NEWS: Americas first Arab-American Museum unveiled today

In Dearborn, Michigan the Arab-American community will unveil the nation's first Arab-American National Museum. Another milestone will occur today when the AAI (Arab American Institute) will formally launch The National Network for Arab-American Communities which will connect social service agencies targeting the Arab-American community across the country.



This could be really good for the way America perceives the Arab-American community. Specifically, this institution will encompass the entire scope of the Arab community, not just Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian...etc. There will be no distinction which will prevent backlash from other minority communities.

Although I wouldn't be surprised if paranoid conspiracist claim that this Arab-American museum will undoubtedly fund terrorism just like anything else coming out of the Middle Eastern community as of recent.

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[edit on 5/5/2005 by Simulacra]

This is AMERICA, not the middle-east. Why do they need a museum anyways? Next thing you know they will start blaring that damnable "call to prayer" over PA systems. Oh wait, that is already done in Michigan, isn't it? Our young Christians can't even bow their heads to say a prayer over their lunch without offending someone, but they sure as heck can pull out their prayer mat in the middle of class.

Oh come on now - are you kidding me? What in the name of heck is this museum for? To honor the wonderful Middle Eastern contribution to our nation? What's it have in it? Bomb fragments, pix of the WTC, beheaded corpses, an oil barrel, pieces of dead suicide bombers?
The saying "Time is fun when you are having flies." over the PA system?

[edit on 5-5-2005 by Macuser]

BadMojo,

Not all Arabs or Arab-Americans are Muslim. My grandmother was Lebanese and Christian.

It seems to me this is a privately-funded museum (not a mosque), so why not let them build it?

The PC side of me wants to say that this would be a good addition to America. However, exactly what is this museum going to display? It's just a simple fact that not all Arabs are terrorist but all terrorist are Arab. This is not the right time for a museum of this magnitude.

Not all terrorists are Arabs, this is simply untrue!

The shoebomber was not. Iranians are not Arabs and speak a different language (Persian). And don't get me started on the IRA.

The Chechens aren' related to the Arabs at all, either. The Shinrikyo sect in Japan was, well, 100% Japanese. Now, Tim McVeigh was white and likely a Christian.

Why you post baloney, I don't know.

Aelita:

Every terrorist that has posed a threat (or attacked) to America in the last 10 years as been Arab. Fact.

"Dirty Bomb" suspect is Hispanic, the "American Taliban" member was 100% white, and speaking of current threats, there is North Korea and Iran, neither of which are Arabic. Another story is about "Reluctant Shahid" or something like this, again about a white Australian.

The Chechens did detain and rape an American aid worker. They also beheaded a few NZ wireless company engineers, etc etc. Not Arabic.

The Somalis killing the American soldiers in Mogadishu weren't arabic.

To Bad Mojo:

the American Arabs are Americans, get used to this fact. If they want a museum, they have same rights as you or I to open it.

Simulacra:

McVeigh too? I'm not an expert or anything but I'd like to think that I recognize an all american redneck when I see one

[edit on 5-5-2005 by PsykoOps]

The Okalahoma bombing occured over ten years ago.

As far as North Korea/China. They don't post a terrorist threat. They quite possibly are an economic/political threat resulting in war. But we all know that war is different and much more esteemed than terrorism.

Aelita: You are still missing the point. The killing of one american in foreign soil is much different than the death of an american by a terrorist on domestic soil.

[edit on 5/5/2005 by Simulacra]

Oh I forgot another one: the Washington DC snipers -- neither of them was Arab, and they both got (I think) terror related sentences.


I think even now there are shootings on highways in California, and I'm willing to bet these aren't by the Arabs.

Aelita: Whether you agree with it or not, The color coded Terrorism threat system was applied to warn of Arabic terrorist attacks and alarms on American soil. Arab Terrorism is currently the largest threat to American life (or at least that's what the CIA/FBI tell us).

McVeigh? A Christian?

It seems the consensus is, what are they going to display? I don't say this to degrade Arab-Americans, but what have they done for our country? How have they contributed? Do their nonprofit organizations benefit ALL Americans or just ARAB-Americans?

By the way Aelita, you keep bringing up TERROR. That is not the topic here. What merit or value would an Arab-American museum have? Riddle me that...

It's a crying shame that their wonderful homelands, that they would like to memorialize in a museum on AMERICAN soil, don't extend the same courtesies and liberties to us. What would happen if we wanted to open a museum in Iran, or Japan, or any of the other various countries you mentioned? Come on now...

[edit on 5-5-2005 by BadMojo]

Mojo:

I was talkin to Simulacra who in turn conferred the topic of terror.

As to what Arab Americans contributed to this society -- I think it's not less than say Jamaican Americans or Puerto Ricans. I agree that the Jews may have contributed more, and boy do they have museums.

The "Monk" TV show star is an Arab.

And I like baba ganouj, dammit! Also, all Tunisian and Moroccan food, bring it on!

There's a Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. Do we complain about that too?

Arab Americans have contributed as much as any other group in America. To claim the contrary is ignorant in my opinion.

Jamuhn
Let's see there's a holocaust museum in a country whose land had nothing to do with the aid of the Holocaust (aside from the whole IBM thing). Do we complain about that? Of course. It's senseless.

It's like having an American Slavery museum in France.

Aelita

The Arab-American contribution to America has been minimial if not null. America would be much better off hosting an...Icelandic-American museum

Simulacra,

there are plenty of nations whose contribution to the US is not immediately traceable. Part of the reason may be that they don't have museums, which are in fact learning and archiving centers.

Serbs, Icelanders, Swedes, Somalis live here. I don't see a reason to oppose their respective museums. Maybe we (the rest) will learn somthing new.

There is Japanese population in the US, should they also be classified as "useless"? Did the Russians contribute anything? Or do you imply that only Germanic peoples did?

Please put an end to the rampant racism and senseless stereotyping in this thread. Several of the previous posts are completely drenched in ignorance.

Arab Americans can put up 10 museums if they'd like. You have no business questioning what Arab Americans have contributed to American society and how this relates to an Arab American museum.

It is obvious from the source article that they are putting up the museum precisely because people like you are so ignorant about their accomplishments, customs, and culture. Hopefully this museum will teach some Americans something about these proud people and they will get more respect as a result.

Don't be ignorant fools - you are fulfilling international stereotypes of Americans.

Zip