Arab by Birth,Proud by Choice

Yasmine Subhi Ali, MDSt. Cecilia AcademyFaith and Culture classMay 5, 2011

“I am Arab by birth and proud by choice.”

--Nawar Shora (Syrian),

“The Rising Shepherds”

What do the following people all have in common?

Casey Kasem(voice of Shaggy in “Scooby Doo”cartoons; creator of American Top 40)

Paula Abdul,(Grammy-award-winning singer and choreographer)

Tony Shalhoub(Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG award winner;plays Adrian Monk in Monk TV series)

Kathy Najimy(actress; starred in Sister Act I and II;TV shows Numb3rs and Veronica’sCloset)

Jamie Farr(actor; Maxwell Klinger inM*A*S*H)

Candace Lightner(Founder of MADD)

Danny Thomas (1914-1991)(comedian and actor; founder ofSt. Jude Children’s Research Hospital)

Christa McAuliffe (1948-1986)(first teacher-astronaut who lost herlife when the Challenger space shuttleexploded in 1986)

Dr. Elias Zerhouni(Former Director, National Institutes ofHealth)

“The government is you.”--Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader(attorney, long-time consumer advocate,former U.S. Presidential candidate)

Gov. John H. Sununu(former Governor of NH [’83-’89];former White House Chief of Staffunder Pres. George H.W. Bush)

Spencer Abraham(former U.S. Senator from MI;10th U.S. Secretary of Energy)

Donna Shalala(longest-serving U.S.Sec. of Health & HumanServices)

Ray LaHood(current U.S. Secretaryof Transportation)

Paul Orfalea(founder of Kinko’s) Jacques Nasser

(former CEO of Ford Motor Co.)

Col. James Jabara(America’s first jet ace;triple ace in Korean War)

Gen. George Joulwan(former NATO Supreme AlliedCommander of Europe)

Rony Seikaly

So, what do they have in common? They all identify(ied) themselves as Arab-

American.

BG Subhi D. Ali, MD

Maysoon Shocair Ali, MD

Nadia Ali, PhD

Samar Ali, Esq.

Reema Ali, Esq.

Khaled Ali, PhDYasmine Ali, MD

“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

--First written by the Arab-American author of The Prophet, Gibran Kahlil Gibran.

Pronunciations

Arab Muslim Islam Iraq (“ee-rock”)

Arab ≠ Muslim Muslim ≠ Arab (Only 12% of Muslims worldwide are Arabs)

Who are Arab Americans?

U.S. citizens and permanent residents who trace their ancestry to or who immigrated from Arabic-speaking places in southwestern Asia and northern Africa.

Great unifier is the Arabic language

The Arab World

The Middle East

Where do Arab Americans live?

All 50 states Heaviest concentrations in California, Florida,

Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia.

More than half the Arab-American population lives in large metropolitan areas such as New York City, Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

How many Arab Americans are there? At least 3.5 million

When did they immigrate?

Today, most Arab Americans are native-born Americans.

First significant wave of immigration began around 1875 and lasted until ~1920.

A second wave began in the 1940s. A third wave began in the 1990s.

The First Wave

Began in the late 19th century with the arrival of Syrians from what was then called Greater Syria.

Included the modern countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine/Israel; this area had been part of the Ottoman Empire.

~90% of these new arrivals were Christian; most were farmers seeking better opportunities, while others left to avoid being drafted into the Turkish army.

Between 1880 and 1914, approximately 100,000 “Syrians” (classified as such by immigration officials) came to the United States.

The Second Wave

Came in the years following WWII—differed in important ways from those who came earlier.

More likely to be professionals with college degrees, seeking to escape the political turmoil that continued to plague much of the Middle East.

Also more likely to be Muslim. Of the Arab Americans who came to the United States

after World War II, the Palestinians are by far the largest group.

With the establishment of Israel as a state in 1948 on the land of Palestine (known as “Al Nakba”), thousands of Palestinians departed.

Continued Immigration

The numbers of Arab immigrants to the United States rose again following the Israeli defeat of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan in the Six-Day War of 1967.

Besides those fleeing political unrest and war, some Arab immigrants, such as the wealthy Egyptians whose property and assets the government seized as part of a nationalization of Egyptian businesses, came to the United States in search of better economic and educational opportunities.

Continued Immigration

Now, many Iraqis and Somalis, as well as Sudanese, have come to the United States as refugees fleeing the wars and civil strife in their respective countries.

What religion are they?

No single religion Various religious groups represented:

Christian: Maronite Catholic, Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox Christians

Muslim: MANY sects, including Shi’a, Sunni, Druze, ‘Alawi, etc.

Jewish: there are Arab Jews

What is “Arabic food” like?

Yummy! Hummos, grape leaves, baba ghannouj

(eggplant dip), pita bread, falafel, shawarma, lamb, kafta (Arabic equivalent to the hamburger), baqlawa....

Words from Arabic include:CottonAlgebraAlgorithmAlkalineCipherElixirZero

You may think you don’t speak Arabic, but…

Algebra and Algorithms

The word "algebra" comes to us from a Latin translation of the title of an important mathematical treatise by the ninth-century Arabic author al-Khwarizmi. A translation of al-Khwarizmi's name itself gives us the word "algorithm."

Most famous Palestinian???

“The Arab Spring”

Also known as the “Jasmine Revolution” Uprisings across the Arab World beginning

in December of last year, asking for democratic reforms

Started in Tunisia Spread to Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan,

Libya, Syria, ?UAE, protests elsewhere

Recommended Reading

Habibi, a novel by Naomi Shihab Nye Out of Place: A Memoir, by Edward Said Blood Brothers, by Father Elias Chacour

(Archbishop of Galilee for the Melkite Catholic Archdiocese of Jerusalem)

A History of the Arab Peoples, by Albert Hourani