Literary Society - May 2024

This month we'll explore the experiences of Americans coming from unique and often contested backgrounds: Arab-American and Asian-American Muslims. While both terms are frequently used and even receive their own heritage celebration months (April is Arab-American Heritage Month and May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month) both terms are ambiguous and create groups that often lack cohesion. The term “Arab-American” refers to anyone with ancestral ties to a country that speaks Arabic, rather than people from a specific ethnic or cultural background; the 22 “Arab” nations are Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoro Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. In contrast, the term Asian-American is a somewhat geographically based term; “Asian-American” typically refers to people with ancestral ties to countries in East Asia (China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan), Southeast Asia (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam), and South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka). This term excludes those with ties to some countries in South Asia (Afghanistan and Iran), West Asia (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Oman, Yemen, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia), Central Asia (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan), and North Asia (Russia). Our discussions will focus in particular on the following questions:

What is it like to identify with a group that is ambiguous and culturally/ethnically/linguistically diverse?
Do terms like “Arab-American” and “Asian-American” help in building a sense of solidarity and raising awareness about the shared experiences that particular communities have faced in the U.S. (specifically related to harmful stereotypes, xenophobia and exclusion)? Or do these classifications suggest homogeneity where it doesn’t exist?
Anti-Muslim discrimination has been racialized in a way that affects people from Arab (North African & West Asian) and South Asian backgrounds, who are often targeted based on physical appearance, rather than religious identification; what is it like to be part of a racialized Muslim group in the U.S.?
In what ways can Arab- and Asian-Americans be “othered” in various settings?
Within the American Muslim community, are there times that being Arab- or Asian-American creates privilege?
As Arab- and Asian-American Muslims, how do you respond to cultural friction? Is there fear around cultural assimilation?
How can we honor and support Arab- and Asian-American Muslim women?

Some guidance on the intersection of faith & social justice, from Sentipensante Pedagogy, by Laura Rendon

Requires “critical consciousness” (Freire, 1971) - an individual’s ability to recognize social and economic inequities that often result in marginalization, powerlessness, violence, and exploitation, and to take action to eradicate such inequities;
Requires action to transform entrenched institutional structures to ensure people from all social group memberships have equal access to resources and opportunities;
Requires love and compassion to work with people who have less privilege and resources; and
Requires working to heal and to provide hope for all people, especially those who are victims of social and economic inequities.
Cannot focus only on self-development and personal goals to the exclusions of the collective good;
Cannot be grounded only on individual aims without regard to interdependence and social justice.

Texts and Other Materials:

All readings are linked below. Alongside readings we will include other relevant, optional materials that will enable you to further your understanding of each month’s topic. These may include documentaries, readings, presentations, videos, and so forth. It is up to you to determine which materials you would prefer to engage with; it is expected that you will interact with at least one of the materials in order to bring your own unique perspective to the discussion.