Jumping into the melting pot
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Jumping into the melting pot

By Elaine Kahn January 6, 2006, 4:01 am Edit

Aref Assaf, president of the American Arab Forum, says that a good place to start learning about American Arabs and Muslims is Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad’s "Not Quite American?: The Shaping of Arab and Muslim Identity in the United States" (Baylor University Press, ‘004).

Assaf, who lives in Denville, suggested other resources and provided their descriptions:

Abinader, Elmaz. "Children of the Roojme: A Family’s Journey" (W.W. Norton, 1991). The story of three generations, based on diaries, letters, interviews.

Ashabranner, Brent, "An Ancient Heritage: The Arab American Minority" (HarperCollins, 1991). For teens. Based on personal interviews with Arab Americans, many of them members of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

Haddad, Yvonne and Smith, Jane. "Muslim Communities in North America" (State University of New York, 1994). ” articles on religion, immigrant communities, and the sociology of Islam and Muslims.

Kadi, Joanna, ed. "Food for Our Grandmothers: Writings by Arab-American and Arab-Canadian Feminists" (South End Press, 1994). Essays and poems by 40 women, exploring issues of family, ethnicity, culture, politics, and individuality.

Marston, Elsa. "The Lebanese in America" (Lerner Books, 1987). For young people.

Schefelman, Janice Jordan. "A Peddler’s Dream," illustrated by Tom Shefelman. (Houghton Mifflin, 199′). A young Lebanese-American man overcomes many hardships as he travels the countryside by foot to seek his fortune.

Shain, Yossi. "Arab Americans at a Crossroads," Journal of Palestine Studies XXV, no. 3 (University of California Press; Spring 1996). The various political strategies of Arab American organizations for influencing U.S. Middle East policy.

Shakir, Evelyn. "Bint Arab: Arab and Arab American Women in the United States" (Praeger, 1997). According to Assaf, this corrects stereotypes of Arab women as passive and downtrodden; it presents a diversity of articulate and spirited women in a complex cultural situation. Based on personal interviews, census records, and club minutes.

ADC Times (Washington) (‘0’) ’44-‘990). American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s bimonthly newsletter, covering current ADC campaigns and Arab American issues.

Al-Hewar Magazine (Vienna, Va.) (703) ’81-6’77; alhewar@alhewar.com; http://www.alhewar.com. Bimonthly magazine covering Arab American issues and Arab culture, religion, politics, and civilization.

Al-Jadid: A Record of Arab Culture and Arts (Los Angeles) (’13) 957-1’91. Quarterly newspaper covering Arab and Arab American cultural issues.

Al-Nashra (Alexandria, Va.; Arab Media House; 703-551-‘071). Monthly newspaper covering Arab American and Arab world issues.

The Arab American News (Dearborn, MI) (313) 58′-4888. Weekly bilingual newspaper covering Arab American and Arab world news.

Beirut Times (Los Angeles) (’13) 469-4354. Weekly bilingual newspaper covering Arab American and Arab world news.

"Palestinian Portraits." Video, ” min. (Simone de Bagno, United Nations) Palestinian Americans discuss their identification with the culture, history, land, and future of Palestine. (Available from Arab World and Islamic Resources).

Tahrir Radio Show: WBAI 99.5FM in New York City; www.radiotahrir.com). Live-streamed on the Internet at http://’05.158.50.198/rams/wbai.ram Covers Arab American, Arab, Muslim and Middle East issues and culture. com).

"Tales from Arab Detroit." Video, 45 min. 1995. (ACCESS, 313-84′-7010). (Joan Mandell, Olive Branch Publications). American-born children of Arab immigrants and their parents trying to pass on cherished traditions and language in a world of McDonalds and MTV.

Arabic Business Directory (Falls Church, Va.: Arabian Advertising Agency). National listings of businesses, organizations, etc. Published annually.

—Elaine Kahn

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