On Oct. 16 an Arab-American of Palestinian origin who was only 6 years old was stabbed to death by his own landlord because he was Arab. He was targeted for a tragedy he did not commit only because he was from the same place as somebody else. In the eyes of the man who murdered him, he’s just as guilty of attacking anything associated with the West. It is the same sentiment that motivated the hate crimes against Arabs post-9/11.
As conflict ensues in the Middle East, I feel targeted here in the United States. I am seen as and I identify as an Arab-American and the “Arab” part is especially emphasized when any tragedy orchestrated by Arabs or even Muslims happens anywhere. Somehow, we are all to be blamed for the actions of a few.
When an attack on anything aligned with the West is orchestrated by Arab individuals, we are targeted as an entire group. We are labeled as savages who want nothing more than to terrorize anyone who is not just like us. By “us,” I mean the entire population of Arab-Muslims around the world who are seen as unable to comprehend people having different beliefs than them. The problem with this definition is that it is not true at all.
Arabs are people who are like everyone else and their concerns in life are not based on how many non-Muslims there are. Their concerns are their children, job, health, etc. They are worried about the same things everyone else is.
The problem with defining the Arab individual who’s been depicted as very different from a white person is that, in order to give them back their humanity, I have to say they are the same. Life is of course different in different places. The set of values that exist in Arab countries is different from America because it’s based on tribal heritage and Islam.
We are seen as primitive people who would never know the meaning of sophistication on our own. It is only when we let colonizers invade our land and attach their model of society and government on us, then we are recognized as people as well. But that is not even concrete, because when any Arab commits a violent act on a major platform, we revert back to Arab, no longer American.
I was born and raised in the United States and know English much better than I do Arabic. I feel very comfortable existing in a Western society. I know American culture, how the government works and the overall lifestyle the best. If you asked me what my national anthem was, I would say the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
I do not have a problem with calling myself an American; the problem I have is when my right to claim the American part in “Arab-American” seems to constantly change. When Hamas did what they did in Israel and the media reported on it, I kept seeing the same cruel adjectives over and over again used to describe not just Hamas, but all Arabs. The Western mindset cannot recognize us as our own people capable of anything that Americans are capable of.
Crimes like these happen because of ignorance and blind language. If we are labeled as all bad in the news because of the lack to distinguish us as individuals, why should someone assume otherwise? It would be much easier and acceptable to do that. How Americans view Arabs is not something that is challenged, so people do not see a reason to change.
For a long time, a person’s understanding of Arabs was based off the stereotypes depicted in media like Disney’s Aladdin, which included in its original version of “Arabian Nights” the line, “Where they cut off your ear / If they don’t like your face / It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home.” From that, people would assume violence plays a big part in life in the Middle East so much so that cutting off an ear is normal. Further, the merchant was going to cut off Princess Jasmine’s hand when she gave the little boy an apple without paying for it.
The solution towards fixing this ignorance problem will take time because it would mean a shift in the western perspective of what the Middle East is. It is not a place that requires all the attention of the world because it is an ill-behaved toddler, it is a place like anywhere else that has its good, bad and ugly. It is made up of numerous religions besides Islam and ethnicities beside Arab that can coexist.