Misconception #1: ‘Arab’ and ‘Muslim’ are interchangeable –Arab refers to people who speak Arabic and have an Arabic cultural identity, usually those who live in (or descended from people who lived in) one of the 22 countries of the Arab world. It is sometimes used as an ethnic description, but it is not a race. In the U.S., Arab Americans are classified as Caucasian. Arab identity pre-dates Islam. Muslim refers to a follower of the religion of Islam. While Islam originated in the Arab world and many people in the Arab world are Muslim, there are many Arabs who practice other faiths like Christianity and Judaism. In fact, the majority of Arab Americans are Christian. Meanwhile, the countries with the largest Muslim populations are Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, none of which are Arab. About 80% of the Muslim world is non-Arab.
Misconception #2: Everybody in the Middle East is Arab- People in Turkey are Turks and speak Turkish. People in Iran are Persian and speak Farsi. While these countries are majority Muslim, they are not Arab. Some other ethnic groups found in Middle Eastern countries include: Kurds, Berbers, Armenians, Chaldeans, and Jews.
Misconception #3: Arabs are oil rich sheiks- The Arab world is very diverse. It stretches from Morocco in the west to Oman in the east. There are varying dialects of the Arabic language. There are differing economies among Arab nations. While some countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are oil rich, other countries like Egypt and Morocco rely on tourism or other industries for their income. Sometimes people from poorer Arab countries travel to richer ones to find work then send the money back home to their families. Most people in Arab countries are middle class or poor.
Misconception #4: Muslims are terrorists- Certainly some Muslims are terrorists, but so are some Christians, some atheists, etc. Even Buddhism has violence in its history. To assume that Al Qaeda types are representative of all Muslims is akin to assuming Westboro Baptist Church represents all Christians. Many Muslims are moderate or even secular in their practice of faith.
Misconception #5: Sikhs are Muslim- After 9/11, Sikhs found themselves victimized by uninformed Americans who assumed that they were Muslim, possibly due to the turbans Sikh men wear. Sikhism is a completely different religion which was founded in India in the 15th century.
Why are misconceptions about Arabs, Muslims, and the Middle East in general so prevalent? Well, Americans have been inundated with stereotypes for decades. From the days of silent film (The Sheik, 1921) to today (Sex and the City 2, 2010) Hollywood portrays Arabs as terrorists, bumbling idiots, or womanizers. One example of how Hollywood perpetuates stereotypes is Disney’s Aladdin. In the original version of the film, the opening song contained the lyrics “I come from a land, from a faraway place/ where the caravan camels roam/ where they cut off your ear if they don’t like your face/ it’s barbaric, but, hey, it’s home.” Disney later changed the lyrics after complaints from the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, but the new lyrics still referred to the place as “barbaric.” There are other problems with the film. The protagonists have lighter skin, Anglicized features, and American accents while the villains are darker with exaggerated Semitic features and Arabic accents. The writing used in backgrounds is not actually Arabic but just scribbles. The women, including Princess Jasmine, are hyper-sexualized by their belly dancer costumes.
[While we’re discussing misconceptions, I’ll add #6: belly dancers are sexually available- While belly dance can be performed seductively (and often is in Western culture), its origins can be traced back to social dancing performed by both sexes as well as to movements performed among women as a celebration of and preparation for childbirth. When done correctly, it requires great muscle control and skill. I recommend you watch a video of Rachel Brice doing her thing; you will be awed.]
Insidiously, from our childhoods with movies like Aladdin and into adulthood with other forms of media like the news, we are exposed to stereotypes and bias. The first step is recognizing this. The second is a steadfast commitment to questioning the way people are portrayed. A good way to combat hate and fear of “the other,” (and that’s what all this stereotyping is about), is to seek positive examples of the people being vilified. There are many ways Arabs and Muslims have contributed to society over the ages, especially in math and science. There are also a ton of famous Americans that you probably didn’t even realize are of Arab descent. Here are a few:
Spencer Abraham –former U.S. Secretary of Energy (and former Senator from my home state)
Helen Thomas
Ralph Nader
Candy Lightner- founded of M.A.D.D.
Sam Moore- founder and president of Thomas Nelson Publishers
Paula Abdul
Tony Shalhoub- actor from Monk
Steve Jobs
Casey Kasem
Doug Flutie
Khalil Gibran
There is some great information available for people interested in learning more about this issue. If you can get your hands on the book Reel Bad Arabs by Jack Sheehan or the film of the same name, he looks specifically at the way Arabs are portrayed in movies and film. Some other sources can be found online at the following sites.
www.arabstereotypes.org
www.arabface.us
www.adc.org
www.aaiusa.org
www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/questions