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| Home Front: Culture Wars |
| Arab-American speaks about culture, misconceptions |
| 2006-05-15 |
| HUNTINGTON -- Did you know many Arabs are not olive-skinned? Or that only 20 percent of Arab-Americans are Muslims? Do negative images come to mind when you hear the word "Arab?" Nawar Shora, a son of Dr. Waseem and Zayada Shora of Huntington, spent several hours Friday at Marshall University countering many misconceptions that Americans hold toward Arabs in the post-9/11 world. Regarding religion, Shora said Muslims consider themselves "the third chapter of a three-chapter book," the first two chapters being Judaism and Christianity. And, he adds, Muslims believe in Moses, Jesus and the Immaculate Conception. "The Virgin Mary is mentioned more in the Koran than in the Bible," he said. "People are usually shocked to find that out." Steve Hensley, Marshall's dean of student affairs, said the seminar was primarily for Marshall faculty and staff. "This was for people who interact with foreign students regularly," he said. "Often, it's in situations that are difficult, such as payment of bills and registration." Shora explained that the Arabic word "jihad" means "struggle," not "holy war," but the word has been hijacked by terrorists groups to justify attacking innocent civilians. "Lesser jihad" or "defensive jihad" refers to a military stand against the enemies of religion, but is meant to be a call to arms if the religion is under attack and threatened with annihilation. "The last true lesser or defensive jihad I can think of would be in the 12th century, with Saladin battling the Crusaders," he said. Appearances and the Americanization of names mean that many more people in the United States are Arab than you might think. Sally Tweel, wife of the late owner of Jim's Steak & Spaghetti House and a friend of the Shora family who attended the seminar, knows about that -- and revealed that it was her biology teacher in junior or senior high school in Beckley, W.Va., who Americanized "Salwa," her first name. "He couldn't remember it," said Tweel, a Welch, W.Va., native of Lebanese descent. "He asked me if I minded if he called me 'Sally.' " Shora, 29, who graduated from Marshall University in 1997 and the West Virginia University College of Law in 2001, is founder and CEO of Shora Arab, Muslim, Sikh Training & Development LLC, an Alexandria, Va., consulting firm. His father is chief of the gastroenterology section of Marshall's Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #20 they speak arabic and eat a lot of smashed chick peas and flat bread, they are arab Wheee! Mr. Wife was an Arab for about five years, before he became an Indian! ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-05-15 17:03 |
| #19 Not what greeky boy sez, anyone who speaks Arabic is an Arab - even ifn he's a Berber. I was severely chastised for the same mis thinking Mojo is indulging in. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-05-15 16:26 |
| #18 sounds racist, Mojo :-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-05-15 15:42 |
| #17 "Arab" is a linguistic group, not ethnic. Speakers of Arabic. |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-05-15 15:38 |
| #16 MHW, A very good point. In Morocco, for example, the majority of citizens are Berber by blood, but Arabic is the dominant language. Morocco is usually referred to as an "Arab" country. |
| Posted by: Dreadnought 2006-05-15 15:11 |
| #15 It depends on what the word 'arab' means. My own feeling is that this is an ethnic term, not religious and also not racial. If a person is raised in a home where they speak arabic and eat a lot of smashed chick peas and flat bread, they are arab. A lot of Jews are arab by this definition. |
| Posted by: mhw 2006-05-15 14:28 |
| #14 A thought: what percent of Muslims in the U.S. are Arabs? I went to school with an Iranian lad who had white-blond, kinky hair, fair skin, and bright blue eyes. But of course, he wasn't an Arab. And there was the Irish-looking red-head Al Qaeda terrorist who was killed not long ago... something Al Suri (the Syrian)? So what? I've been mistaken for being English, German, and Swiss by the natives... there's been a certain amount of genetic mixing over the millenia, as armies have flowed back and forth, raping and taking wives from the conquered. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-05-15 13:39 |
| #13 Almost all the Arab-Americans who've been here at least a generation are, indeed, Christian. Former Lebanese Christian, Palestinian Christian, Iranian Christian... Christians used to make up some 20% of of the population in the Palestinian territories; now it's about 5%, and not because of substantially different birthrates. In Lebanon about half the population (or a little more, that's why Lebanon was separated from Syria, its historic hinterland) used to be Christian. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-05-15 13:29 |
| #12 Well first PD, I don't believe that stat. But let's just say for the sake of argument that it's accurate. Many muslims CONVERT to Christianity or some other faith once they are free to practice the religion of their choice. The view is very different outside the fishbowl. As far as the work ethic among Muslim Arab-Americans vs. non-Muslim, I don't think you can really make a case for that. A friend of mine, who is Arab and Muslim, (we're working on that)owns a five store chain and works harder than anyone I've ever known. He has 2 sons, one in Medical School and one on the way there. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-05-15 12:10 |
| #11 only 20% of arab americans are muslim because of two reasons. Christian arabs were persecuted in their own countries. they had to get away from the muslims. Christian arabs want more for themselves and their families and know they have to WORK to get ahead, rather than believe they deserve entitlements. |
| Posted by: PlanetDan 2006-05-15 11:58 |
| #10 A few years ago, by accident, a new babysitter and I got into a discussion about 9/11 and no surprise, she thought it was partially our fault. I then led her thru the meaning of jihad, how they would explain it's a personal struggle. You should have seen the look on her face when I was done. I have wondered while she went to college in commie WI if she ever was involved in a conversation and listened and minded what I told her. It's very simple - anyone who tells me jihad is a personal struggle. What are you struggling for or against? To be a better person? Which means to avoid temptation. Which country's the biggest tempter on the planet? Then I told her, we're everywhere, wouldn't it be easier to make us go away, do you think they can defeat us? |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2006-05-15 11:51 |
| #9 Jihad: (literal translation) "striving in the way of Allah". Not struggle, but struggle for Allah. And therein lies the rub.... |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-05-15 11:39 |
| #8 One man's struggle is another man's Holy War. What I want to know is how the title of "Mein Kampf" is translated into Arabic. If "jihad" means "struggle", is it translated as "My Jihad"? |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-05-15 11:32 |
| #7 One man's struggle is another man's Holy War. Its not how the intellectuals define a word that matters but how the acts of the followers define the word. See religion of peace, Religion of Submission. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2006-05-15 11:02 |
| #6 We did have some misconceptions about arabs before 9/11. We thought we were'nt in a fight for our lives. We thought if we left them alone (like clinton did for 8yrs) they would leave us alone. We thought they were human, not subhuman f*cks that kill babies and women and gangrape scandanavian teens. Yeah, we had some misconceptions all right. Still waiting for the Muslim community to condemn and betray these animals, too. |
| Posted by: Whineger Javing6236 2006-05-15 11:02 |
| #5 Well it sounds like Bob Withers of the Huntington Post-Dispatch has the stars in his eyes. The toothy grin, the batting eyes. Sure wish Lucky was still around... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-05-15 10:17 |
| #4 And, he adds, Muslims believe in Moses, Jesus and the Immaculate Conception....Shora explained that the Arabic word "jihad" means "struggle," not "holy war,"... "Then his lips fell off". GD, I'm getting sick of the lying. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-05-15 09:30 |
| #3 Takiyah at full swing 1) It is false to say that Islam recognizes Jesus. I will pass upon how thorougly message is distorted and how he is denied divinity (ie the fundament of Chritianism) and will only mention that he is denied his proper Arabic name Yashu because that means Saviour so instead he is called Issa 2) About the lesser Jihad and greater Jihad I think most Rantburgians know that is BS. The greater Jihad is only mentioned in a few Haddith (sayings of Muhammad). Haddith are notorious for being at 99.9% invented well before the death of Muhammad by people who used Muhammad's name for supporting their thesis. The only Jihad mentionning in Koran is the one about killing a maximum of infidels and reading of any "Life of Muhammad" like published by Islamic printers let little doubt about what Muhammad would have thought about "internal struggles". |
| Posted by: JFM 2006-05-15 08:35 |
| #2 And the biggest misconception of all: 6 million muslims. Try 6 million Arab-Americans. Wonder why that little misconception wasn't mentioned by Shora? |
| Posted by: ed 2006-05-15 07:55 |
| #1 Fool me once... |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-05-15 07:40 |