GEOG 60: Geography of Race and Ethnicity in the U.S.

Fall 2001

Exercise 1

The best way to honor the victims of the attacks in New York City and Washington is to respond to these attacks constructively rather than destructively.Ý There is an understandable urge to seek retribution against the perpetrators, but we must not let this urge transform into unjust aggression against innocent groups of people.Ý Many Americans of Middle-Eastern descent suffered harassment and physical violence in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing, and it appears that the same hateful pattern is beginning to repeat itself this time around.

The purpose of this exercise is both to focus your attention on the rich, vital experiences of one group of Middle-Eastern Americans, namely Arab Americans, and to give you a chance to think about the geography of anti-Muslim incidents in the US, and about what might explain that geography.Ý You are also asked at the end to think about how you might respond to these events if you were a member of this broad community.

Part One:

Given the population information to be found at the first website given below, think about what might explain the geographical pattern of anti-Muslim incidents shown in the chart from the second website.Ý Not all Arab-Americans are Muslim, and most American Muslims are not Arab-Americans, but for the purposes of this exercise, assume that the geography of Arab-Americans has some meaningful relationship to the geography of hate incidents.Ý Many anti-Muslim incidents are directed at people who visibly appear to be of Middle-Eastern heritage, whether or not they are actually Muslim, and discrimination against Muslims who are not of Middle Eastern ancestry (for example Black Muslims) is often not directed specifically at their religious identities.Ý Since Arab Americans are mostly of Middle Eastern heritage, there is probably some basis for the assumption built into this exercise.

Your task in part one is (a) to note the ways in which the geography of Arab-Americans does not seem to match that of anti-Muslim incidents, and (b) to make a short list of possible explanations for the geography of hate incidents:

For information on the geography of Arab Americans, go to the following website: http://www.aaiusa.org/and explore the information provided under such headings as "who we are", "where we are" and "Arab America today";

To get to the chart on the geography of anti-Muslim incidents, go to the following website: http://www.cair-net.org/, scroll down the main page and click on "Accommodating diversity- the status of Muslim civil rights today".Ý There, toward the bottom, you will find the chart on number of incidents by state, as well as other charts and graphs and a link to a scholarly report on the topic.

*** At both websites, take the time to read the public statements on the tragedy!!

Part Two:

If you were an American of Middle Eastern descent (Muslim or otherwise), what would you do to respond to yesterday's tragedies?Ý What would you recommend to other Middle-Eastern Americans?Ý What would be the moral and ethical pros and cons of significantly altering your or their behavior?Ý (A paragraph or two will suffice)