Suleiman's Arabs in America Offers Badly Needed Insight into the Community's Experiences and History
Arab Media Syndicate
(Permission granted to reproduce in full.)
December 17, 1999

By Ray Hanania

The challenges facing Arab Americans can be overwhelming. And the experiences of this relatively new immigrant community to this country are still undocumented.

That's why any book entitled "Arabs in America" is welcome as a means of helping to chisel away the stereotypes and misconceptions about the community.

University Professor Michael W. Suleiman has edited a collection of 20 scholarly and academic essays that probe some of the issues facing the Arab American community.

While the essays explore some common challenges, they dwell in the detail of academic dissertation and provide a foundation for an understanding of the community's experiences and challenges.

Footnoted and offered in dissertation format, the essays provide insight into the experiences of communities around the United States -- several essays on Detroit's Palestinian and Arab American community; Jordanian immigrants to Texas and Ohio;Arabs in Canada; a narrowly focused look at Arabs in Chicago; and even the influence and growth of Arab Americans in the academic world.

Other essays explore the standard political fare, such as immigration issues, privacy, the legal system, anti-terrorism laws and their impact, and the challenges to "Zionism," a never-ending debate that overshadows much of what Arab Americans are about.

Most interesting is the essay by Lori Anne Salem, who is the director of the Writing Center at Temple University, where she earned her doctorate in "dance history" in 1995. Her dissertation focuses on images of Arabs in American entertainment and their relation to ideologies of race and sexuality. Previously published in Dance Research Journal, this essay is a fascinating look into the early history of Arabs in this professional genre.

Salem explores the experiences of Wadeeha Atiyeh, an Arab American singer, dancer and storyteller who performed in the United States in the 1930s through 1950s.

While Atiyeh's performances were presented in humble settings outside the hot glare of Hollywood or New York theater lights, her identity is preserved in the writings, notes and scrapbooks she left to the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies in Philadelphia.

It is exactly about Atiyeh's experiences that underscores why Suleiman's work is so important. Recording Atiyeh's experiences and sharing it with others is an invaluable insight into Arab American identity and the real challenges the community faces.

Today's examination of the interpretation Atiyeh offered of Arab American life may cause some to wince, as critics might see the performances as stereotypical. But Atiyeh lived in a time when many of today's politically correct assertions about Arab American identity did not exist, and Salem's brief review of her life offers a look at the standards that were common in the community at a time when Arab immigration to this country was being revived.

The exploration of Atiyeh's life deserves far more and would make a compelling and inviting book not only to Arabs in this country but to Americans interested in the role of ethnics in theater.

Suleiman's book is a clinical look at the Arab American community's "social medical file." That is, it provides a needed overview of our development.

Although burdened by the heavy language of the academic community, which might turn off the average American reader, this is an essential companion to a comprehensive understanding of the Arab American experience, which deserves so much more exploration and review.

Probably the most fascinating part of the book is Suleiman's own introduction, which could have been expanded into a book on its own merit, deeply cutting into important topics and potential discussions.

All of the authors have provide comprehensive insight into their areas of dissertation, and the collection is must read for Arab Americans and all those concerned with the ethnic experience and society's challenges.

(Ray Hanania is an award winning Palestinian American journalist, author and writer. His columns are archived on the World Wide Web at www.hanania.com)

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