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Memorialdisplay outside a NewYork . EDWARDGRAZDA/POWERHOUSE BOOKS

No Longer Invisile Arab and Muslim Exclusion Afler September 11

Luirn Crii'

nlikeother ascribed and self-described "people of color" abs in Americansociety has reacheda level unparalleledin in the , are often hiddenunder the theirover 100-yearhistory in the US. Caucasianlabel, if not forgottenaltogether. But eleven In the seven days following September11, Arabs and monthsafter September 11, 2001, the Arab-Americanis no South Asians reported 645 "bias incidents and hate longerinvisible. Whether traveling, driving, working, walk- crimes."'According to the Council on AmericanIslamic ing througha neighborhoodor sitting in theirhomes, Ar- Relations, the post-September11 anti-Muslim backlash absin America-citizens and non-citizens-are now subject has been characterizedby a higherdegree of violence than to specialscrutiny in Americansociety. The violence, dis- in prioryears, and includesa numberof murders.2In Chi- crimination,defamation and intolerancenow facedby Ar- cago, more than 100 hate crimesagainst Arabs and Mus- lims, as well as personsmistaken for them, were reported Louise Cpinkarworksfor the Coalition fr Immigrantand Refiugee Rights and to the Commission on Human Relationsby the is a researchfellow at the Universityof Illinois-Chicago. end of December 2001. On September 12, the largest

EASTREPORT 224 * FALL2002 22MIDDLE22 MIDDLEEAST REPORT 224 * FALL2002 predominantly Arab mosque in the Chicago metropoli- 60 percentof Americansfavored reducing the numberof tan area was surrounded by a mob of hundreds of angry admissionsto the US of immigrantsfrom Muslim coun- whites, some shouting "kill the Arabs," some wielding triesand an August8, 2002 Galluppoll found that a ma- weapons. Local police and concerned citizens acted to jorityof the Americanpublic said that thereare "too many" protect in the area. Suburban police encouraged immigrantsfrom Arab countries.9Possibly to push for Muslims to close the schools affiliated with the mosque deeperrestrictions in US immigrationpolicy, the anti-im- until their safety could be assured, and not to attend Fri- migrantCenter for ImmigrationStudies issued a reportin day prayers at the mosque. The schools were closed for August 2002 whose most prominent finding was that one week, but prayer at the mosque continued. An "MiddleEasterners are one of the fastest-growingimmi- Assyrian on the north side and an Arab commu- grantgroups in America."The reportadded: "By 2000, an nity organization on the southwest side were damaged by estimated73 percentof all MiddleEastern immigrants were arson in the late fall. The rebuilt community center was Muslim."10One should note that the Center purposely again vandalized in March 2002. In the months immedi- defines the quite broadly,sweeping through ately following September, Muslim women in Chicago Islamiccountries in Asia, the Middle East and North Af- repeatedly reported having their head scarves yanked off rica, includingTurkey but excludingnon-Muslim-major- or being spit at on the street. Although the level of hate ity countriesbetween it and Bangladesh.About 40 percent crimes and attacks against Arabs, Muslims and those per- of their Middle Easternersare Arabs. ceived to be Arab or Muslim has sharply decreased since Though not all Arabsin the US areMuslims (some 1.5 the fall, vigilant media monitoring reveals that there is million areChristian), the categoriesare often fusedin the still at least one reported hate crime or attack each week media,quite often in a mannerthat openly advocates the de nationwide. Arab and Muslim concerns about profiling, factocriminalization of bothoverlapping groups. Statements intolerance and the long-term effects of discrimination that collapsedistinctions between Arabs, Muslims and Is- are increasing.3 Some blame the US government and its lamists-and call for regardingall threeas innatelysuspi- sweeping and unfocused actions in their communities for cious-are no longer the exclusivepreserve of right-wing encouraging anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiments.4 commentatorslike Daniel Pipes, but have moved into the Indeed, the greatest source of discrimination against Ar- mainstreamof conservativeand even moderateopinion. A abs and Muslims in the US today is the US government, WallStreetJournal piece entitled "Under the Circumstances, mostly the Department of Justice and the and We Must Be Waryof YoungArab Men" appeared on Octo- Naturalization Service (INS). According to a Council on ber 19, 2001. In her column, formerReagan speechwriter American-Islamic Relations report released in April, more PeggyNoonan said: than 60,000 individuals have been affected by government actions of discrimination, interrogation, raids, arrests, de- In the past month I have evolved ... to watchful potential warrior. And I that is on with much and tentions and institutional closures. Secrecy,due process vio- gather going pretty everyone else, unlawfulness and abuse of are I'm glad of it. I was relieved at the story of the plane passengersa lations, arbitrariness, power few weeks who refused to board if some the terms used to describe the Bush administration's ago Mideastern-looking among guys were allowed to board. post-September 11 activities by, among others, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Re- Noonan's"watchful potential warrior" has providedthe porters' Committee for Freedom of the Press and the US FBI with thousandsof tips about suspicious-actingArabs Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.5 thathave proved baseless, nonetheless subjecting Arab fami- lies to intrusivehome andwork visits by governmentagents. "WatchfulPotential Warriors" The specialhandling of Arabsat airportssimply because of theirnames or looksreveals just how widelyand unguidedly Public opinion polls continue to show widespread support the net in the terroristsearch is being cast. for special treatment of Arabs in America. A poll conducted has come under vehementattack. Critics of the September 14 and 15 found respondents evenly divided NationalEducation Association's "September 11 Remem- over whether all Arabs in the US, including American citi- bered"website, featuring lesson plans for teachers,say the zens, should be required to carry special identity cards.6 topics covered"miss the mark."Schoolchildren should be Two late September Gallup polls found that a majority of warnedthat the root of the problemis in Islamicteaching, favored profiling of Arabs, including those who accordingto WilliamLind, terrorismexpert and conserva- are American citizens, and subjecting them to special se- tive spokesperson.Right-wing Christian activists in North curity checks before boarding planes.7 A December 2001 Carolinahave filed a lawsuitto barthe Universityof North poll by the Institute for Public Affairs at the University of Carolinafrom assigning an interpretivework on the Illinois found that some 70 percent of Illinois residents by an Americanscholar to enteringfreshmen. A recently were willing to sacrifice their civil rights to fight terrorism, releasedbooklet authoredby evangelistsFranklin Graham and more than one quarterof respondents said Arab-Ameri- and JerryVines, entitled WhyIslam is a Threatto America cans should surrender more rights than others.8 A March and theWest, argues that Muslims "should be encouragedto 5, 2002 CNN/Gallup/ USA Todaypoll found that nearly leave.They area fifth columnin this country.""

23 MIDDLEEAST REPORT 224 ?* FALL2002 23 Historyof Exclusion Wa_Ai0t 9 . .it Many Arab-Americans view the post-September 11 scru- tiny, 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, particularly against lead- JOUR ers and activists, has aimed to stifle the Arab voice in American civil society. For years after the 1967 Arab-Is- raeli war, the FBI spied on Arab-Americans and their or- ganizations as part of Operation Boulder. Families, PALl friends, neighbors and employers of Arab individuals were interviewed by FBI agents; profiles of community activ- ists were developed. The intimidation resulting from these Siu efforts discouraged Arab-Americans from participating in lawful, organized community-building activities just when the media its anti-Arab In 1987, seven A QUARTERLY ON PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS began steady pitch. Palestinian activists and a Kenyan-the famous Los An- AND THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT geles Eight-were arrested on charges of being "alien ter- rorists" in the service of the Popular Front for the Liberation of . failed Rashid I. Khalidi (After repeated attempts to win this case, the US is now to Towarda Clear PalestinianStrategy government seeking retry it-and deport the eight-under the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, which shift the burden of Eyad El Sarraj proof onto the The same the Los Times Suicide Bombers:Dignity, Despair, and defendant.) year, Angeles uncovered an INS-FBI Plan to detain Ar- the Need for Hope Contingency abs in America en massein a camp in Oakdale, Louisiana. in Narratives of Siege: Eye-Witness Testimo- In the 1990s, Muslim activists Chicago were arrested nies from Jenin, , and and had their assets seized despite the absence of crimi- nal charges. Other actions have included repeated INS Sylvie Mansour attempts to deport Palestinian activists who were natu- Jenin: Assessing MentalHealth Needs ralized US citizens, consecutive pieces of anti-terrorism Amidthe Ruins legislation that replaced anti-communist laws with laws that mainly targeted Arabs and the exclusion of Arabs The Street Reacts to Operation Defensive from political campaigns, including the intentional re- Shield: Snapshots from the Middle East turn of Arab-American campaign donations. These ac- tions have been perceived by most Arab-Americansas ways Sharon's 1953 Qibya Raid Revisited: to ensure that they are politically voiceless in the US.12 In Excerpts from Moshe Sharett's Diaries the view of Arab immigrants and their American-born children, over the past 35 years they have not been ac- Plus corded the constitutional right to freedom of speech on Recent Books Peace Monitor Settlement the same scale as others. * Monitor Chronology Documents and Source Research conducted in Chicago's Arab communities in Material. Bibliographyof PeriodicalLiterature the 1980s and 1990s'3 revealed an even broader exclu- sion of Arabs from American civil society, including com- Subscriptions: munity-based organizations, boards of directors, Individuals,$40; Students/Retirees, $23; Institutions, $115 foundations and local political campaigns. Participation Add$20 forairmail postage outside was awarded to those few Arabs who were -skinned, and agreed to downplay their Arabness and keep quiet Order on-line at www.ucpress.edu/journals/jps/ about US foreign policy in the Middle East. In the mid- Email: [email protected] this local exclusion was to for Fax: 510-642-9917 1990s, beginning change the better.14 the Arab U.C. Press, 2000 Center Street, Suite 303 Still, throughout 1990s, Berkeley, CA 94704 and Muslims, low-income and middle-class, immigrant and American-born, shared the view that the Arab voice Publishedby the Universityof CaliforniaPress for the is largely not welcomed in American society. In Chicago, Institutefor Palestine Studies even highly educated Arab men and women explained their preference for working in small business partly as a

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measure to protect themselves from the pain of interact- ferred an . They were Arabs in America. Dur- ing with Anglo-Americans. ing strong nationalist periods, national identities were high- Negative media portrayalsof Arabs and Muslims are not lighted, so they were 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 professorJack Shaheen 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 . Arabs who immi- century, 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 Ameri- television 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 was limited. largelyfallen on deaf ears-yet another sign of the exclusion Not all recent Arab immigrants and second-generation of Arabs from the norms of American civil society. Arabs responded to the inhospitable American social con- text in this way. Some preferred to mask their Arab iden- Impacton Identity tity by changing their names from to Mike and Farouq to Fred and by organizing their social rela- As 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 usu- tity, so that during the era that pan-Arabism was strong in ally found among college-educated members of the sec- the Arab world, many in the immigrant community pre- ond generation, but it became conflict-ridden during

25 MIDDLEEAST REPORT 224 "* FALL2002 25 Lurking behind these fail- ures, in the view of many Arabs and Muslims, was a US foreign policy that put its strategic interests first and the human and demo- cratic rights of people sec- ond. Arabs in the US linked their civic exclusion, politi- cal voicelessness and popu- lar denigration to the same US foreign policy interests. They shared a sense of pow- erlessness with many across the globe, who found faith in the only hope for ig ce scu anchange.The strong support l terf - shown by many organized Muslims for George W. Bush's presidential cam- to_ap li sj paign reflects the impor- tance of global issues to IraqiChaldeans at culturalclub, . JOANMANDELL ArabAmerica, as Bushwas perceived as being more ca- domestic 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 de- justified by denigrating my ethnic identity?" The exclu- stroyed this support.18 sion of Arabs from American civil society and govern- Whether secular or religious, transnational identities are ment meant that the answer to this painful question was nourished by return trips to the , 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 home- a democracy. land are maintained in material form through periodic re- During the 1990s, a major shift in identification, affili- mittances to family members and charitable donations to ation and behavior occurred among a significant propor- support local projects. Satellite television and the Internet tion of in Chicago, one that is mirrored have greatly expanded immigrants' capacity to communi- nationwide. 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-to- and Arabs, Palestinians or Jordanians second. and face encounters to the maintenance of family ties, build- religious 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, and Muslim student organizations thrived. 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-Ameri- became 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 firmly locate AfterSeptember 11 the Arab community in the US as part of a global commu- nity. Their Islamicization was part of a global pattern, evi- US government initiatives since September 11 are des- dent from to , to , 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 Ar- ditions 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, at- the Shah'sregime, to end the Israeli occupation 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-

MIDDLEEAST REPORT 224 * "FALL 2002 2625 MIDDLEEAST REPORT 224 FALL2002 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-American Businessmagazine vast majority from America. Although less than 2 provided special safety tips for Arab-American travelers- percent are Middle Eastern, they are the government's - in 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 , country of birth or ethnicity officials claimed that they were not engaging in racial pro- in response to the actions of tiny number. The finger- filing, since other communities would be approached next. printing and registry initiative announced on August 12, On May 14, Congress enacted the Enhanced Border Se- 2002 for persons from select Arab and Muslim countries curity and Visa Entry Reform Act. Among the many provi- is 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 Depart- ment issued a classified cable impos- ing a 20-day mandatory hold on all . non-immigrant visa applications sub- " mitted by men aged 18-45 from 26 countries, most of them Arab. All such applicants were to be subjected to spe- cial security clearances. Even stricter procedures have been put in place in certain countries. For example, in early the US Ambassador to August 'S announced that visa applications were no longer being approved at the Ameri- can Consulate in . All visa ap- y' plications are sent to Washington for 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'sWar on Terrorism 11 andthe had similar rules.20 September Making RAHUL MAHAJAN if of theNew World Disorder In the November, Justice Depart- GILBERT ACHCAR ment announced its intention to inter- "A well-researchc:dand carefully view some 5,000 individuals who came TheNew Crusade "Thisinquiry into the probable to the US from Arab and Muslim coun- argd poleai i to all those shapeof thingsto comeis sober, tries since January 1, 2000 on non-im- w b a d linantculture migrant visas. Later,Attorney General resistingthe don uncompromising,deeply-informed, John Ashcroft announced a second in theseconform list times.' andfull of provocativeinsights round of interviews with an additional - TARIQALI andjudicious analyses. It should 3,000 persons.The subject'sknowledge ^ be readand pondered." of terrorist is the of these ' activity topic ' he New Crusaie deals effectively -NOAM CHOMSKY interviews.The has '' c Justice Department :th. :',h heavy ostsof the 'war asked local to :,,?i..'~"~'l_,?:' ? co police departments par-' ?bo. botth at homeand "Thisis the mostforceful, rigorous in the Arab resi- V:::i:A'.fi~.mti ? ticipate interviewing ia's * textthere is to readon thiswar." dents of their towns, them in supportive placing sibilitiesof -LE' MONDE 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 s'j"1ie: } iSF...3u67-070-X. $15.95 /128pp/ISBN:1-58367-081-5 6,000 non-citizen males from (un- 1 g80 6 70 CA49 named) Middle Eastern countries who had been ordered deported by an im-

27 MIDDLEEAST REPORT 224 *m FALL 2002 27 Introduction The Editors On the non-immigrantvisas for individualsfrom countriesidenti- X~:~ ' '..._? " Collective. Criminalization of Political fied as statesponsors of terrorism. Protestors Rina Rosenberg Law's In late the of issuedan internal . Co. n ceConceptions of State Violence Samera June, Department Justice Esmeir Violent Jurisdictions: On Law, memo to the INS and US Customs requestingthat they Space and the Fragmentation of seek out and searchall Yemenis,including American citi- TI n r of l Discourse under Oslo AmrShalakany zens, enteringthe US. As a result,Yemeni Americans have The Perfect Crime: The Supreme beenremoved from and from lines, v.::TheSa Isre Te ig Foo Court, the Occupied Territories, and planes boarding waiting al-Aqsa Intifada Nimer Sultany hoursfor securityclearances. Administrative Detention: A Lawyer's On July 14, 2002, the INS announcedthat it will begin Testimony Jamil Dakwar with Jake section of the and Wadland Kufr Qassem: Between enforcing 265(a) Immigration Fundamnta Ordinary Politics and Transformative Act,which requires all aliens to registerchanges of addresswithin a , , J Politics Leora Bilsky Unwanted ten daysof moving.There is nothingto preventthe INS from ,."i,::7 .:. .Neighbors: A Story of Three selectivelyenforcing this rule. In fact,a statementmade by INS Palestinian Women Yousef Taiseer national Dan Kaneto the TV Jabareen Fire and Advance: The spokesman Spanish- Promotion of Benzy Sau, Case news Univision-that the INS will not deportpersons for Comment: H.C. 3286/01, The Committee of the Martyrs' Families, et. changeof addressviolations and will seekjail time only in ex- al. v. The Minister of Internal Security, et. al. Muhammad Dahleh Special tremecases-indicates that the agencyintends to enforcethe Inquiry The Editors Indictment, The Arab Citizens of the State of rulein different fordifferent of In North v. The State of Israel The High Follow-up Committee for the Arab Citizens ways groups people.21 in Israel Statement of the Committee of the Martyrs' Families Mahmoud Carolina,a Palestinianlegal immigrant stopped for driving four Yazbak An Open Letter to the Families of the Palestinian Martyrs Tony milesover the speedlimit was detainedfor two monthsand Doherty Tribunals of Inquiry: Excerpts from a Legal Opinion on the finallycharged with a misdemeanorfor failingto reporthis Fundamental Principles of Practice and Procedure Lord Gifford, QC, address The INS his On 5, lan MacDonald,QC, Jonathan Hall, Sara Mansoori Request to Cancel Notices change. sought deportation. August of Warning Given to Arab Public Representatives Hassan Jabareen a localimmigration judge ruled that he couldnot be deported forthis infraction because he did not willfullybreak this law. Adalah's Review, a Journal of the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. Published On August12, Ashcroftannounced the implementation in English, and Hebrew To Order: Send check or money order made payable to of a thatwill tensof thousandsof Adalah. Please indicate language(s) and number of copies. Abroad US $15 / Israel and program require approved, the Occupied TerritoriesNIS 40. POB 510, Shefaiamr20200 Israel, Tel: +972-4-950-1610, visa-holdingforeign visitors to be fingerprinted,photographed Fax: +972-4-950-3140 Email: [email protected],Web: www.adalah.org (Publications) and registeredupon entry to the US. The programwill be implementedin selectedlocations on September11, 2002 and will targetArabs and Muslims.After a 20-day testing period,it will be implementedat all US portsof entry.Arabs and Muslimsso registeredcan only leavefrom ports with the Newts and analysis out of Israel-Palestine registrysystem in place.Carl Baron, an immigrationattorney and researcherat the Universityof ,commented: "Just I I on the basisof wherea personis coming from the govern- mentis goingto subjectthem to thesemeasures. You're going to see fewerMiddle Easterners willing to come to the United States,and I wonderif that isn'tthe realagenda."22 AFew Good Things In the midst of this environmentof attackson Arab and Muslimcommunities, a few good thingsare happening. On a locallevel, there appears to be a markedincrease in public educationabout Islam, largely sponsored by localnon-profit organizations.Years of Arabactivists' efforts to find receptive hosts and fundersfor such public educationsuddenly fruitafter September 11, oftensponsored by institutionsthat had closedtheir doors to Arabsin the past.Curricula are be- ing examinedfor their treatmentof Arabsand Islam.In a majorinitiative supported by the ChicagoCommunityTrust, the Chicagopublic school system is studyingways to reform its curriculumto includeArabs, Islam and broader treatments TheAlternative inorma Centerm of the MiddleEast. Earlier attempts, including by the Uni- Pleasevisit u at:www .altemativenews.g versityof Chicago'sMiddle East Studies Center, to makethese had been rebuffed.Arabs and Muslims Subscribeat: nlfw alt-info.oQgfor 12monthly issues of N/W($40). changes consistently ------arebeing invited to speakat publicforums, to engagein dia-

REPORT224 * FALL2002 28 MIDDLEEAST REPORT 224 a FALL2002 logue and to sit "at the table."A May 2002 Arab American Institute Foundation survey found that 42 percent of Arab- American respondents publicly discuss events in the Middle East more since September 11, as opposed to 14 percentwho do it less. According to Muslim American organizations,the vast majority of Arabs and Muslims report experiencingspe- cial caring, kindness and often protection from persons out- SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCHCOUNCIL side their communities in the past year, despite the overall Programon the MiddleEast & NorthAfrica negativeclimate. Islamicorganizations report that conversions to Islam in the US have increasedsignificantly since Septem- 2002-2003 INTERNATIONALCOLLABORATIVE ber.23For perhapsthe first time, Islam is being recognizedas RESEARCHGRANTS PUBLICSPHERES IN THE an American religion. These events revealthe apparentpara- RECONCEPTUALIZING MIDDLEEAST AND NORTH dox of this historical moment: repressionand inclusion may be at the same time. happening of But the of new restrictions on The MiddleEast & NorthAfrica (MENA) Program plethora immigration, the SSRC is to announceits secondannual which zero in on Arabs and Muslims, and the con- pleased grant plainly internationalcollaborative tinued of about Arabs and Islam competitionsupporting acceptability stereotyping researchfocusing on the MENA region(defined as Iran in the media and culture, tell a much less popular encourag- to We invite thatbring together The Arab in America is no invisible. Nei- Morocco). proposals ing story. longer researchersin differentlocations to addressissues ther is some of the in and it's not ugliness America, coming relatedto the changingnature of publicspheres in the from Arabs and Muslims.1 region.The notionof "publicspheres" is used in a broad Endnotes sense, encompassingthe transformationof socio- economicconditions, state and non-state structures, 1 SouthAsian Leadersof Tomorrow,American Backlash: Terrorists Bring War Home in More individualand collective identitiesand cultural Than One DC: 28, 2001). Ways (Washington, September production. 2 Council on American-IslamicRelations, The Status of MuslimCivil Rightsin the United States:Stereotypes and CivilLiberties (Washington, DC: April2002). 3 Arab AmericanInstitute Foundation,Profiling and Pride:Arab American Attitudes and Eligibility: BehaviorSince September 11 (Washington,DC: July 2002). See also the CAIR reportcited above. * Applicantsand all researchpartners must be 4 CourierNews, August, 26, 2002. holdersof a PhD degreeor its equivalent. 5 Human RightsWatch, Presumptionof Guilt:Human RightsAbuses of Post-September11 * Applicantscan be of any nationality,from any Detainees(,August 2002); AmericanCivil LibertiesUnion, Safeand Freein Times of Crisis(Washington, DC: August2002); ReportersCommittee for Freedomof the Press, countryand fromany disciplineas long as the HomefrontConfidential (Arlington, VA: April 2002); WashingtonPost, August 23, 2002. proposedresearch is well groundedin social 6 Daniel Smith, "When'For a While'Becomes Forever," Weekly Defense Monitor, October 2, 2001. science theoryand methodology. 7 ChicagoSun- Times, October 2, 2001. ? The plannedcollaboration can includeas many 8 NewsSun (Ill.), December20, 2001. partnersin as manylocations as desiredbut 9 GallupNews Service,August 8, 2002. must includeat least two researchersin two 10 Centerfor ImmigrationStudies, Immigrantsfrom the Middle East: A Profileof theForeign- differentcountries of the MENA The Born Pakistanto Morocco region. from (Washington,August 2002). researchitself can focus on one site or 11 HartfordCourant, August 11, 2002. many 12 See NabeelAbraham, "Anti-Arab and Violence in the US," in ErnestMcCarus, sites in the MENAregion, and intra-regional, ed. The Developmentof ArabAmerican Identity (Ann Arbor,MI: Universityof or comparisonsare also Press,1994). cross-regional global 13 The most recentpublication based on this researchis LouiseCainkar, "The Deteriorating encouraged. Ethnic SafetyNet Among Arabsin Chicago"in MichaelSuleiman, ed., Arabsin America: * Pleasesee our websiteor contactprogram staff Buildinga New Future(Philadelphia: UniversityPress, 1999). See also Cainkar, PalestinianImmigrants in the UnitedStates: Gender, Culture and GlobalPolitics (Philadelphia: for completeeligibility requirements. TempleUniversity Press, forthcoming). 14 LouiseCainkar, Meeting Community Needs, Building on CommunityStrengths: Chicagos awardedwill be for a maximum ArabAmerican Community ArabAmerican Action Network, 1998). The researchgrants (Chicago: 18 15 JackShaheen, The TVArab:Arab and MuslimStereotyping in AmericanPopular Culture amountof $35,000 and for a maximumperiod of (BowlingGreen, OH: BowlingGreen State University Press, 1984) and ReelBadArabs: How months.The deadlinefor is a (New York,Olive BranchPress, 2001). preliminaryproposals HollywoodVilifies People November 2002. 16 This patternis very differentfrom the name-changingthat seems to be occurringafter 15, September11. See BeaconNews, March 21, 2002. 17 Louise Cainkar,"Coping with Tradition,Change and Alienation:Palestinian Muslim IMPLEMENTATIONOFTHIS PROGRAM IS CONTINGENT Women in the US" (Ph.D. diss., NorthwesternUniversity, 1988). UPONRECEITr OF PENDING FUNDS. 18 Council on American-IslamicRelations, "Poll: Majority of MuslimsSuffered Post-9/11 Bias,"(Washington, DC: August21, 2002). 19 Thanksto FredTsao of the IllinoisCoalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights for keeping For furtherinformation contact the MENAProgram: currenton this information.See IllinoisCoalition for Immigrantand RefugeeRights, Losing Ground:The Loss of Freedom, Equality and OpportunityforAmericasImmigrants Since September Phone:(212) 377-2700, ext. 441 11 (forthcoming). E-Mail:menasssrc.org 20 JordanTimes, 8, 2002. August URL:http://www.ssrc.org/programs/mena 21 JorgeCancino, "Rectifica el INS: no habradeportaciones," Univision.com (August 2002). 22 ChicagoTribune, August 16, 2002. 23 New YorkTimes, October 22, 2001.

29 MIDDLEEAST REPORT 224 -* FALL2002 29