Arab Americans Into the Multicultural Mainstream

Arab Americans: Into the Multicultural Mainstream

Introduction

Long-standing anti-Arab racism in the U.S. has worsened due to U.S. military involvement in the Middle East and the September 11 attacks.
Arab American and Muslim children have faced misunderstanding and discrimination.
The article analyzes discrimination against Arab Americans and Muslims using Iris Marion Young’s (1990) “Five Faces of Oppression.”
It suggests transforming the curriculum for full inclusion of Arab Americans, guided by Banks’ (1989, 2002) four phases of multicultural infusion.
Specific problems and solutions are discussed, along with a list of recommended classroom materials.
Arab Americans have been in U.S. schools since the late 19th century, but their presence in the curriculum has been minimal until recently.
Since 9/11, multicultural educators have increasingly included Arab Americans and Muslims in their programs.
The article aims to further this process, providing an overview of the Arab-American community and the discrimination they face.
It recommends ways educators can address personal and structural issues as Arab Americans integrate into the multicultural mainstream.
The discussion is informed by leading multicultural analysts like Iris Marion Young, Sonia Nieto, and James Banks.
The article draws upon a re-examination of the Arab world's place in the curriculum, focusing on Arab Americans and Muslims in the United States.
The Arab American and Muslim communities are distinct, and the article primarily focuses on Arab Americans.

Identity and Discrimination in Arab American History

Arab Americans were targets of discrimination before 9/11.
Like other new immigrant communities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they faced misunderstanding and pressure to assimilate.
As a community with sometimes ambiguous racial identity, they dealt with nativism, racism, anti-foreign sentiment, and institutionalized segregation.
Arabs, like Hispanics, are a linguistic and cultural community, not a racial or religious group.
Arabs are those who speak Arabic and share the culture and history of the Arab world (from Morocco to the Arabian Peninsula).
Most Arabs are Muslim, but most of the largest Muslim countries are not Arab (e.g., Indonesia, India, Pakistan).
The over 200 million Arabs make up a small percentage of the billion-plus Muslims worldwide.
There are about 10–12 million Arab Christians, especially in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and Iraq, tracing their history back to the early Christian centuries.
These include Antiochian and Greek Orthodox, Eastern rite Catholic, and Coptic Christians, as well as Aramaic-speaking Chaldean and Assyrian Christians in Iraq, Arabic-speaking Jewish communities, and a smaller number of Protestant Arabs (Betts, 1975).
Arab immigrants from the 1880s to 1924 were seen as part of the “Great Migration’’ from eastern and southern Europe.
They were predominantly Orthodox Christians and Catholics from areas of the Ottoman Empire that became Lebanon and Syria.
Most were from rural areas with little education and called themselves “Syrians.’’ There were smaller numbers of Muslims and some from Palestine (Naff, 1985).
Many became itinerant peddlers or opened small shops. Ethnic Arab neighborhoods emerged in cities like Boston, New York, and Detroit.
Large numbers of Arab Americans worked in Detroit's automobile factories (Naff, 1985).
Arab immigrants arrived during increasing racial segregation and nativist movements pressuring assimilation (Higham, 1955/2002).
Lebanese Americans in Birmingham, Alabama, faced opposition using “White only’’ facilities (Conklin & Faries, 1987).
In 1929, a Syrian American grocer in Lake City, Florida, was lynched. A Syrian family's home in Marietta, Georgia, was dynamited (Gualtieri, 2004).
Arab Americans struggled against discrimination and being defined as “non-White.’’
Between 1909 and 1915, Arab American leaders successfully argued in court to be officially identified as “white,’’ using arguments based on skin color, Christian identity, contributions to civilization, Semitic identity, geographic proximity to Europe, and individual characteristics.
However, in 1942, a Yemeni American Muslim was denied white status due to skin color, cultural differences, and Muslim faith.
In their own societies, major social differences were defined by religious affiliation, not race.
Arab immigrants learned to identify as “white’’ to escape the stigma of non-white status in the American system of racial stratification (Gualtieri, 2001; Samhan, 1997).
Despite being classified as White, discrimination continued. Subsequent generations became successful business people and professionals.
They established social clubs, newspapers, and literary magazines. Some became prominent figures in various fields.
Ethnicity remained largely a private matter, expressed through home, family, religion, music, and language.
Arab Americans were not organized as a political force like other ethnic groups. Individual political leaders did not necessarily express their Arab identity (Cainkar, 2000; Naff, 1985).
Recent immigration waves from every Arab country, especially Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Morocco, and Iraq, have occurred in the past 40–50 years.
New immigrants are more often Muslim, English-speaking, educated, and politically aware (Suleiman, 1999).
The 2000 Census identified 1.2 million Americans with Arab ancestry, but Arab-American organizations claim 3.5 million.
This includes recent immigrants, those of mixed ancestry, and ethnic/religious minorities from the Arab world.
The 2000 Census showed Arab Americans to be more affluent and educated than average Americans.
More than 40% have college degrees (vs. 24% of Americans), and 17% have graduate degrees (vs. 9%).
Median household income for Arab Americans was $47,000$ (vs. $42,000$ ).
Major Arab American populations are in Los Angeles, Detroit-Dearborn, New York-New Jersey, Chicago, and Washington, DC.
Approximately 75% of Arab Americans are Christians, and about 23% are Muslim (Arab American Demographics, n.d.; Bureau of the Census, 2003).
Recent Arab immigrants are less affluent, less educated, and less likely to respond to Census questionnaires.

The Growth of Anti-Arab Discrimination and Violence

Arab Americans have a unique historical experience and face distinct discrimination.
They encounter ethnic stratification, cultural invisibility, disrespect, and civil liberties violations.
They have endured waves of violence rooted in U.S. political-economic institutions and policies in relation to the Arab world.
Anti-Arab discrimination and public perception of Arabs and Muslims are linked to U.S. Middle East policy.
This includes military intervention to ensure U.S. strategic dominance, guarantee oil supply, and the U.S. alliance with Israel.
Decades of political antagonism and military conflict are reflected in negative images of Arabs and Muslims in media, political cartoons, films, and textbooks (Abinumah & Ibish, 2001; Said & Walther 1997, Shaheen, 1997; Weir, 2005).
Negative public attitudes influence policymaking (MacAlister, 2005).
Hollywood's villains and themes reflect Washington's policies. During the Cold War, Russians and Communists were the enemy of choice.
As U.S. involvement in the Middle East deepened after 1967, stigmatizing stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims appeared, such as the “oil sheikh’’ and the “Arab terrorist.’’
Films like “Black Sunday,” “Rollover,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and “True Lies” presented Arabs and Muslims as menacing, violent figures.
These images coincided with the oil crisis of the 1970s, the Iranian hostage crisis, and acts of political violence against Western targets.
Violence against Arabs and Muslims was underreported, and they were rarely seen as normal people (Shaheen, 1984, 1988, 1997, 2001).
Anti-Arab discrimination became increasingly politicized and violent. In the 1980s, Arab American and Muslim organizations were targeted.
Alex Odeh, a regional director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), was murdered by a bomb (Bomb in California,’’ 1985; Marantz, 1985).
There were dozens of incidents of assault, bombings, arson, vandalism, and death threats (ADC, 1987).
Military confrontations provoked anti-Arab hate crimes. After the U.S. bombed Libya in the 1980s, students in New Haven were beaten.
During the Gulf War, hate crimes surged (Ekin & Gorchev, 1992).
After the Oklahoma City bombing, media reports of “Middle East-looking men’’ as suspects led to over 200 anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hate crimes (1995 Report on Anti-Arab Racism).
After 9/11, there were thousands of hate crimes and incidents against Arab Americans, Muslims, South Asians, and anyone mistaken for them (Ibish, 2003).

The Faces of Anti-Arab Oppression

Arab Americans are officially a “white’’ ethnic group from the Third World, largely assimilated and affluent, yet perceived as culturally alien and vulnerable to discrimination.
Muslims are of all races and national origins.
Iris Marion Young's (1990) analysis distinguishes five “faces of oppression:’’ economic exploitation, economic and civic marginalization, working class powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence.

Exploitation, Marginalization, and Powerlessness

The more successful sector of the Arab American community is not subject to exploitation, marginalization, or powerlessness in terms of economic or status hierarchies.
As part of the privileged classes, they benefit from a system that exploits and disadvantages others.
As middle- and upper-class professionals, they have privileges and empowerment comparable to others of similar status.
This is underscored by the early 20th century struggle to be recognized as white and included at the top of the U.S. racial hierarchy.
Despite affluence, middle-class Arab Americans may encounter job discrimination regarding hiring, firing, promotions, and harassment.
This creates pressure toward economic marginalization (Ibish, 2003; U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2005).
Recent immigrants with lower income and education face poverty, prejudice, neighborhood tensions, and cultural adjustment similar to other non-European immigrants.
Lacking the style and manner of middle-class professionals can be barriers to full social and political participation.
Ethnic names, accents, lack of understanding of U.S. institutions can hinder participation.
Since 9/11, national security policies have imperiled the right of Arab Americans to equal citizenship.
The “Patriot Act,’’ passed in October 2001, expanded government law enforcement powers, leading to civic marginalization.
U.S. counter-terrorism policies have involved violating constitutional safeguards, including indefinite detentions, secret evidence, denial of due process, and airline profiling (Shora, 2002).
Thousands of Arab non-citizens were detained, imprisoned, and deported (Cainkar, 2004; Ibish, 2003).
Security measures have reduced the number of Arabs and Muslims coming to the U.S. to study or work (Haddad, 2005).

Violence and Cultural Imperialism

Arab Americans are targets of violence, including murder, physical assaults, death threats, vandalism, and intimidation.
Vigilante actions are condemned and elicit sympathy for the victimized community.
Less dramatic forms of oppression occur in the routine operation of social institutions in everyday life.
This oppression is the result of “unquestioned norms, habits and symbols. . . the assumptions underlying institutional rules. . . the normal processes of everyday life’’ (Young, 1990, p. 41).
Arab Americans may see little or no echo of their existence in public culture and bureaucratic practices.
Established norms are shaped by dominant and privileged groups as if Arab Americans did not exist.
School systems can be sites of cultural and political struggle, involving vested interests, identity issues, and budget reallocations.
One form of institutionalized discrimination is the multicultural paradigm itself. Multicultural educators often use racial and ethnic classifications approved by the federal Office of Budget and Management (OMB).
Categories include White, African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian Pacific, and Native American.
Arab Americans of all skin tones are officially “white,’’ lumped together with European Americans, making them culturally invisible.
They are often not included in multicultural educators’ books, articles, and programs.
To the bigots, however, Arab Americans are very visible.
The aftermath of 9/11 indicates that the time has come for multiculturalists to consciously expand this paradigm to include Arab Americans and Muslims.
The official categories have no scientific validity but are an artifact of the political power of U.S. racial and ethnic communities in their struggles for recognition and equality.
Arab Americans are a small ethnic group whose need for inclusion arose after the pattern was set.
The multicultural paradigm itself must be considered a system of cultural hegemony (Samhan, 1997).

Anti-Arab Discrimination in the Schools

Arab American children are targets of discrimination.
For many decades Arab Americans reported being called offensive names such as “camel jockeys,’’ “towel heads,’’ and “sand niggers.’’
As anti-Arab discrimination intensified during the 1970s and 1980s, children faced increasing harassment.
During the Gulf War, “yellow ribbon fever’’ swept through schools, encouraging jingoistic patriotism, leading to intimidation and silencing of Arab American students.
Since 9/11, they have been subjected to physical violence, death threats, mockery, and harassment from students, teachers, and staff.
Muslim students, especially girls wearing the hijab, were the most vulnerable, leading many parents to keep their children home from school (Ibish, 2003).

Ethno-Religious Violence and Harassment

Six weeks after 9/11, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim incidents declined but remained higher than before the attacks.
Families have reported many incidents.
In Texas, an Iraqi American family filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, reporting that their son was harassed, called racial slurs, had his arm broken, and was threatened.
During a class on Iraq, he was called a “traitor’’ and “Little Laden’’ (American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, personal communications, July, 2004).
Much of the reported data is anecdotal and qualitative, as objective statistical data is often unavailable or unreported.
A high school boy was punched in the nose during gym class, causing bleeding, a black eye, extreme swelling requiring surgery, and humiliation.
The Saudi Academy in Northern Virginia was the target of a bomb threat (“Bomb Threat,’’ 2005).
A mother in Delaware reported that her children were being harassed; a boy urinated on her daughter and was not disciplined by the school. The girl required therapy and no longer attended school.
A parent in Tennessee reported that his son’s girlfriend was pressured to stop seeing “that foreigner’’ who “wasn’t even Christian. Isn’t he an Arabic terrorist?’’ The teenagers suggested getting “a biker’’ to beat or kill the Arab American boy.
A bi-racial Palestinian/African American boy internalized the negativity and expressed a desire to no longer be Arab-American stating “Everybody hates Arabs. Even I don’t like Arabs.’’
It is not possible to neatly separate anti-Arab and anti-Muslim incidents, as hostility is often directed indiscriminately at either or both Arabs and Muslims.
Failure to recognize differences is part of the bigoted mindset.
Muslim students face unique problems and are often present a more visible target than others.
The hijab is not inconspicuous, unlike a crucifix.
Muslim students encounter institutions in which Christian and Jewish traditions are privileged and considered “normal,’’ while others are seen as exotic.
The Council on American/Islamic Relations reports numerous hijab-related problems.
In one instance in Florida, a group of boys repeatedly harassed a middle school girl, made derogative remarks, pulled off her hijab, and hit her in the lip with a belt buckle (O’Connor, 2004).
In Louisiana, a teacher allegedly pulled off a girl’s scarf during a World History class and told her, “I hope God punishes you. . . .I didn’t know you had hair under there.’’ The teacher was subsequently removed from the school (“Louisiana Teacher Removed,’’ 2004).
The Department of Justice intervened to protect the right of a sixth-grade girl to wear a religiously-mandated headscarf to a school where she had been twice suspended for refusing to remove the hijab (“Justice Department Files Complaint,’’ 2004).
Such incidents are also manifestations of ideologies and belief systems with established power in American society (nationalism, patriotism, Christian fundamentalism, racism, and nativism).
These ideological forces co-exist with the democratic values constituting the official ideology of U.S. educational institutions, creating a contested arena.
Some ideologies, such as patriotism, may receive official endorsement; others may motivate by a part of the school population whose feelings and attitudes are at odds with the policies formally espoused by their institutions.
Individual expressions of intolerance are a normal consequence of a system of ethno-religious domination and subordination.
An Arab American teacher in Michigan reported a pervasive attitude in her school that “Arabs don’t care about education. They’re always the dumbest kids anyway.’’ Smart Arab Americans are not perceived as Arab: “I didn’t know you were Syrian.’’
Parents complain of teachers who “badmouth Arabs’’ and blame political violence in the Middle East on “Islam.’’
A parent in Florida reported that her son suffered racial slurs in basketball camp and was told: “Arabs don’t know how to play basketball.’’ The coach failed to handle the problem and allegedly made discriminatory remarks, prompting the parents to take their son back to Saudi Arabia to finish the semester.
A group of Muslim Girl Scouts in Virginia was harassed by a man who accused them of waging “violent jihad’’ and told them “Jesus saves’’ (Muslim Girl Scouts, 2004).
These sentiments and ideologies are reinforced by ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and promoted by powerful interests, enjoying a public legitimacy often not accorded to Arab-American political views.
When schools are required to accept military recruiters or invite Air Force pilots to speak about their bombing runs over Baghdad to assemblies that include Iraqi-American students whose relatives and friends may be endangered by U.S. attacks, it increases the risk of racist assaults for Arab heritage students.

Ethno-Religious Hegemony

The ascendancy of these ideologies is integral to the system of domination and cultural oppression (Young, 1990).
The system manifests itself in numerous other ways in educational institutions, including the writing and selection of textbooks, school calendars, budget allocations, hiring practices, and dress codes.
Discrimination can stem from teachers’ decisions about what to teach and what to avoid, such as seeing Arab and Muslim issues as too “complex,’’ “controversial,’’ or “dangerous.’’
The Palestinian issue is especially sensitive; its presence or absence in the classroom is often shaped by the dominance of pro-Israeli perspectives.
Judgments as to what is “controversial’’ may reflect the relative political power of the Arab-American and Jewish communities.
Palestinian viewpoints are often excluded or marginalized, leading to Israeli-centric views not being considered “controversial.’’
Basic justice demands that Arab voices and perspectives be heard on issues involving them.
New York school chancellor Joel Klein banned Professor Rashid Khalidi from speaking to a training program due to his criticism of Israeli policies as “racist,’’ which was praised by the American Jewish Committee but criticized by the American Jewish Congress.
A professor at a Michigan university discovered that a local Jewish community council was trying to prevent his teaching unit on the Israeli-Palestinian-conflict from being used in workshops for teachers.
Arab-American parents in Maryland complained about a novel on a summer reading list that presented a demeaning view of Arabs. They recommended Naomi Shihab Nye’s (1997) Habibi as a substitute.
School officials were initially willing to buy copies of the recommended book but unwilling to remove the original book, citing “censorship’’ concerns.
The school district ultimately decided they lacked funds to purchase the alternative book, and the demeaning book remained available in the library.
Too often Arabs and Muslims are made visible in schools in merely “folkloric’’ and superficial ways.
A Palestinian-American mother put up a “Palestine’’ table at her daughter’s elementary school International Festival, which sparked objection because another parent insisted "Palestine is not a country"
Even an elementary school celebration of diversity can become a battleground over national self-determination.
A middle school teacher asked his class to look at both sides of the issue and find a solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict which unintentionally endorsed the aspirations of Israeli expansionists because it showed no understanding of the Palestinian experience of and response to Israel’s military domination over the Palestinians, or of international law, the Geneva Conventions, or UN resolutions as the basis for a resolution of the conflict.
The students and perhaps the teacher had not been exposed to a Palestinian perspective or a good academic analysis.
Many school systems make efforts to accommodate Muslim concerns, but Muslim students attend schools that may shut down for Christian holidays but not for Ramadan and Muslim holy days.
In 2006, New York State scheduled statewide English exams for 4th grade students on Eid al-Adha, which upset Muslim parents.
Difficulties like these help explain the institutional avoidance of sociopolitical issues and the preference for safer programs celebrating cultural achievements and traditions.
Arab-American and Muslim students remain stigmatized since they are associated with political violence, and other students are not given perspectives that would enable them to see beyond the headlines of the latest Middle East crisis.

Multiculturalism and Social Justice

The school as an institution and community is embedded in the larger socio-political framework of political and financial power.
School systems have an ethno-religious hierarchy where some groups are more strongly represented in positions of authority.
The ideological views and interests of some groups have become institutionalized, shaping the convictions, attitudes, and identities of individuals within the school system.
This system of cultural hegemony is not total, however, and the educational profession is one of the arenas most open to Arab-American and Muslim concerns.
A network of institutions and organizations has emerged, offering teacher training and classroom materials on Arabs and Muslims.
These include Middle East study centers at universities and various organizations that provide teacher training and K-12 resources.
Their success has provoked organized campaigns of resistance, as seen in some cases.
The crisis of September 11 also stimulated support for Arab Americans.
Political leaders spoke out against violence and against blaming Arab Americans or Muslims.
Secretary of Education Rod Paige alerted schools to take preventive measures against anti-Arab and anti-Muslim harassment under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
School systems took steps to prevent incidents, and organizations reached out to counteract anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hostility within schools.
These actions limited the backlash against Arab-American students and families.
Following September 11th, educators realized the need to combat these problems.
The most basic step was to reach out to local Arab-American and Muslim communities and establish ongoing working relationships.
Teachers also established contacts with national organizations offering resources and educational outreach programs on Arab Americans, the Arab world, and Islam.
Many educators decided to read, study, and learn about these communities and traditions.
In the 1990s, the Middle East Studies Association and the Middle East Outreach Council found an abundance of errors in high school Geography and World History textbooks, including Eurocentric and Israeli-centric biases, and problematic presentation of Islam.
Currently, Shabbir Mansuri reports significant improvements in the coverage of all religions in textbooks.
Cultural hegemony is being seriously contested.
Educators must overcome monocultural education that privileges dominant ideologies and communities, opening schools to unheard voices.
Sonia Nieto’s (1992, 2002) vision of “comprehensive school reform’’ should be applied to Arab Americans, challenging racism and preparing students to be active citizens engaged in movements for social justice.
Educators should aim for genuine acceptance of and respect for Arab American and Muslim communities.
This would build bonds of mutual understanding to overcome polarized attitudes and relationships for both conservative and progressive educators (Nieto, 1992, 2002).
Significant improvements can be made by implementing specific changes in school practices and curriculum.
One key requirement is to rethink the curriculum for more conscious and adequate inclusion of Arab Americans and Muslims.
James Banks (1989, 2002) offers a useful framework envisioning ways this might be done.

Integrating the Curriculum with Arab American Ethnic Content

It is time to reexamine the place of Arab Americans and Muslims in the schools and in the curriculum.

Many recommendations will apply also to schools where there are few, if any, Arab Americans or Muslims.
Young people need to understand diverse cultural traditions.
One approach is to utilize James Banks’ four phases of multicultural infusion of the curriculum with ethnic content—contributions, ethnic additions, transformation, and social action (Banks, 1989, 2002).
The curriculum can be revised by consciously including Arab Americans at all levels.

Contributions

This phase involves including elements of ethnic culture like heroes, holidays, and artifacts.
For Arab Americans, this could mean sidebars on consumer advocate Ralph Nader, White House press corps Helen Thomas, or Nathan Badeen, a soldier who died during the American Revolution.
Arabs and Muslims who sailed with Columbus and accompanied the Spanish in exploring the New World could be acknowledged.
Muslims who were brought to North America as slaves should not be overlooked (Gomez, 2005; Osman & Forbes, 2004).
A simple matching exercise (Identify the Arab American disk jockey, sports and movie stars, political leaders, and so forth) can help overturn stereotypes.
Ramadan and other Muslim holidays belong on the official school calendar (as do the Orthodox Christian holidays).
When educators recognize Christmas and Hanukkah, but there is nothing on Ramadan, Muslim students feel the inequity. Lessons explaining Ramadan will help other students understand why some Muslim students are fasting.
The two Eid holidays are times for family gatherings, and students should be allowed days off from school without harming their attendance record (Ameri, 2000; Kalaydjian, 2000).
Each year county officials declare April as Arab American Cultural Heritage Month and sponsor events.
The Board of Education holds an event honoring Arab American students and families, and some schools hold special classes and exhibits on Arab culture.
Sometimes schools sponsor field trips to Arab churches or mosques or community organizations.
Many schools hold International Days, and Arab-American and Muslim parents set up cultural booths for Lebanon or Palestine.
Parents speak to children’s classes, share Middle Eastern food, play music, display traditional clothing, and discuss Islam or Arab history.
One popular exercise is to write names in Arabic script.
This approach is sometimes regarded as tokenism, but such observances convey a message about legitimacy and acceptance.
A focus on culture helps replace negative images, putting a human face on people too often discussed in hostile terms.
It makes a difference when Arab American and Muslim children see their community and culture validated by school authority figures.

Ethnic Additions

Ethnic content, concepts, and themes are added to the curriculum without changing its basic structure.
Arab American and Muslim content can be added to courses on American history and literature, music, food, civics, and social studies.

History

Alixa Naff is the premier historian of early Arab immigrants. Classes on immigration and ethnic history can use her books (Nsaff, 1985, 1998).
The Arab American Encyclopedia has articles on every aspect of Arab-American life (Ameri & Ramey, 2000).
Joan Schur’s (2004a) The Arab Americans covers waves of immigration and adaptation. Her 2004 book, The Arabs (Schur, 2004b) includes first hand accounts of immigration.
Hall’s (1999) Arab American Voices has 27 primary sources.
Hall and Hall’s (1999) Arab American Biography has sketches of 75 individuals.
Randa Kayyali’s (2006) The Arab Americans provides an overview.
The Detroit Free Press has basic information in a concise form (100 questions and answers, n.d.).
For elementary schools, Cobblestone’s special issue on Arab Americans (Menconi & Shedd, 2002) covers various aspects.

Literature

English teachers may use Kahlil Gibran’s (1923/1976) The Prophet. There is a lesson plan and short issue paper on Gibran for classroom use (ADC, 1985).
Naomi Shihab Nye’s novel Habibi has a study guide for classroom use (Soulia, n.d.).
There are many other Arab-American novelists and poets (Abinader, n.d.; Darraj, 2004; Majaj, 2005; Ramey, 2000).

Social Studies

Government, Civics, and Current Events classes can use Arab Americans and Muslims as a case study to discuss discrimination, racism, anti-immigrant nativism, and post-9/11 civil liberties violations.
The National Education Association (2004) has lesson plan ideas (Stop Bullying Now).
The film “Caught in the Crossfire’’ (Van Taylor & Lichtenstein, 2002) provides a portrait of the impact of 9/11 on three Arab Americans.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) has articles for students on stereotyping and discrimination (Wingfield 2000; Wingfield & Karaman, 2002), as well as middle and high school lessons plans on employment discrimination that are based on actual complaints filed with ADC (American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, n.d.a, n.d.b)

Transformation

The transformative phase is the heart of curriculum change.
Here the fundamental “goals, structure, and perspectives’’ of the curriculum are changed (Banks, 1989, p. 192).
Attention to Arab-American concerns does not demand a basic restructuring, but it is only in a restructured curriculum that these concerns can adequately be met.
Rather than ad hoc “additions,’’ what is needed is the systematic and conscious inclusion of Arab Americans in every aspect of the curriculum.
The recommendations above for “cultural additions’’ can be integrated in a comprehensive way.
Ideally, this should be a matter of institutional policy, not left to individual teachers.
The foundation for such changes is rooted in the strength of connections between educators and minority communities.
Another obstacle is political hostility and anger arising from challenges to dominant ideologies and interests.
One of the primary prerequisites for transformative changes is interior change on the level of the person.
Educators who have not internalized multicultural values often resist them and may be susceptible to criticism of multiculturalism.
Routine multicultural practices can suddenly become “controversial’’ when the minority perspectives to be shared are Arab or Muslim.
If Iraqi-American students express concern about dangers posed by U.S. Middle East policy to relatives in Baghdad, they risk being called “terrorists’’ or “Bin Laden supporters.’’
Those arguing that civil rights apply to the treatment of Arabs and Muslims may be denounced as “unpatriotic.’’
The use of resource materials presenting a Palestinian point of view may generate a negative response.
Palestinian American parents who discuss their family’s history of expulsion from Palestine may be called “anti-Semitic.’’
Transforming the curriculum to include Arab American and Muslim views can require political courage and a tolerance for controversy.
Transformative changes mean a willingness to address political issues in a serious way.

Specific Recommendations:

It is important to teach about the diversity within the Arab world and Islam.
There are multiple ways in which Islam has been lived out in varied social and historical circumstances; Muslim tradition has been influenced by regional cultures, class, gender roles, ethnicity, and ideology (Gilsenan, 2000).
Islam has its legalists, rationalists, mystics, humanitarians, and ideologues (Hourani, 1992/2003; Renard, 1996).
There are deep divisions on the proper relationship of the Arab world and Islam to modernity and the “West’’ (Hourani, 1970).
There are many resources on the basics of Islam, as well as on the themes frequently sounded in attacks on Muslims.
The Council on Islamic Education (1995) has a handbook addressing cultural issues (Teaching About Islam and Muslims).
Another good resource is John Esposito’s (1988) The Straight Path.
The Arab World Studies Notebook (Shabbas, 1998) has background articles, classroom exercises, and resource lists on every aspect of the Arab world, including Islam and Arab Christians.
To counteract politically motivated hostility, educators must make clear that the 9/11 attacks were the act of a fringe group emerging from one sectarian version of Islam.
Extremists do not represent the Arab or Muslim mainstream.
One of the keys to mutual understanding and the transformation of educational practices is though building a multitude of linkages at all levels between the educational community and the Arab American and Muslim communities.
This can be brought about by developing ongoing working relationships between educational institutions and Arab American and Muslim leaders and communities.
Such a framework encourages Arab Americans and Muslims to be speak out and to articulate their views and will help overcome hate crimes and hostility.
Individual teachers and administrators can invite Arab-American and Muslim speakers to the schools.
Librarians can ask for their recommendations of new resources for the library.
Students and parents could be asked to discuss their background and history.
Students can be encouraged to organize Arab-American clubs.
Arab Americans and Muslims can be acknowledged as a part of the ordinary life of the school.
They should be invited to speak at school staff development programs.
Teachers should be given credits for attending workshops organized by Arab-American and Muslim organizations.
Arab American and Muslim women should be invited to speak about women’s issues.
Such steps affirm and give legitimacy to Arab American and Muslim identity.
When they “see themselves in the curriculum,’’ they will become more engaged with the educational process.
Presenting a human face overcomes stereotypes and establishes a climate of welcoming and openness.
Increasingly, mosques are holding Iftar dinners to break the fast during Ramadan, to which they invite educators.
Teachers should take advantage of speakers and films in the Arab-American and Muslim