Selection 10: Prejudice against Arab Americans and Muslim Americans
(sociology)

1. As marginal groups with little political power, Arab Americans and Muslim Americans are vulnerable to prejudice and discrimination. In the first five days after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in September, 2001, these groups filed more than 300 reports of harassment and abuse, including one death. Six years earlier, when the bombing of a federal office building in Oklahoma City was mistakenly attributed to Middle East terrorism, many Arabic and Islamic schoolchildren in the United States were blamed for the attack. One fifth-grade boy was told, "Go back where you came from." His mother, an attorney and a second-generation Syrian American, asked where her children were supposed to go. One was born in Texas, the other in Oklahoma.
2. Sociologists have observed two trends in the United States over the last 20 years. First, the numbers of people in the United States who are Arab or who practice the Muslim faith have increased dramatically. Second, the open expression of hostility toward Arab and Muslim people has also increased noticeably. Obviously, the coinciding of these two trends has made life unpleasant for many of these people.
3. Following the attack on the World Trade Center, media representatives recognized how little insight Americans have into Arab cultures and Islamic religious practices. Content analysis of the media has shown that Arabs and Muslims are repeatedly presented as almost cartoon-like figures, whether camel drivers, outrageously wealthy sheiks, or deranged terrorists. Even Disney's 1993 animated film Aladdin referred to Arabs as "barbaric." The movie depicted an Arabic guard threatening to cut off a young girl's hand for stealing food, but did not point out that such punishment would violate Islamic law.
4. "Profiling" at airports has put some citizens under special surveillance. Fearing terrorists, a number of airlines and law enforcement authorities use appearance and ethnic-sounding names to identify and take aside Arab Americans (or those who match the "profile") and search their belongings. After the terrorist attacks of September, 2001, criticism of this practice declined as concern for the public's safety mounted.
5. Muslim women who choose to don head scarves or hijbab in keeping with their tradition to dress modestly encounter harassment from strangers in the street. Many employers insist that the women shed the covering if they wish to get a job or expect to be promoted. These citizens find it difficult to understand such attitudes in a nation founded on religious freedom.
6. Many people in the United States inaccurately lump together Arab Americans and Muslims. While these groups overlap, many Arab Americans are Christians (as is true of many Arabs living in the Middle East) and many Muslims (such as African Americans, Iranians, and Pakistanis) are non-Arabs. Currently, there are an estimated 870,000 Arab Americans, and their numbers are rising. Many cling to the culture of their nation of origin, which can vary considerably. For example, Arabs constitute an ethnic group in 22 nations of North Africa and the Middle East, including Morocco, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia.
7. At present, perhaps as many as 3 million Muslims live in the United States, of whom about 42 percent are African American, 24 percent are South Asian, 12 percent are Arab, and 22 percent are "other." Muslims are followers of Islam, the world's largest faith after Christianity: Islam is based on the teachings found in the Koran (or Al-Qur'an) of the seventh century prophet Mohammed. Islamic believers are divided into a variety of faiths and sects, such as Sunnis and Shiites, which are sometimes antagonistic toward one another (just as there are religious rivalries among Christians and among Jews).
8. The first known mosque in the United States was founded in 1929. Today, there are more than 1,200 mosques in this country, of which 80 percent have been established in the last 25 years. The largest group of Muslims in the United States, African Americans, is divided between those who follow mainstream Islamic doctrine and those who follow the teachings of the controversial Nation of Islam (headed by Minister Louis Farrakhan). The Muslim population of the United States is growing significantly, owing to high birthrates, substantial immigration of Muslims, and conversion of non-Muslims.

Source: Richard T. Schaefer, Sociology, 8th ed. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2003, p. 276.

Directions: Questions 1-5 are objective questions that are based on the information in the selection. Answer them by clicking on the correct answer. You may refer to the selection as you answer the questions.

1	Most non-Arab, non-Muslim Americans
	A)	have no understanding of Arabic culture and Islamic religious practices.
	B)	have no interest in understanding Arabic culture and Islamic religious practices.
	C)	have an understanding of Arabic culture and Islamic religious practices that is based solely on media portrayals of them.
	D)	have an inaccurate understanding of Arabic culture and Islamic religious practices.
2	"Profiling" in airports refers to
	A)	judging travelers on the basis of their height and facial profile.
	B)	making judgments about people based on their appearance and whether they have ethnic-sounding names.
	C)	forcing passengers to move single-file through special surveillance equipment.
	D)	portraying Arabs and Muslims as cartoon-like characters or deranged terrorists.
3	Muslim women who experience ridicule or discrimination because of their traditional, modest dress
	A)	usually switch to more typically "American" dress after they have been in this country for a few years.
	B)	continue to dress in this fashion, but do not require their daughters to dress in traditional Muslim clothing.
	C)	do not understand why they are treated this way in a country that values religious freedom.
	D)	have filed numerous lawsuits against employers.
4	Which of these is an accurate statement?
	A)	A person who is an Arab American cannot be Muslim.
	B)	A person who is Muslim cannot be an Arab American.
	C)	A person who is an Arab American cannot be Christian.
	D)	A person can be both Muslim and an Arab American.
5	The largest percent of Muslims in the United States are
	A)	African American.
	B)	South Asian.
	C)	Arab.
	D)	Sunni.

Vocabulary Questions

Directions: Questions 6-10 give you the opportunity to use context clues to deduce the meaning of certain words from the selection. The first sentence for each item comes from the selection and contains a vocabulary word, which appears in italics. The second sentence is not from the selection, but it uses the vocabulary word in the same sense as in the first sentence, and it contains additional context clues. Answer each question by clicking on the answer choice that makes sense in both sentences.

6	As marginal groups with little political power, Arab Americans and Muslim Americans are vulnerable to prejudice and discrimination." The importance of a car's appearance is marginal compared with the importance of its safety features. marginal
	A)	of great significance
	B)	doubtful; unsure
	C)	not of central importance
	D)	unknown
7	"Even Disney's 1993 animated film 'Aladdin' referred to Arabs as 'barbaric.'" Abusing animals is barbaric behavior. barbaric
	A)	inappropriate
	B)	uncivilized
	C)	spontaneous; not considered in advance
	D)	in violation of the law
8	"Muslim women who choose to don head scarves or hijbab in keeping with their tradition to dress modestly encounter harassment from strangers in the street." You had better don your heaviest coat if you are going out into this freezing weather! don
	A)	fold an article of clothing
	B)	put on an article of clothing
	C)	sew an article of clothing
	D)	clean an article of clothing
9	"Islamic believers are divided into a variety of faiths and sects, such as Sunnis and Shiites, which are sometimes antagonistic toward one another (just as there are religious rivalries among Christians and among Jews)." At the National Brotherhood Conference, the various sects explained their beliefs to each other and discussed ways they could increase their tolerance of each other. sects
	A)	former enemies now united against a single opponent
	B)	religious leaders
	C)	military units
	D)	subgroups of a larger religious group
10	"The first known mosque in the United States was founded in 1929." One of the first requirements of Islamic rulers in new lands was a suitable place of congregational prayer, a mosque (from the Arabic "masjid," meaning "place for bowing down"). mosque
	A)	outdoor area in which religious services are held
	B)	a building in which Muslims worship
	C)	tall tower with openings around the top
	D)	sacred ground located near a river

Applied Reading Skills Questions

Directions: Questions 11-15 test your ability to apply certain reading skills. Answer each question by clicking on the correct answer. You may refer to the selection as you answer the questions.

11	In paragraph 6, the author uses which pattern to organize the information it presents?
	A)	sequence
	B)	cause-effect
	C)	problem-solution
	D)	comparison-contrast
12	Based on the information in the selection it is logical to conclude that by 2010, the number of Arab Americans will
	A)	decrease significantly below 870,000.
	B)	decrease slightly below 870,000.
	C)	stay the same.
	D)	exceed 870,000.
13	Which of the following statements represents a fact rather than an opinion?
	A)	Sociologists have observed two trends in the United States over the last 20 years.
	B)	First, the numbers of people in the United States who are Arab or who practice the Muslim faith have increased dramatically.
	C)	Second, the open expression of hostility toward Arab and Muslim people has also increased noticeably.
	D)	Obviously, the coinciding of these two trends has made life unpleasant for many of these people.
14	The author is Iikely to agree with which of the following statements?
	A)	The media should avoid stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims and instead make every effort to present accurate portrayals of them.
	B)	The media should be monitored.
	C)	Animated films with cartoon-like characters should not be produced.
	D)	Movies should not depict Arabs and Muslims as violent.
15	As used in paragraph 7, what is the meaning of antagonistic?
	A)	loyal
	B)	neighborly
	C)	hostile
	D)	formally polite