miles away in another Detroit suburb, and will never meet Hasan in Dearborn. Hasan does, however, meet with Jewish peace groups On the lighter side are the delightful evenings of poetry and prose and music by such writers as Antoun Shammas, Naomi Shehab Nye and the multitalented musician Simon Shaheen. Closer to home, MESA’s new president-elect Rashid Khalidi is an Arab American who is part of the current Palestinian/Israeli negotiating process. The stories of connections and cross currents are endless. I know most of you have similar experiences, perhaps your own as an American of Middle Eastern descent. Studies on Arab Americans, many of them by our distinguished MESA members, tell us of the origins, the assimilation and the cultural revival of the community. Mehdi provided us with a valuable chronology and documentation in 1978; there are encyclopedia articles covering the history (Naff 1980; Aswad in press), and Pulcini has recently written an excel- lent and extensive review of the research of these periods (1993). There are several extensive annotated bibliographies by Sawaie (1985) and Kayal (1973). Halaby has written informa tively on sources in his introduction to Sawaie’s book. Suleiman, a prolific scholar on the subject, is currently completing the definitive annotated bibliography. Therefore today, I will discuss ethnicity and how it relates to Arab Americans, then highlight in a general sense the history, research and reviews that have been completed on Arab Americans, and finally, consider areas for further study and how MESA can relate to areas of education. In any review, there will be repetition of other’s insights, and some will be passed over in this general review; I try to give appropriate credit to the relevant persons and add my own analy ses to this record. What is an ethnic group? It can be simply a collectivity within a larger society having a real or fictive common ancestry, memories of a shared historical past and a cultural focus on one or more symbolic elements (Schmerhorn 1975: 12). The ethnic group is also recognized as such by outsiders. The symbolic elements may include language, religion, physical appearance, tribal identification and a myriad of their combinations. Ethnic groups occur in stratified societies, and may be a majority or minority, dominant or subordinate or coexist as equals. They usually cross economic class lines. They have social and institution al components such as religious centers, newspapers and clubs. Then there are the psychological components of norms, values, and beliefs. Culture and language can change while ethnicity persists. We know therefore that the mosaic model is extremely limited; while it may describe temporary patterns of ethnic relations, it minimizes the historical processes in their formulation, their variation over time, and importantly how people use them to gain access to resources and power (Bates & Rassam 1983: 84). Relations of immigration and ethnicity involve several factors: First is the dynamics of ethnic relations in the home country. Those of us familiar with the Middle East know the complexity and locally specific character of ethnic and religious relations there. We are also aware of how ignorant we may be of other regions. If we know Lebanon and Syria, how well do we know Turkey, Kazakistan, Iran or Afghanistan, and vice versa? Other areas of the world we may not know well at all, such as Brazil, Uganda and until recently Yugoslavia or Georgia. We are also aware of the effect of geographical and social ecological variation say from mountainous Lebanon, where the state is weak and religious, kinship and regional groups have had autonomy and have played major roles in coexistence and conflict, versus a geographically circumscribed society such as Egypt where the state and class structure are pronounced, the vast majority are of one religion and ethnic groups play a different role than they do in Lebanon. The division of labor along ethnic lines is common in the Middle East. Compatriots are sources of capital and credit; endogamy or marriage within the group is stressed. And the historical manipulation of groups by occupiers and outsiders can increase or create competition and lingering antipathies until a society is practically destroyed, such as we witnessed in the tragedy of Lebanon. Second are the specific historical conditions that sent the immigrant, and his or her personal characteristics that affect adjustment and adaptation. Was it a time of warfare and they came as refugees? Was the motivation mainly economic? Did they come temporarily with the intent to return in several years, or the intent to stay, or are they confused? So, too, individual traits are important. Did they come with family or not? Were they peasants with few industrial skills who found work as peddlers, exploited factory workers or farm workers? Or are they educated professionals with skills and language facility, to enter the labor force and move to the exclusive suburbs? Are they part of the American Christian majority or the Muslim minority, or neither? Are they new immigrants, second, third or fourth generations? Is one parent an Arab and the other Irish? So what are they anyway? Did they come with teenagers or babies or both? Are they teenagers themselves or are they elderly? Will the struggles of displacement push women to work, or will the high salaries in the auto industry restrict women to the home because of the cultural norms and attitudes of their husbands. Third, we must also note that identification depends on the context of interaction. The “me/them” distinction is relative. A Lebanese in Dearborn is Muslim and Arab to the Polish neighbor, whereas in southern Lebanon, a major distinction was whether he is Shi`i, or a Tibnini. An individual may also consciously or unconsciously choose among a number of alternative sources of social identity to manipulate social or economic situations. Some identities are for outsiders, some for within the group. Having studied for a year in an Arabized Kurdish village in Turkey, I witnessed firsthand shifts in identification. Fourth are the conditions in the host country, America. Is it a time of economic expansion when the immigrant may not be considered a threat except to the historically disadvantaged black caste, or the partially exterminated indigenous community? Or is it a time of economic retrenchment much as today when unemployment, economic stratification and poverty are increasing, and foreigners with or without capital and education are becoming resented by certain segments of the population? The character of the particular region in the US is also crucial. Is it the South, the North, urban or rural? Are they living in an urban little Arabia or little Lebanon, with others to assist them, or are they alone in a suburb, or in a small town on the plains of South Dakota? Despite the incredible variations, immigrants from the Arab East share objective criteria. They share the Arabic language, art, music, food, myths, the experience of 400 years of Ottoman control, years of European colonial control and shared social customs such as patrilineal descent, extensive kinship relations and obligations and values of hospitality. When and why did the first Arab immigrants come? We are told that among the belongings of Columbus was a book by the Arab geographer al-Idrisi which mentions that eight Arabs sailed from Lisbon and landed in South America, long before 1492. We are also told that Istephan, a Moroccan Arab, served as a guide to the Spanish explorers and conquerors in what is now Arizona and New Mexico in the 1500s (Mehdi 1978). The major populations arrived approximately a century ago primarily from the Syrian-Lebanon region. Most were Christian, and although there were urbanites, the vast majority were from a middle peasant background that is not the richest or poorest peasants but those who owned medium amounts of lands and worked them with family labor. Lebanese villages also have an extensive system of network markets, and many peasants combined agriculture with trading (Aswad 1974, 1992). Scholars report that they left for a variety of reasons: one was to avoid Ottoman conscription and taxation. Hopes of exaggerated wealth in America filtered back to the villages. The French, who controlled cashcrop silk, had tied their fortunes to the changing international market. Japanese and Chinese competition, after the opening of the Suez Canal and later the discovery of rayon in World War I, had nearly ruined their market. Cashcropping had created population pressure and a final blow came when the vineyards were struck by a devastating disease (Haddad 1979; Labaki 1982; Naff 1980, 1983; Hooglund 1987; Saliba 1983; Khalaf 1987). Naff includes the enticements of the steamboat agents who solicited their trade, as well as ties with other Westerners such as missionary educators, who familiarized them with America (1985). Several recount earlier sectarian animosities. Obviously there were a variety of reasons for leaving. Suleiman (in press) describes these pre-World War I emigrants as a quiescent community, keeping their politics to themselves, and not feeling part of American society. Rather, they followed the politics of the homeland, some supporting the Ottomans, others supporting revolt against the Ottomans and others remaining neutral. Many feared repercussions upon return. The first Arabic language newspaper, Kawkab Amerika was founded in 1892; by 1919, 70,000 immigrants supported nine Arabic language newspapers (Mehdi 1979: 15). Journals such as The Syrian World published in English in the late 1920s had poetry, fiction, essays and prose. In 1923 Gibran’s The Prophet became one of the all-time bestselling books in America (Halaby 1985). American nationalism in World War I pushed assimilation; restrictive immigration quotas of 1924 favored European migration and curtailed immigration from the Third World countries overall. Some American chauvinists feared that immigrants from some cultures would not assimilate to Anglo American traditions. Economic success was respected, but did not convert to cultural respect. Novak and other social scientists studying this period mention that those citizens who possessed second languages were not praised but made to feel ashamed. Their literature and history was deliberately and systematically ignored (Novak 1975). The melting pot ethos was in and was strengthened in the Arab community by the new second generation (Aswad 1974, 1992; Naff 1985; Pulcini 1993; Suleiman in press). The depression of the 1930s further weakened the immigrant groups as many unemployed returned to the Middle East (Aswad 1974). However nationalism was also a force in the Middle East after World War I, and Suleiman reports that Arab American groups in the US joined in regional and national federations (in press: 10). What do we know about adaptations of the early communities in particular regions? In recent anthologies edited by Hooglund (1985, 1987) and Zogby (1984), we find studies of Christian Lebanese from a similar rural background entering different socio-economic niches and gaining different statuses. In predominantly Baptist southern communities, where cotton plantation production and lumber had provided the economic base, a developed mercantile tradition was lacking and there was a stigma to shopkeeping. Arabs and other groups such as Italians, Chinese and European Jews entered that niche. It was culturally peripheral to poor blacks and upperclass Anglos, and they encountered racism by the upper classes (Schekal 1984; Conklin & Fares 1987; Dehmer 1984). Undoubtedly some also engaged in racism against the subordinated classes. In southern Texas, on the other hand, Lebanese Catholics arrived via Mexico knowing Spanish and, being Catholic, became a more accepted integrating link between upper class Anglos and lower class Mexican Catholics (John 1987). In the northeastern US, bordering Canada, where their French might have been useful, they worked as unskilled laborers in textile mills, and their French was scorned by the influence of the earlier established Quebequois (Hooglund 1987). Alawite, Orthodox and Maronite workers in the hot tin mills of Pennsylvania were called “Hunkie,” a derogatory term for Eastern Europeans, and since jobs were classified by ethnicity, they often received the most difficult ones (Toth 1985: 70). In terms of occupations, many started as peddlers and became small shop owners, industrial workers and farmers. Later some enterprises grew into large businesses such as Haggar and Farah. In these early days, women were found working in the family stores, factories and textile mills. In his review, Pulcini finds that with the exception of Hitti’s sociological study in 1924, the ancestral histories and studies of society and religion in the Arab communities did not begin until after World War II (1993). There were numerous writings of the scribes of the communities, often exhorting their members to retain their traditions and in most cases writing rather glowing accounts of their life and heritage. Hard work was stressed by most academics as well as local scribes in their discussions of these early immigrants, and certainly it is evident that most did work very hard. However, it is also important to be aware that European and other immigrants were able to "make it" to the middle class, while American blacks did not because of the politics of racial inequality in the US. The various national labor laws between 1930 and 1960 benefited immigrant popu lations by enlarging job opportunities, controlling access to those jobs and providing supple mentary income to the unemployed. These same benefits seldom helped the black worker until the Civil Rights movements of the 1960s (Smith 1989: 151 154). These facts are almost never mentioned by writers of Arab immigrant history, and they are seldom found in other immigrant histories for that matter. Katibah with Ziadeh wrote an interesting article in 1946 about the history and culture of the communities. It was published by the Institute of Arab American Affairs. Pulcini notes that only a few studies about Arab-Americans were made in the 1940s and 1950s, and many were unpublished dissertations. However in the 1960s, Elkholy’s major study comparing the Detroit and Toledo Muslim communities was published, and Younis’s unpublished but often quoted dissertation of 1961 was a particularly thorough overview of migration to that date. Pulcini writes that Arab Catholics felt a new pride and analyzed their relation to other more dominant Catholic groups such as Irish and Italians during this period (1993). An extensive book emphasizing these Christian groups, their adaptations and associations was written by the Khayal brothers in the 1970s (1975). From these studies, we find that the Orthodox also grew in numbers and of course had a measure of religious autonomy that the Catholics did not. After WWII, the nature of immigration from the Middle East changed considerably. Suleiman writing in 1969 discussed the new categories that included the refugees of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, the Brain Drain students who attended American colleges, often married Americans and remained, although some had not intended to, as well as other alienated elites of the middle and upper classes who came following the numerous political and social revolts that seized the Middle East. Changes in US immigration laws at this time allowed increased immigration from the Third World and favored the professional classes. Haddad in her review of this period mentions that many Arab immigrants were highly influenced by Western ideas before they came (1979). New geographical areas of emigration were represented such as Yemen, Egypt, Iraq and Jordan. Meanwhile there was continuing migration from Lebanon and Palestine, which in the 1980s became a flood from Lebanon due to the wars in that country (Aswad 1974, 1992; Abraham & Abraham 1983). Since the Gulf War of 1991, the Detroit area is witnessing a rapid increase in Iraqi Chaldean immigration. Non-Arab Middle Easterners such as Turks, Iranians and Kurds also increased their migrations, and Muslims for the first time outnumbered Christian immigrants (Haddad 1979, 1991). Armenians had first come escaping massacres about the same time as the early Lebanese and then later with the Iranian exodus. In earlier studies, I wrote that the 1960s in America represented a time of growing local ethnic revival, stimulated by the civil rights movement and cultural protests of the African American communities, and that this affected Arab-American revivalization (Aswad 1974). One could hear, “We too want to be called Muhammed instead of Mike in public.” Needless to say, it had always been Muhammed at home. Pulcini concludes that the watershed for research and publications was the 1967 Israeli/Arab war (1993). The number of studies on Arab Americans increased, both by those of Arab heritage and by non-Arabs. It was the topic of the first Arab American University Graduates conference, itself established immediately after the 1967 War (Hagopian 1968). The interest was not only due to the fact of US ethnic revivalism or that the melting pot analysis was out and pluralism or ethnic conflict studies were in, but also due to the political turmoil in the Middle East and the fact that the US had replaced England and France as the dominant neo-colonial power in the area (Aswad 1974). The issues of protection of some Arabs for their oil and the increasing alliances with Israel caused frustrations in the American communities. Furthermore harassment of Arab Americans began, even through governmental programs such as Operation Boulder, which allowed surveillance of its members (AAUG Newsletter 1973). After the Gulf War of 1991, hostile incidents again increased (ADC Times 1992). As acts of hostility and negative stereotypes of Arab-Americans increased, they were forced to reconsider their identity, to defend it and reconnect to it. Pulcini has a good discussion of the studies which emerged designed to counter these attacks (1993). The presence of many new immigrants shook up the older generations and made them reconsider their assimilation. The third generation, often more secure and assimilated than the second but usually lacking facility in Arabic, began seriously to explore its roots often for the first time. Suleiman comments on the vitality of the combination of politically motivated students and the older generations. He states that they were anxious to participate in the political process and they criticized American leaders and policies especially on the Palestine issue as the pressures of Zionism increased in US politics (in press 26-8). Our own organization, MESA, established its Images Committee, and studies by MESA members Suleiman (1974), Al-Qazzaz (1975), Grisold (1975) and Perry (1975) examined images of Middle Eastern People among high schools students and teachers. Content Analysis of newspaper coverage following the numerous conflicts was researched by Terry (1971, 1975) and Suleiman (1970, 1975). Later, Shaheen wrote The TV Arab(1984), Ghareeb edited Split Vision (1983) and the Abrahams edited The Arab World and Arab-Americans: Understanding a Neglected Minority (1981). These studies found an increasingly poor image of Arabs. Said's Orientalism appeared in 1978. A most valuable collection on this topic is Suleiman's volume on The Arabs in the Mind of America, which contains his articles on a variety of topics including stereotypes, news and school book coverage of the Middle East and American attitudes toward the Middle East. It also contains an extensive bibliography on the subject (1988). In local Arab American communities, Middle East conflicts revived dormant tensions or created new ones. The shifting alliances in the Levant were reflected, for example, in a household in Dearborn, where a father agonizes as his sons support different factions in South Lebanon. The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee was organized in 1980, and it sponsored significant anthologies of community studies. Editions by Zogby (1984) and Hooglund (1985, 1987) compiled articles across the nation and added to previous anthologies of Aswad (1974) and the Abrahams (1983), whose community studies concentrated on the Detroit area. What of Islam in America? Long neglected, Islam and Muslims had also become targets of prejudice. The revitalization of Islam in the Middle East has created major ramifications in the diaspora. Through the writings and coordinating efforts of such scholars as Haddad (1979, 1987, 1991), Lummis (1987) and numerous others in the US, and Waugh, Abu-Laban and Qureshi in Canada (1983), Islam in the Americas was put on the bookshelves. Topics related to Islamic values, the fate of Muslims in the American legal system, the effect of foreign policy, attitudes of Christian groups to Islam, the issue of da'wah (or mission), the development of Islamic leadership, the relation to Black Muslims and the participation of women (Haddad 1991). The mosque became a social and religious center for the immigrant community trying to maintain its identity in an alien culture, much as the church had been (Haddad 1979). Weddings, funerals, bake sales and fund raisers were held. Even the debka was performed. But this was challenged by the newer immigrants, and Walbridge provides us with a comparative study of mosques through sermons, politics, customs and of course, the battles of the head scarf (1991). New volumes on various Islamic sects and communities are in progress by Haddad and Smith. During the 1980s, undoubtedly the most comprehensive sociological research was completed by Baha Abu-Laban on Arabs in Canada and published in a book entitled An Olive Branch on the Family Tree. Based on 349 interviews, participant observation and historical documents, it discusses history, the early reception and images of Arabs, their economic adaptation, religion, language and identity. There is also an excellent chapter on the family by Sharon Abu-Laban (1985). Pulcini writes that during this period, the Hitti International Symposium in 1983 expanded Naff’s extensive study of the early communities that later appeared in numerous anthologies (1993). Also at this time, the tragedy of Beirut inspired Orfalea’s sensitive study of his search for his Arab roots entitled Before the Flames: A Quest for the History of Arab-Americans (1988). Recent studies of the political processes are found in a volume edited by Abu-Laban and Suleiman (1989). In it, Abraham discusses causes of Arab American political marginality and different coping strategies of ethnic denial, isolation and integration (1989). Other papers discuss the limitations of ADC lobbying efforts during the Lebanese crisis and the structural conditions that limit power and status of Arab Americans especially regarding Zionism. The Arab American Institute, an organization formed specifically to engage Arabs in the political process, produced a study based on the 1980 census. In this we find that Arab Americans exceed the national average at the top economically and numerically exceed the national average among the poor. Those at the top with incomes over $50,000 are more represented among the American-born, while those below $5,000 are skewed toward the foreign-born. Arab Americans, both foreign and American-born, like other Asian immigrants, also have higher education levels than the national average (Zogby 1990). Soujourners and Settlers: The Yemeni Immigrant Experience, edited by Friedlander (1988), is a particularly complete collection. It includes the history and social organization of Yemen, the consequences of migration on Yemen, as well as the adaptation of immigrants to several environments in the US. Scholars such as Stevenson, Swanon, Wenner and Keddi wrote essays on these topics and use their magnificent photos with those of Maine, Kelly and Rogavin, to illustrate these changes. Sabagh and Bozogmehr add a careful analysis based on census data. The book also includes the dialogue of Yemenis discussing their feelings and finishes with a most insightful identification of numerous ethnic identities through folklore by Staub. Nabti had done a similar study by examining Bishmiz- een in Lebanon and following its immigrants around the world (1992). The Center for Lebanese Studies in Oxford has recently published a study on the Lebanese diaspora edited by Hourani and Shehadi (1992). Still, integrating comparisons need to be written. The recent study of Palestinians in Honduras by Gonzalez (1992) is an outstanding analysis of historical and socio-economic conditions of the sending community, Bethleham, and the evolution of the successful entrepreneurial immigrant community in Honduras. Let us look at the Arab American family. As a key social institution, perhaps the key institution, it deserves attention. Its patrilineal nature and extended kinship obligations are quite different from and often opposed to the bilateral, nucleated forms of traditional America, and even more so from the increasingly one-parent households found here. American emphasis on individualism opposes the emphasis upon shared obligations, hierarchies of power and living styles of Middle Easterners. The prerogatives of patriarchy place differential pressures on males and females, and the power of the extended family and the community remains present in marriage choices. Premarital dating and freedom of mate selection are uncommon among Middle Easterners, and pressures by American peer groups may bring extreme stress, particularly for women. In fact, many males enjoy the freedoms of the new world. As choices for women increase through jobs, welfare and education, some fathers may react by tightening the reins. The threats of suicide by girls may be a result of this stress. Arab men have told me “This country is for women, with your custody, divorce and welfare laws.” The family, however, also relieves the social and psychological stresses of migration, and is used for economic advancement. The types of kin corporations used by Iraqis in Detroit are seldom understood by the surrounding and often exploited Black population, which has historically been deprived of chances for capital accumulation. Sharon Abu-Laban has given us a particularly useful method of examining and comparing coexisting family cohorts, their differing ethnic identities and their influence on each other (1991). Waldman and Barazanji write on the importance of tradition in alien environments (1991). The Arab elderly are being studied by Fakhouri (1989), Sengstock (n.d.) and Shenk (1990), while Haddad and Lummis conducted a major survey of Islamic family values (1987). The socialization of children appears in an excellent unpublished study by Alldredge (1984). Women’s issues in particular are receiving attention. Cainkar addressed generational differences and self perceptions of Palestinian women in Chicago vis-a-vis their mothers, other American women, Palestinian men and other Arab women. She found they preferred their lives over those of other American women (1988). There are studies of honor and shame, mut’a marriage, employment and the effect of welfare on women’s roles and a comparison of Lebanese and Yemeni female adaptation (Aswad 1991). Feminist theory re garding prestige and cultural subordination are finding their way into analyses. Finally, let me mention language and literature. Except for our talented multilinguals, most of us know the alienating feeling of being in a place or at a gathering where we don't know the language. The Arabic Language in America, edited by Rouchdy, who notes that in places such as Michigan, Arabic had a first language status, but changed to become an ethnic language, understandable primarily to that community (1992: 19). Other studies in the book discuss borrowing, changes in linguistic levels and code switching, the role of the Arab American media and the role of Islam in the maintenance of Arabic. The history and methods of Arabic instruction in the US are carefully analyzed by McCarus. Student attitudes toward Arabic are surveyed by Kenny and Dweik. Sawaie has compared the use of Arabic in the early and late communities. Literature has been an equally vital part of the Arab communities. Much was brought from the old world by the immigrants, but compared to French and German there has been little translation of Arabic into English. This makes all the more valuable recent American Arab writers in the diaspora such as Shammas, Nasser, Jabara, Barakat, Nye, Joseph, Jayuisi and others. A recent volume has been edited by Shammas (1992). We are also pleased to see the Lebanese writer Baydoun publish a book in Arabic in Lebanon entitled Bint Ijbail in Michigan (1989). I would like to mention a few areas for further study. Studies comparing Arab Americans with other ethnic groups such as Italians, Hispanics or Japanese in America would be useful. With one minor exception, I have not found a study of attitudes of Americans toward Arab Americans or the reverse. I am not aware of a study of attitudes of different Middle Eastern groups toward each other. There could be a comparison of the relations between the Iraqi Chaldean and African-Americans in Detroit, with the Korean/African-American relationship in Los Angeles. Studies distinguishing causes and types of discrimination such as job-related, civil or media-related, and comparisons to other groups could be done. Studies of the specific networks of the immigrant communities connecting the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the US in the areas of economics, politics and social organization, such as Gonzalez’s and Nabti’s studies, should be expanded. More research can be done in gender studies on mutual aid groups, class, power, work experiences, political involvement and women’s perceptions. The psychodynamics of family dyads should be explored. Family violence occurs under stress of migration, adaptation and unemployment, and there has been little analysis of this. Men’s roles have received no special attention. With the exception of Bilge’s study of Turkish inter-marriages (1984), I am unaware of any study done on Middle Eastern mixed marriages. I am also unaware of any study on the children of such marriages. Several studies have recently appeared on medical problems, such as infant mortality, perception of illness and heart problems (Kulwicki 1989, 1990; Meleis, 1981); however there are numerous areas pertaining to physical and mental health to be explored. Educational studies have stressed bilingual problems, but other studies should be attempted. The examination of legal cases can bring forth important information. Humphrey has analyzed court cases in Australia for Lebanese immigrants (1982). Analyses of the political nature of local groups, perhaps the toughest and therefore the toughest because of their shifting nature, can be expanded. Suleiman has recently compared the Lebanese with non-Lebanese political attitudes (1992), and earlier al-Qazzaz made an extensive study of transnational trends (1978). Stockton had written on Palestinian political attitudes in Dearborn (1985). In the visual area, there are a couple of films but these should be increased. Miller has recently completed a fine film, Islam in America. Also, studies analyzing Arab American literature are rare. I have not even mentioned the valuable studies of other Middle Eastern groups such as Sabagh and Bozorgmehr’s valuable demographic and sociological studies on the well-to-do Iranians in Los Angeles (1989, 1991), or the numerous scholars of Armenian, Turkish, Albanian and Kurdish communities, but surely there can be fruitful comparisons of Arab groups with these groups also. In sum, I would note that studies have become more sophisticated and numerous in the last two decades, and there are a number of unpublished dissertations and theses (see Pulcini 1993) which should be consulted and published if possible. In addition, a host of research areas remain and I am encouraging the extension of the boundaries of the Middle East and MESA to include those in the various Middle Eastern diasporas. Let me switch now to MESA and areas of education in which we can make ourselves relevant. Quite suddenly, ethnicity and multicultural studies have made their appearance, in some cases a reappearance, in the US. Whether viewed as multiculturalism, cross-culturalism, trans-nationalism, trans-culturalism or pan-culturalism (Noda & Gwaitney 1992: 54-60), the evolution from monoculturalism, or perhaps more accurately Eurocentricism, can be beneficial, as long as history and class are not ignored, and as long as other centricisms such as Egyptocentricism do not make the same mistakes. The involvement of post-secondary with precollegiate educators is crucial. MESA has most recently responded through the Outreach Council and the efforts of devoted reviewers through the coordination of Barlow to produce an excellent textbook evaluation. As Eickelman noted in the foreword to the collection, school interest and changes in texts have often occurred as a response to pressures from the ethnic communities (Barlow 1992: ii). Different communities of course compete for their version of the truth, and school boards find themselves caught in political struggles, such as recently in San Diego where there was a concerted effort to remove the Farah and Karls (1992) world history text from a pilot project. The book is particularly relevant since it has lengthy segments on Islam and Islamic empires, topics usually minimized in other texts. MESA was approached and we were able to refer to the textbook evaluation study to support the high quality of this text. Several other MESA members added their positive opinion of the text and it has been restored in the pilot project. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee is also beginning a textbook review project. There have been several excellent books on Arab Americans by Harik (1987), Naff (1988) and Ashabranner (1991) that can be used by students in middle and high schools. I commend our outreach centers and other groups such as AWAIR and the National Council on US-Arab Relations for their efforts and urge many of you to initiate discussions with schools. You can start by obtaining a copy of the Textbook Evaluation to assist you and teachers. We may study abroad and do research abroad, but if we want an informed student body at the college level, we need to assist precollegiate teachers. One of the most useful programs involves taking teachers abroad through study tours. They feel confident to introduce materials and vocabulary that otherwise seem very complex and often unpro- nounceable. A second important topic for us as educators relates to the National Security Education Act (NSEA). We are aware that the study of the Middle East has often been crisis-driven. Betteridge points out in her history of MESA as many of us who go back this far know that the growth of Middle East courses expanded after the 1958 federally funded National Defense Education Act, which was administered by the Department of Education. This also stimulated an interest in forming a society. Betteridge quotes Winder who mentioned the concern of getting topics on the modern Middle East into the American Oriental Society, the wariness of polarizing the academic community through the Arab-Israeli dispute and concern about the Middle East Institute. Through the SSRC and ACLS, a committee was formed in 1960. Entrance to the Association of Asian Studies was sought and rejected. MESA was then created in 1966 with a membership of 50 (Betteridge 1991). Today we are approximately 3,000. In those early years, contemporary topics were discussed but not the Arab/Israeli conflict. Many Middle Easterners, especially Arabs, felt peripheralized and formed the Arab American University Graduates, and they also created their own press. Although its membership and subjects are more limited in that they focus on concerns of the Arab world, AAUG has provided a challenge to MESA. Our membership has changed over the years, and possibly half is now of Middle Eastern heritage. Another major change is the increase in female membership that now constitutes one-third of the membership (Betteridge 1991: 59). The diversity of concentrations, culture areas and languages as well as the changing nature of the membership and their talents has produced a more vital and relevant organization. Increased political and military involvement of the US in the Middle East and the decrease of some areas of funding brings us to this crisis in education with the NSEA. Its administrative base in the Pentagon creates obvious problems for scholars who value academic freedom. The attempts to involve regranting agencies makes it even more complicated since the degree of control for these agencies is not explicit. Furthermore, regardless of the actual control, the perception of students studying abroad under the Defense Department presents a possible danger both for students and their advisors, and a threat to others’ research. Many of us have our stories about being accepted for research abroad. I am reminded of my entrance in 1965 to a village. When I was asked where I was from, I replied “Michigan”, and they immediately responded, “Who is funding you? We have heard that the Michigan University is working with the CIA in Thailand.” I knew the case was rocking Michigan State University, but did not expect them to know. I quickly explained that I was from the other big university in Michigan with a similar name and was funded by a Fulbright grant. They said “He is a great man, you are welcome.” I rest my case for the importance of perceptions. It is possible to understand those language teachers who feel there is no such threat by teaching languages in this country under the NSEA, and perhaps if the bill were limited to that, there would be less concern. But the act is specifically oriented to taking students abroad at the undergraduate level, and now, amended to also fund graduate students abroad. As the Defense Department initiative in 1985 proved, it may also polarize our faculties, departments and schools. A second disturbing aspect of the NSEA pertains to a work obligation after graduation. We may hope that a major motivation for the act is not the third one listed, that is the provision of better intelligence workers. While this may be a by-product of our teaching in universities, it certainly should not be our primary function or focus. Because much of the problem was created by the budget walls that did not allow intelligence monies to be transferred from Defense to the domestic budget, we may hope that a new administration allows those walls to crumble and the monies to be transferred to the Department of Education or to a separate organization. On October 28, 1992, MESA’s Board of Directors agreed to a resolution which deplores the entrance of the military into educational facilities and addresses our concerns. It has been sent to the membership as a referendum. I urge you to acquaint yourselves with this situation. The fact that our centers and programs have organized to consider this major new initiative is an important development. The real danger to academic freedom must be addressed as universities, increasingly strapped for money, become providers to government and industry. The agendas of military establishments are not those of free inquiry. An administrator of NSEA might find it difficult to criticize his boss and Chair of the NSEA Board who is the Secretary of Defense, but in American universities we may do that, and it must stay that way. REFERENCES AAUG Newsletter. 1973. U.S. Harassment of Arabs Continues. |
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