Arab-Americans

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, for Arab-Americans, who were just as shocked by 9/11 as all Americans, there was an even greater intensity of emotion because of their concern that all Arabs would be stigmatized and blamed for the 9/11 attacks. The author points out that these concerns have been justified because many Americans have become hostile to Arabs and especially to Arab-Americans living in the United States. The paper relates that these reactions, which are deeply troubling, are not only irrational but also are a betrayal of the American values of freedom, liberty and equality that have made America great. The paper underscores that the Bush Administration security policies, such as racial profiling, and the mass media increasingly has portrayed a negative image of Arab-Americans.

From the Paper:

"The three Muslim students clarified that it was a car, not a building, they had been talking about "bringing down" during a restaurant conversation overheard by the Georgia woman. But, on the second anniversary of 9/11, with memories of the World Trade Center towers collapsing still vivid in her mind, this woman in a small, conservative town in Georgia suspected that the three Arab-Americans she saw and heard talking about "bringing down" something could well be terrorists plotting to bring down a building or an airliner."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Arab Student Groups Tackle Life After 9-11." UASA. Online. Available: http://www.tolerance.org/news/article_tol.jsp?id=428. 5 December 2006.
• "'Bring It Down' Was About a Car, Students' Lawyer Said." CNN.com. September 15, 2002. Online. Available: http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/09/15/fla.terror.students/. 5 December 2006.
• Bulosan, Carlos. America is in the Heart. Seattle: U. of Washington Press, 2000.
• "CNN's Beck to First-Ever Muslim Congressman." Media Matters for America, November 15, 2006. Online. Available: http://mediamatters.org/items/200611150004. 6 December 2006.
• Elaasar, Aladdin. Silent Victims: The Plight of Arab & Muslim Americans in Post-9/11 America. New York: Authorhouse, 2004.

More papers on Arab-Americans:

• Analytical Essay # 142269 : "Counseling of Arab-Americans"
• Term Paper # 145698 : "Arab-Americans and Major Depressive Disorder"
• Persuasive Essay # 119567 : "The Discriminatory Nature of Profiling Arab Americans"

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