26 January 2002

Films Highlight Arab, South Asian, Muslim Experiences in the U.S.

New York -- Three films presented by the American Museum of Natural History in New York highlight the experiences of Arabs, South Asians and Muslims living in the United States.

Roger Sanjek, a professor of anthropology at Columbia University, said the films and discussions during the weekend of January 26-27 were very relevant to "what's happening in New York City today and the ways this city is changing and evolving. We're all learning about each other."

One of the films, "In My Own Skin: The Complexity of Living as an Arab in America," was a documentary made after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Co-directors Nikki Byrd and Jennifer Jajeh told the audience they made their film as a response to the negative image of Arabs portrayed in the mainstream media following September 11.

They said they felt there was a need for positive images of Arabs, especially Arab women. In the documentary, five young women talked of their experiences as Arab-Americans.

One of their common concerns was their feeling that many of their fellow Americans suspected them of having a dual loyalty, since the September 11 terrorists claimed they carried out their attacks on behalf of Arabs and Muslims worldwide.

"Usama bin Laden said that so long as Palestinians are unsafe, Americans won't be safe. I'm both Palestinian and American, so I'll never be safe," said one young woman in the film.

Another film, "Tales From Arab Detroit," is a 1995 documentary in which Arab Americans in the Detroit area are interviewed about their identity and assimilation. The film provides poignant insights into the generational divide separating American-born children from their immigrant parents.

The film centers on the arrival of a traditional Egyptian storyteller to Detroit to entertain the community with the epic poetry of the Bani Hillal tribe.

As the parents realize that they will be the last generation in America truly able to appreciate the centuries-old epic, sung in Arabic, they wonder how to pass traditional Arab values along to their children.

"Is it the blood that unites us, the people, or the heart that pumps us," asks an ironic verse from the epic.

The film portrays the American-born offspring of the immigrants as willing to assert their Arab identity, but just as eager to blend in with their non-Arab friends and schoolmates.

"Today we are creating our own traditions and we pass them on in new ways," said a young woman in response to her father's criticism to her dress and musical tastes.

The film "Turbans" deals with pressures on Sikh immigrants to assimilate. Set in 1918 Oregon, a Sikh family reluctantly abandons their tradition of not cutting men's hair after the two sons face repeated prejudice and ridicule at school because of their turbans.

All three films provide a window through which museum visitors could glimpse a cultural and social reality of which many Americans may be unaware.

In the panel discussions that followed, representatives from Arab, South Asian and Muslim communities in New York urged people from different ethnic backgrounds to get to know each other better.

"We invite you to get to know your neighbors ... there are plenty of Muslims and Arabs who would love to see a smile, who would love to see someone opening their arms, who want to show caring in the sense of hope that things will be better," said panelist Debbie Almontaser, who works for the New York City Board of Education.