2 pages essay

Topnotch4

Schaefer_C11.ppt

Home >Social Science homework help >Sociology homework help >2 pages essay

Chapter 11

Muslim and Arab Americans:

Diverse Minorities

Muslim and Arab People

Muslim and Arab Americans are different groups in America, though they overlap
Considering Arab & Muslim Americans
1st - clarify the distinction between two groups incorrectly referred as the same population
Overcome prism of Orientalism through which many Americans view Arab and Muslim world

Muslim and Arab People

Arabs are an ethnic group; Muslims are a religious group; Islam is the faith
Muslim is a believer of that religion
One cannot accurately identify the Muslim faithful by nationality alone
Clearly being Arab does not define one as being a follower of Islam

Arab Americans

Arab Americans & “Middle Eastern”
The Arabic language is the most single unifying force among Arabs
Up to 3 million people with Arab ancestry in the U.S.
Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Palestine account fro 2/3rd of Arab Americans in 2000

Arab Americans

Diversity of Arabs
Variation in time of arrival
Variation in the point of origin
Variation of religious tradition
Deficit Model of Ethnic Identity
A factor of subtracting away characteristics corresponding to some ideal ethnic type

Muslim Americans

1.6 billion followers worldwide and second to Christianity
Islam is guided by the teaching of the Koran (Qur’an)
Use religious rituals
Divided into a variety of faiths and sects
Jihad

Muslim Americans

Number of Muslim Americans is difficult to estimate
20-42 percent African American
24-33 percent South Asian (Afghan, Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani)
12-32 percent Arab

Muslim Americans

15-22 percent “other” (Bosnian, Iranian, Turk, and White and Hispanic converts)
Total agreement that the population is growing rapidly
Immigration and conversion

Muslim Americans

Blended Identity
Is the self-image and worldview that is a combination of:
Religious faith, cultural background based in nationality, & status of being a resident of the U.S.
Many Muslims experience the freedom to be Muslim and the pressure to be Muslim

Black Muslims

Estimated to account for 90 percent of all converts to Islam in the U.S.
Not tightly organized into a single religious fellowship
Against adultery and drinking alcohol

Black Muslims

The Nation of Islam became a well-known and controversial organization
Trace roots to W. Fard Muhammad in (1930)
Became well-known and controversial under Elijah Muhammad

Malcolm X

Originally a member of the Nation of Islam
Was the most powerful and brilliant voice of Black self-determination in the 1960s
Highly critical of the civil rights movement in general and of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Malcolm X

Remembered for:
His sharp attacks on Black leaders
His break with the Nation of Islam
His apparent shift to support the formation of coalitions with progressive whites
Teaching that Black must resist violence “by any means necessary.”

Malcolm X

Created the Organization of Afro-American Unity
Meant to internationalize the Civil Rights Movement
Assassinated in 1964

Louis Farrakhan

Most visible spokesperson among Muslim groups in the African American community
Anti-Israel foreign policy
Leader of the 1995 Million Man March

Louis Farrakhan

Pro: Self-help, bootstrap capitalism, and strict punishment
Against: Abortion, drugs, and homosexuality

Immigration to the United States

Some slaves were followers of Islam
The National Origins System slowed immigration to the United States
In 1919, the first mosque was established
And a variety of service agencies to help the immigrant community

Immigration to the United States

Professional-Preference Clauses within 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act
Increased immigration among Muslims and Arabs

Mosques

The mosques in metropolitan Detroit serve an estimated 200,000 Muslims
This is probably the largest Arab community outside of the Arab world

Contemporary Life in the United States

Arab Americans tend to immigrate to urban areas
Fill skilled & professional roles in US
And become self-employed merchants or entrepreneurs

Contemporary Life in the United States

Operate stores in low-income areas of central cities major retailers ignore
Opportunities for success are great
But face challenges of serving low-income population with few consumer choices
And history of being exploited by outsiders

Family Life and Gender

Traditionally, Islam has permitted men to have multiple wives—a maximum of four.
Role of women receive much attention because outer clothing is a:
Conspicuous symbol that to some seem to represent repression of women in society

Family Life and Gender

Perception of gender practices in Muslim societies receive special attention
By Western media
Particularly dress codes

Family Life and Gender

Hijab
A variety of garments that allow women to follow the guidelines of modest dress
There are differences in the role of
women within the faith and the mosque
Segregations of the sexes in mosques

Family Life and Gender

Perspectives among Muslim women in US and settlements outside Islamic countries
Younger, better educated, support hijab but draw upon Western ideas of individual rights
Older, less-educated support hijab and make arguments without reference to Western ideology
Third group of all ages & education, oppose hijab

Education

Recognize the importance of education and value formal instruction in their faith
Schools are specific to particular expressions of Islam/specific nationalities

Education

Children attending public schools encounter the type of:
Adjustment experienced by those of a religious faith
Different from the dominant one of society

Politics

Muslim and Arab Americans are politically aware and often active
Most visible Arab American in politics
Ralph Nader tried to open presidential politics to a true alternative to the two-party system

Politics

Muslims in the U.S. often express the view:
That their faith encourages political participation
There is a clear distancing that one can observe between the major parties:
And Muslims and Arab Americans

Politics

Clear distancing between the major parties and Muslim and Arab Americans
Contrast to the catering of African Americans and Latinos for votes

Politics

News events have fueled anti-Arab and anti-Muslim feeling
1972 terrorist raid at the Munich Olympics
1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies, Kenya and Tanzania
September 11, 2001 engineered by Arab Muslim extremists

Politics

Racial Profiling
Any arbitrary police-initiated action based on race, ethnicity, or national origin
Became intense after 9/11
The registration process deepened fear and disillusionment among:
The many law-abiding Muslims in the U.S.

Issues of Prejudice and Discrimination

Motion pictures show Arabs and Muslims as savages, untrustworthy, and barbaric
On television, there is an overemphasis on the extreme representations
Surveys conducted after 9/11 found a growing willingness to view:
Arabs/Muslims as generally dangerous people

Issues of Prejudice and Discrimination

Hate crimes and harassment rose sharply after 9/11
One in four people believe a number of anti-Muslim stereotypes
Arab and Muslim Americans have not been passive to their treatment

Islamophobia

A range of negative feelings toward Muslims and their religion
Ranges from generalized intolerance to hatred