Lanouar Ben Hafsa
University of Tunis, Tunisia
Abstract
Although they have become more visible
across the Western world, Arabs and Muslims remain inadequately described and
poorly misunderstood. In the United States, inasmuch as in France, despite
their expanding numbers and their growing involvement into the decision making
process, both groups still suffer from widespread prejudice, especially the
negative image conveyed about them in the media and within some political
circles.
Until the 1970s, Arab and Muslim immigrants
had been a neglected dimension in either American or French ethnic and
religious history. But the rise in the number of such foreign-born residents in
both countries added to the growing fear over the upsurge of Islamic
fundamentalism, and generated considerable interest and public debate on how
well these groups would assimilate into the mainstream culture of their host
societies and fit within a pre-established order.
This paper not only aims to cast a fresh
and objective look into how American and French citizens of Arab and Muslim
descent adjust to their new environment, but also attempts to provide some
insights into how the United States and France accommodate Islam, as both
nations, because of their different immigration histories and their relatively
diverging ideologies, do not have a communality of views on how society should
be structured and organized.
Two elements have been decisive for such a
study: first, my experience in France as a postgraduate student at Sorbonne
University, second, the research I conducted in 2004 on Arab Americans as
Senior Fulbright at the Center for Arab American Studies, at the University of
Michigan-Dearborn. Both encounters not only helped me draw a number of
conclusions regarding the respective experiences of two communities, united by
common historical and cultural ties, but so different as to the way they adapt
to their host societies. They especially enhanced my understanding of what it
really means to be Arab or Muslim in France and in the United States.
To support the research’s central point, a
number of questions will be addressed: Are Arab-Americans
in general and American Muslims in particular unwilling to assimilate? Is Islam
inherently incompatible with Western and Judeo-Christian values? Should
policymakers see Islam as the enemy of the West? Should the prevalent
anti-Americanism in the Arab and Muslim world be understood within the broader
context of “clash of civilizations” or “war of religions”, as stressed by some
scholars, or should it be considered as a “natural response” to a temporary
conjuncture necessitating reconsideration and change? Finally, what role should
Arab and Muslim leaders in both countries play to provide community stability
and maintain their identity in an ever-changing world?
Keywords: Arab Americans, American Muslims,
French Arabs and Muslims, American Muticulturalism, French Ethno-pluralism, Assimilation.
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