World>Terrorism & Security
posted July 29, 2004, updated 11:00 a.m.

Landmark survey highlights Arab-American hopes, fears

Survey: Arab-Americans love US, but fear for families' future, as polls show they plan to overwhelmingly vote for Kerry.

by Tom Regan | csmonitor.com

The Washington Post reports Thursday that a landmark University of Michigan study shows that 60 percent of Arab- and Muslim-Americans in the Detroit area say they are " worried about their families' future" as a result of the 9/11 attacks. The Detroit area is home to one of the largest concentrations of Arab-Americans in the United States, and the study explored "their experiences in the wake of 9/11, their overall well-being, and their sense of identity and belonging."

On the positive side, 33 percent of those surveyed said they had been offered a " helping hand or positive comment" during the same time span, while only 15 percent say they suffered some form of "harassment or intimidation." The study also found that more Arab-Americans have confidence in the basic institutions of the US, such as police, the courts and public schools, than does the general population.

Writing in the Detroit Free Press, University of Michigan Prof. Ron Stockton, who helped conduct the survey, said many of those surveyed were eager to talk about the kindness that people have showed them, especially the African-American and Jewish communities. Mr. Stockton said he was not completely surprised to hear these stories.

Back in 1858, Abraham Lincoln delivered a speech commenting on the waves of immigrants then pouring into the country. He said that while half the population could trace its ancestry back to America's original settlers and the others could not, all were Americans, because America was not an issue of "ancestry" but a set of ideals outlined in the Declaration of Independence. All who share those ideals are Americans, equally "blood of the blood." Lincoln was right. It is our openness and sense of fair play, not our power or wealth, that make us great. Think of the story those anecdotes tell: America suffered a grievous wound delivered by Arabs in the name of Islam, and yet many Americans spontaneously reached out to their Muslim and Arab neighbors to reassure them. It was an instinctive reaction rooted in the best of our traditions.


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But the survey also showed many Arab Americans feel that Islam is not respected by mainstream America. There is also a huge gap in terms of how Arab Americans perceive their role in the war on terror, and what the general population thinks about that role. The Free Press reports that when researchers asked members of the general population if they believed Arab Americans were are doing all they can to stop terrorist attacks, only 38 percent said yes. But the percentage of Arab-Americans surveyed who felt that they were doing all they could was 73 percent.

"We need to make it clear that we're not hobnobbing with terrorists," said said Siham Awada Jaafar of Dearborn Heights [an official with several Arab-American groups who served on a U-M advisory panel throughout the study]. "We're Americans like everyone else, and, of course, we're shoulder to shoulder with all Americans in wanting to end terrorism. But, just because some of us share a language or a religious background with terrorists doesn't mean that we have some special resources to help fight terrorism."

The survey comes at the same time that the FBI has started a new round of interviews with Muslims and Arabs in the US. NPR reported Wednesday that while the FBI says its agents are seeking information that can be used to detect terrorist plots, some of those being questioned say the interviews leave them " frightened or irritated." Florida Today reports that some of those questioned by the FBI say the experience has left them " shaken."

The Florida Sun-Sentinel reports Thursday on an false-alarm incident that lead to the Port of Palm Beach being closed for several hours Wednesday. Police stopped a car for speeding, and when one of the men had an "Arabic name" and couldn't give precise details about a shipment they were picking up, they called in the FBI who searched the area, and the container the men were picking up, with bomb sniffing dogs. The container turned out to contain furniture and a vehicle, and the men turned out to be US citizens with 20 years experience in the shipping business.

The Sun-Sentinel reports that the incident "saddened Florida Arab-American advocate Altaf Ali but didn't surprise him."

"We have been bracing ourself for these kinds of incidents," said Ali, the director in Florida for the Council for American-Islamic Relations. " ... We feel that all this increase in vigilance has to do with the presidential race and has nothing to do with safety."

The Washington Times reports that incidents like the one above, as well as a sense of alienation from the Republican Party caused by post-9/11 policies, means that many from this community will " vote for [Democratic presidential nominee] Sen. John Kerry because they are disillusioned with the current administration." In 2000 Arab-Americans voted overwhelmingly for President George W. Bush.

Opinion polls show that this support has largely switched to the Democrats, which could become an important factor in states with large Arab- and Muslim-American populations like Florida, Ohio amd Michigan. The Toledo Blade reports that public opinion pollster James Zogby, who conducted the voting preferences surveys mentioned above, said civil liberties, the Patriot Act and the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq are key issues for the Arab and Muslims communities in America. Mr. Zogby also said that surveys taken right after the terror attacks showed a majority of Americans favored sometimes severe restrictions on civil liberties, but that "sentiment has reverted to normal levels."

But Egpyt's Al-Ahram reports that the decision to back the Democrats has less to do with an enthusiastic support for Sen. Kerry and more to do with not liking President Bush.

In an October speech to Arab-American voters in Michigan, before winning the Democratic Party's nomination, Kerry strongly criticized Israel's construction of the segregation wall in the occupied West Bank, and promised to resume former US President Bill Clinton's initiative to solve the conflict. However, partly confirming the Republican propaganda that he is a "flip-flop" and a classic establishment politician, Kerry gradually shifted his support in favor of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, announcing that building the apartheid wall was a justified move to counter "Palestinian terror."

Finally, Islam Online reported this week on a campaign by US Muslim leaders and organizations to dispel misconceptions among Americans that actions of extremists represent Muslim beliefs.