"...important, challenging collection of essays. ...There is much new and compelling material in this anthology. ...No one has a better grasp of the occasionally odd, even bizarre experience of Americans of Arab extraction than Michael Suleiman."

--Journal of Palestinian Studies

"...this work is generally a valuable addition to the growing literature on Arabs in the United States...and Canada."

--Journal of American Ethnic History

Submitted By Publisher, May, 2004

For many North Americans, Arab-Americans are invisible, recalled only when words like "terrorism" or "anti-American sentiments" arise. However, people of Arab descent have been contributing to U.S. and Canadian culture since the 1870's in fields as diverse as literature, science, politics, medicine, and commerce--witness surgeon Michael DeBakey, former Oregon governor Victor Atiyeh, consumer advocate Ralph Nader, and Canadian M.P. Mac Harb. Yet, while Arab-American contributions to our society are significant and Arab-Americans surpass the U.S. average in both education and economics, they still struggle for recognition and acceptance.

In this volume, editor Michael Suleiman brings together 21 prominent scholars from a wide range of perspectives--including anthropology, economics, history, law, literature and culture, political science, and sociology--to take a close look at the status of Arabs in North America. Topics range from the career of Arab-American singer, dancer, and storyteller Wadeeha Atiyeh to a historical examination of Arab-Americans and Zionism. The contributors discuss an assortment of different communities--a Palestinian refugee community in Detroit, a group of well-educated Jordanian men, and the Shi'a Muslims--in order to illustrate the range of Arab émigré experience. More broadly, they examine Arabs in the legal system, youth and family, health and welfare, as well as Arab-American identity, political activism, and attempts by Arab immigrants to achieve respect and recognition in their new homes. They address both the present situation for Arab-Americans and prospects for their future.

Arabs in America will engage anyone interested in Arab-American studies, ethnic studies, and American studies.

Part I: Profiles of Specific Communities

1. Attachment and Identity: The Palestinian Community of Detroit
2. Jordanian Migrants in Texas and Ohio: The Quest for Education and Work in A Global Society
3. A Look at Differing Ideologies among Shi'a Muslims in the United States

Part II: Arabs and the American Legal System

4. Arabs and the American Legal System: Cultural and Political Ramifications
5. A Closer Look at Anti-Terrorism Law: American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee v. Reno and the Construction of Aliens' Rights
6. Legal Perspectives on Arabs and Muslims in U.S. Courts

Part III: Youth and the Family

7. Teens-Between: The Public and Private Spheres of Arab-Canadian Adolescents
8. Family and Ethnic Identity in an Arab-American Community
9. Arab-Canadian Youth in Immigrant Family Life

Part IV: Health and Welfare Issues

10. Arab-American Health and the Process of Coming to America: Lessons from the Metropolitan Detroit Area
11. Attitudes of Arab Immigrants Toward Welfare
12. The Deteriorating Ethnic Safety Net Among Arab Immigrants in Chicago

Part V: Political Activism

13. Not Quite White: Race Classification and the Arab-American Experience
14. Debating Palestine: Arab-American Challenges to Zionism, 1917-1932
15. Community and Political Activism Among Arab Americans in Detroit

Part VI: Arab-American Identity Negotiations

16. Against the Grain of the Nation--The Arab
17. Far-Off and Fascinating Things: Wadeeha Atiyeh and Images of Arabs in the American Popular Theater, 1930 - 1950
18. Arabs in Canada: Assimilation or Integration?
19. Resisting Invisibility: Arab-Americans in Academia and Activism
20. Arab-American Ethnicity: Location, Coalitions, and Cultural Negotiations