100 Questions and Answers about Arab Americans

"One Hundred Questions and Answers About Arab Americans" is part of the Michigan State University School of Journalism series on cultural competence.

This guide has sections on culture, language, religions, social norms, politics, history, politics, families and food.

The guide is intended for people in business, schools, places of worship, government, medicine, law enforcement, human resources and journalism--anywhere it is important to know more about communities. We intended this guide for individuals and for groups.

Questions include:

• Who are Arab Americans?
• How many Arab Americans are there?
• How are they distributed by nationality?
• What are the population centers for Arab Americans?
• Do Arab Americans have a shared language?
• Do Arab Americans have a shared religion?
• How does conflict in the Middle East affect Arab Americans?
• To which places do Arab Americans trace their ancestry?
• Is Palestine a country?
• Isn't Iran an Arab country?
• Are there other cultural groups from the Arab region?
• Who are Chaldeans?
• Many recently immigrated Arab Americans also know French. Why is that?
• How is Arabic written?
• Are characters in Arabic different than those used in English?
• When did Arab people come to the United States?
• Why do Arabs first come to the United States?
• What race are Arab Americans?
• Are Arabs a minority group?
• Are Arab Americans more closely tied to their country of origin, or to America?
• Who are some well-known Arab Americans?
• How do Arab Americans fare economically?
• What is the role of the family in Arab culture?
• Do Arab Americans maintain ties with their home countries?
• What are gender roles like for Arab Americans?
• Are Arab-American household larger than other American households?
• What kind of relationship does cousin mean to Arab Americans?
• Are marriages arranged?
• Are there Arab conventions for naming children?
• Why do some Arab women wear garments that cover their head or face?
• What is the checked garment some Arab men wear on their heads?
• Why do some Arab women dress in black?
• Why do some Arab men decline to shake hands with women?
• What is Middle-Eastern food like?
• What is that elaborate pipe people sometimes smoke?
• What religion are Arab Americans?
• Who are Coptics?
• Are most Arabs in the world Muslim?
• Is Islam mostly an Arab religion?
• What is the Quran?
• What is the difference between Islam and Muslim?
• What are the five pillars of Islam?
• What is Ramadan?
• What does hajj mean?
• What is the difference between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims?
• Are there conventions for entering a mosque?
• Who is an imam?
• Where is the headquarters for Islam?
• Is the Nation of Islam related to Islam?
• What does Allah mean?
• Why do Muslims face east when they pray?
• How do Arabs vote?
• Do Arab Americans run for office?
• Is there an Arab lobby?
• When do I say Arab, Arabic or Arabian?
• Do people prefer Arab American, or American Arab?
• How do movies and TV shows portray Arab characters?
• Are Arabs oil-rich?
• Are Arabs terrorists?
• What is meant by the phrase "Islamic fundamentalist"?
• Is Islam a violent religion?
• Are Arab-American women subservient to men?
• Are women who wear scarves and other coverings oppressed?

This guide is published with John Hile of David Crumm Media, which publishes the Read the Spirit website.

This guide is part of a series in cultural competence published by the Michigan State University School of Journalism. It is descended from a guide for journalists funded in 2000 by Knight Ridder, Inc., and created by people at the Detroit Free Press and others. Knight Ridder support for the original project came from Jacqui Love Marshall and Reginald A. Stuart. Two people who worked on that project and helped create this revision are David Crumm and Joe Grimm. This guide has been updated, refocused and re-organized. It was then reviewed by:

• Jack G. Shaheen is a distinguished visiting professor at New York University
• Rana Elmir, deputy director, American Civil Liberties Union, Detroit
• Osama Siblani, editor and publisher of The Arab American News
• Suzanne Manneh, New America Media
• Matthew Jaber Stiffler and Jaber Saad of the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn
• Abed Hammoud, Assistant U.S. Attorney at United States Attorney's Office, Detroit
• Jeffrey Ghannam, managing director, Democratech Solutions, LLC
• Raphael Calis, international journalist and former executive editor and vice president at United Press International