Stereotypes In Arabic In America

1028 Words3 Pages

Gabrielle Juliussen
Phillips
Multicultural Lit
April 17, 2014

Americas Stereotypes
Stereotypes are misconceptions of a person, place, or thing. They normally represent a bad image of something that is not true. Prejudice is an opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. I think we all have or do stereotype people to some degree. It is completely natural for a human to judge someone and make stereotypes about them. When we see someone we normally always make assumptions about them, which some people could say you are labeling them. Events in history, such as 911 attacks, the Gulf War, and the Iran Hostage Crisis, have perpetuated a negative image for Arab in America.
Arabic culture is very religious; family is one of the most important aspects of the Arab society. Most Arabic countries contain Muslims, Jews, ad Christianity, they pray about five times a day and have to wear certain types of clothes. We might see Arabic’s as all Muslims but Christianity is the second largest religion in the League, with over 20 million Christians living in countries. I know that Arabic culture is very strict on most things and I could not imagine my religion like that. My religion is Christian, but I am not as religious as the Arabic culture.
In the article “Terrorized by War on Terror” by Zbigniew Brzezinski, is about the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. They hijacked four airplanes in mid-flight. The terrorists flew two of the planes into two the World Trade Center in New York City. The crash caused the buildings to catch fire and collapse causing the whole city to fill up with smoke and ash. Another plane destroyed part of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth plane cr...

... middle of paper ...

...l “The Other Side of the Sky,” by Farah Ahmedi. Farah Ahmedi is born into our world just as the war between the mujahideen and the Soviets begin in Afghanistan. She also had a very hard life growing up, while she lost a leg from stepping into a land mine. All together not all Arabs are bad but the ones that are sure do give off a bad image for the Arab-Americans living in the U.S.

Ahmedi, Farah, Mir Tamim. Ansary, and Farah Ahmedi. The Other Side of the Sky: A Memoir. New York: Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2005. Print.

Brzezinski, Zbigniew. "Terrorized by 'War on Terror'; How a Three-Word Mantra Has Undermined America." The Washington Post. N.p., 25 Mar. 2007. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
"Books and Random Thoughts." : Book Review--The Story of My Life: An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky, by Farah Ahmedi with Tamim Ansary. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.

Open Document