100 Questions And Answers About Arab Americans Excerpts From A Guide Published By The Detroit Free Press and Knight Ridder. The following is an excerpt from the Detroit Free Press Guide Like all people, Arab Americans are too often described in simplistic terms. Although the Arab culture is one of the oldest on Earth, it is, in many parts of the United States, misunderstood. There are no easy, one-size-fits-all answers. Culture, language and religion are distinct qualities that act in different ways to connect Arabs, and to distinguish them from one another. The differences that seem to separate Arab Americans from non-Arabs can be much smaller than the variations that at times differentiate them from one another. It takes time to learn the issues and to understand them, but it is essential and rewarding for us to do that. Misunderstanding ultimately hurts each one of us. At the Detroit Free Press, published in the city with the United States' most concentrated Arab-American population, we try to better understand and explain these issues daily. After consulting with others, we offer this guide as a step toward more accurate journalistic portrayals of Arab Americans. The 100 questions and answers contained on the Detroit Free Press' website are published mainly for journalist's to encourage the practice of fair and accurate journalism, but we, at Urban Mozaik, feel that this document is a valuable source of information for all citizens of North America, so that we can all have better understanding and knowledge of the Arab population in North America.  Below are the 100 questions that appear in the document and to the right are 10 of the 100 questions and answers. Please visit the Detroit Free Press document pages for the complete 100 questions AND answers. You can also order a copy of the guidebook on the Free Press site. Overview 1. Who are Arab Americans? 2. How many Arab Americans are there? 3. Where do Arab Americans live? 4. What are the population centers for Arab Americans? 5. Do Arabs have a shared language? 6. Do Arabs have a shared religion? 7. What is the Middle East conflict all about? 8. How does conflict in the Middle East affect Arab Americans? Origins 9. To which places do Arab Americans trace their ancestry? 10. Is Palestine a country? 11. Shouldn't Iran be in that list? 12. So, not all people from the Middle East are Arabs? 13. Are there other groups from the Arab region? 14. Who are Chaldeans? 15. So, are Chaldeans Arabs, or not? Language 16. Is Arabic the only language spoken within the Arab world? 17. So, do all Arab Americans speak one of these languages? 18. Many recently immigrated Arab Americans also know French. Why is that? 19. Do Arab schools teach other languages? 20. Is there any advice on pronouncing Arabic names? 21. Is there any trick to spelling Arabic words? 22. How is Arabic written? 23. Are characters in Arabic different than those used to write English? Demographics 24. When did Arab people come to the United States? 25. Why did Arabs first come to the United States? 26. What prompted the second wave? 27. What race are Arab Americans? 28. Are Arabs a minority group? 29. Are Arab Americans more closely tied to their country of origin, or to America? 30. Who are some well-known Arab Americans? 31. Does the U.S. Census Bureau collect data on Arab Americans? 32. What is the educational level of Arab Americans? 33. What occupations do Arab Americans pursue? 34. How do Arab Americans fare economically? Family 35. What is the role of the family in Arab culture? 36. Do Arab Americans maintain ties with their home countries? 37. What are gender roles like for Arab Americans? 38. Do Arab Americans have large families? 39. What kind of relationship does cousin mean to Arab Americans? 40. Do generations of Arab Americans live together? 41. Do Arab Americans typically get married at a younger age than non-Arabs? 42. Are marriages arranged? 43. Do Arab Americans prefer to marry each other? 44. Are there any Arab conventions for naming children? 45. What does the title Umm or Abu mean as part of a name? 46. What do Arabs mean when they refer to someone as Auntie? Customs 47. Why do some Arab women wear garments that cover their faces or heads? 48. What garments might a woman wear to practice hijab? 49. Some Arab men wear a checked garment on their heads. What is that? 50. Why do some Arab women dress in black? 51. What is an appropriate way to greet an Arab American? 52. What are the customs for paying compliments? 53. What about gift-giving? 54. What is Middle-Eastern food like? 55. What is that pipe I sometimes see people smoking? Religion 56. Do most Arab Americans belong to the same religion? 57. Is Islam mostly an Arab religion, then? 58. What is the Quran? 59. What is the difference between Islam and Muslim? 60. What are the five pillars of Islam? 61. What is Ramadan? 62. What is the proper greeting during Ramadan? 63. Must Arabs make a journey to Mecca? 64. What does hajj mean? 65. What is the difference between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims? 66. Are there restrictions on entering a mosque? 67. Is it OK to take pictures there? 68. Who is an imam? 69. What are important Islamic holidays? 70. Where is the headquarters for Islam? 71. Why do some Arab men decline to shake hands with women? 72. Is the Nation of Islam related to Islam? 73. What is Eastern rite or Eastern Orthodox? 74. Who are Coptics? 75. What does Allah mean? 76. Why do Muslims face east when they pray? 77. What are the other two holy cities? Politics 78. Are Arab Americans active in U.S. politics? 79. Have Arab Americans won major political offices? 80. Who are some prominent Arab-American politicians? 81. Is there an Arab lobby? Terminology 82. Should I say Arab, Arabic or Arabian? 83. Is Arab American, or American Arab preferred? 84. How should I refer to an Arab-American individual? 85. What if the story is about Arab Americans whose ethnicity is not relevant to the story? 86. What does Mohammedanism mean? 87. Is it Muslim or Moslem? 88. Who is a sheik? Stereotypes 89. Are Arabs oil-rich? 90. Are Arabs mostly a nomadic people? 91. Do Arabs come from the desert? 92. Are Arabs frequently involved in terrorism? 93. What is meant by the phrase "Islamic fundamentalist"? 94. Is Islam a violent religion? 95. Are Arab-American women subservient to men? 96. What is that charm with the eye or an eye on a hand? Coverage 97. How can I find Arab Americans in my community? 98. Are there issues about the way Arab Americans are portrayed in the media? 99. Is there a coverage pitfall that reporters should avoid? 100. How can I learn more? Please visit the Detroit Free Press document pages for the complete 100 questions and answers. This website: Copyright © 2001 Studio Q Int'l Inc / Urban Mozaik Magazine. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed in Urban Mozaik Magazine are not necessarily those of Urban Mozaik Magazine and the publisher cannot be held responsible for them. This website/publication, in whole or in part, may not be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.		Ten of the 100 Question and Answers Found in the Guide. Who are some well-known Arab Americans? Christa McAuliffe, the teacher/astronaut who died aboard the space shuttle Challenger; Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal; Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback Doug Flutie; creators of radio's American Top 40 Casey Kasem and Don Bustany; Mothers Against Drunk Driving founder Candy Lightner; Jacques Nasser, president and chief executive officer of Ford Motor Co., and Helen Thomas, former dean of the White House press corps. Do Arabs have a shared religion? No. Arabs belong to many religions, including Islam, Christianity, Druze, Judaism and others. There are further distinctions within each of these, and some religious groups have evolved new identities and faith practices in the United States. Be careful to distinguish religion from culture. Although Arabs are connected by culture, they have different faiths. Common misperceptions are to think that Arab traditions are Islamic, or that Islam unifies all Arabs. Most Arab Americans are Catholic or Orthodox Christians, but this is not true in all parts of the United States. In some areas most Arab Americans are Muslim. Shouldn't Iran be in the list (of Arab countries)? No. Iran is not an Arab country. Although Iran borders Iraq, it is descended from the Persian empire and has a different language and cultural history than the Arab countries. The dominant language in Iran is Farsi, not Arabic, although other languages are spoken there as well. Persian is sometimes used to describe either the language or the ethnicity, but Farsi and Iranian are not interchangeable. Iran's location, the fact that it is an Islamic country and the similarity of its name to Iraq may confuse people. Do Arab schools teach other languages? Definitely. It is much more common for Arab Americans to speak more than one language than it is for non-Arab Americans. Many countries place more emphasis on language than the United States does. Many immigrants come to the United States having learned two or three languages in their country of origin. Arab countries emphasize the importance of knowing a foreign language, and they are very familiar with Western media. Are there any Arab conventions for naming children? Muslims often name their children after prophets in the Quran. ShiÕa Muslims sometimes use Ali as a middle name. Christians often name their children after people in the Bible. Although names can give an indication of a person's religion, don't assume. Arab tradition may call for the father's name to be the middle name of sons and daughters. Why do some Arab women wear garments that cover their faces or heads? This is a religious practice, not a cultural practice. It is rooted in Islamic teachings about hijab, or modesty. While some say that veiling denigrates women, some women say that it liberates them. Covering is not universally observed by Muslim women and varies by region and class. Some Arab governments have, at times, banned or required veiling. In American families, a mother or daughter may cover her head while the other does not. Do most Arab Americans belong to the same religion? Most Arab Americans are Christian, though this varies by region. In many communities, Muslim and Christian Arabs live side by side with each other and with non-Arab religious communities. Most Arab countries are predominantly Muslim. Who are some prominent Arab-American politicians? They have included U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, D-Maine; Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham; former secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala; former New Hampshire governor and White House chief of staff John Sununu, and 2000 presidential candidate Ralph Nader. Is Islam a violent religion? The Quran teaches nonviolence. Throughout history, political groups and leaders have used Islam and other religions to justify many things, including violence Are Arab-American women subservient to men? No sweeping statement can reflect all the roles of Arab women. They range from leaders of matriarchal societies to independent businesswomen to extreme deference. Their roles are affected by their country of origin, whether they are from urban or rural areas, religion, degree of assimilation and, of course, their own, individual characteristics. Republished with permission from the Detroit Free Press and Knight Ridder.