Reviewed by Afsaneh Ashley Tabaddor

What does it mean to be "White" in America today?

By Tamim Ansary

Review by Tara Marie Good

A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes: your purchase benefits in part Levantine Cultural CenterIn 1940 Walter Benjamin wrote, "To articulate what is past does not mean to recognize ‘how it really was.' It means to take control of a memory, as it flashes in a moment of danger." For the German-Jewish Marxist philosopher that moment of danger was the Nazi march on Europe. The moment of danger that inspired Afghani born Tamim Ansary to articulate Islamic history in Destiny Disrupted was September 11th.

Destiny Disrupted is a historical narrative of the Islamic world addressing the chasm seen to separate Western and Middle Eastern histories. The main thesis presented by Ansary is that the history of Islam and the West are two parallel histories, which overlap at points, but are fundamentally separate. Claiming to represent a general Muslim perception, Ansary charts Middle Eastern history from the ancient world to the western colonial and economic expansion in the modern era.

West Coast Tour for Alia Malek's "A Country Called Amreeka"The documenting of Arab American history is still in its infancy stage, despite the fact that Arabs have been immigrating to the United States for centuries. Just this week, on October 17, the Arab American Historical Society held what was its fourth annual conference on the subject at USC.

Following Gregory Orfalea’s 2006 The Arab Americans (Olive Branch Press), New York-based civil rights attorney Alia Malek has written a new volume that merits wide attention. A Country Called Amreeka: Arab Roots, American Stories, presents a range of individuals and families across the country, from the uplifting story of Alabama football hero Ed Salem to the unfortunate saga of Palestinian American Alex Odeh, who was assassinated in Orange County by a bomb blast in his office in 1985. This sad chapter in Arab American history worsened when eight Arab Americans were haunted by the FBI and threatened with deportation (known as the “L.A. 8,” all charges were dropped years later, in the post-9/11 era).

West Coast Tour for Alia Malek's "A Country Called Amreeka"The documenting of Arab American history is still in its infancy stage, despite the fact that Arabs have been immigrating to the United States for centuries. Just last month, the Arab American Historical Society held what was its fourth annual conference on the subject at USC.

Following Gregory Orfalea’s 2006 The Arab Americans (Olive Branch Press), New York-based civil rights attorney Alia Malek has written a new volume that merits wide attention. A Country Called Amreeka: Arab Roots, American Stories, presents a range of individuals and families across the country, from the uplifting story of Alabama football hero Ed Salem to the unfortunate saga of Palestinian American Alex Odeh, who was assassinated in Orange County by a bomb blast in his office in 1985. This sad chapter in Arab American history worsened when eight Arab Americans were haunted by the FBI and threatened with deportation (known as the “L.A. 8,” all charges were dropped years later, in the post-9/11 era).

The documenting of Arab American history is still in its infancy stage, despite the fact that Arabs have been immigrating to the United States for centuries. Just this week, on October 17, the Arab American Historical Society held what was its fourth annual conference on the subject at USC.

A Country Called AmreekaWhat does American history look and feel like in the eyes and skin of Arab Americans? In A Country Called Amreeka:  Arab Roots, American Stories (Free Press; October 6, 2009; $25.00), Syrian-American civil right lawyer Alia Malek weaves the stories of the Arab-American community (3.5 million strong) into the story of America, using lively and moving narratives of real people who have lived history all around the country.  Just as the recent award-winning National Geographic Entertainment film AMREEKA, by Cherien Dabis, blazed new ground in its depiction of a mother and son from the West Bank trying to assimilate in America, Alia Malek’s In A Country Called Amreeka brings to captivating life true stories of a wide variety of Arab Americans navigating the divide between their original heritage and their new world in the United States.

Using film, music and scholarship, on August 5th, speakers will explore the Mizrahim (Eastern Jews):

• Are the Jews of the Middle East/North Africa as Arab or Iranian as their host nationalities?
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  How were they received in Israel?
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  Are the Mizrahim/Sephardim a missing link to Middle East peace?

Abdullah al-BaradouniAbdullah Al-Baradouni was a Yemeni writer and poet. Al-Baradouni was born in Zarajat Baradoun in Dhamar, Yemen. When he was six years old he came down with smallpox leaving him blind. Al-Baradouni started writing poetry when he was 13 years old. He published 12 poetry books and six books on topics ranging from politics to folklore to literature. He is considered Yemen's most famous poet. He advocated for democracy and women's writes and wrote poems critical of the government and revolutionaries who overthrew them. Because of his beliefs Al-Baradouni spent time in prison throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.

Muhammad al-Gharsi is one of the most famous modern Yemeni poets. He is a friend of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the current President of Yemen, and former President of Yemen Arab Republic. Before the unification of Yemen, al-Gharsi was viewed as "an eloquent spokesman for the republican regime."

Next month, the American Political Science Association will convene a national conference on Arab American women at Kansas State. A diverse group of more than 30 academics and authors will present talks on immigration, history, settlement, organizations, professions, gender issues, marriage and family, health, religion, involvement in society and politics, status within the Arab-American community and the larger American society, successes and failures, and general accomplishments. Presenters will also discuss Arab-American literature, music and the arts.