Muslim American Culture

Prepared by

Eman, Ghassan, Mica, YasuAES 251

What image do you want to be associated with?

How do Americans Perceive Muslims?

CAIR SURVEY: 2005

Americans Perceive Muslims?

6.7

26.29

57.64

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Positive Comments Negative Comments Neutral Comments

Islam is not…

• An Eastern religion.

• An Arabic religion.

• A “black” religion.

What is Islam?

• The religion of approximately one billion people worldwide, Islam is the second largest religion in the world.

• "Islam" is an Arabic language word that means "peace" or "submission" - specifically, submission to the will of God.

• The Arabic word "Muslim" means "one who submits" - a Muslim is a follower of Islam.

Considered to be the holist site in Islam The name of the Islamic holy book

Literally place for prostration,

the Arabian word for mosque The Arabian word for "curtain / cover"

Ka’aba Quran

MasjidHijabHijabHijabHijab

Quran

Hijab

The name of the Islamic holy book

Quran

Hijab

Important Terms

Current American Muslims

76.6%

1.3%

0.5% 21.7%

Muslims in Americans Population

American Muslims from Various Places

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

18-29 30-49 50-64 65-

Muslims

Whole Americans

Age

%

American Muslims are Younger

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

AdvancedDegree

Bachelor's SomeCollege

HighSchool

No HSDiploma

American Muslims

American Average

%

American Muslims are Well-Educated

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Below 2500025001-5000050001-7500075001-100000 100000-

American Average

Annual Income

%

$42,158

American Muslims are Richer

Student21%

Engineer12%

Homemaker10%

Programmer7%

Corporate Manager

6%

Teacher6%

Small Business Owner

4%

Researcher4%

Admin. Assistant3%

Others16%

Physician/Dentist

13%

American Muslim’s Job

How Does Hollywood Portray Islam?

• Image makers =Hollywood• Structural image• The myth of Arab land

Islamic Countries

• Desert?

• Palm trees?

• Magic Carpets?

• Arabian Nights?

• Aladdin?

• Camel?

Male

• Bombers?

• Keffiyehs?

• Flowing robes?

• Sunglasses?

• Scimitars?

• Limousines?

• On the Camels?

House of Sand and Fog (2003)

Female

• Belly dancers?

• Veils?

• Mysterious?

• Victims of male oppression?

Aladdin (1)

• Sexualized belly-dancer ?

• Even Princess Jasmine is sexualized in

similar terms ?

Aladdin (2)

• A menacing palace guard.

• A hateful Arab merchant swinging a sword.

hooked noseheavy brow

thick lips

missing teeth

After 9/11

• Producer of mass destruction weapons,

• Global threat,

• Terrorists,

• An extremist religion

• Suicide bombers

Reel Bad Arabs (2007)

Messages from Movies

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

The Siege (1998)

House of Sand and Fog (2003)

American East (2007)

Conclusion

References

Allied Media Corporation.(2007).American Muslims Demographic Facts. Alexandria. Retrieved Apr 30, 2009, from http://www.allied-media.com/AM/

American Factfinder. (2008). Population Data: 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2009, from U.S. Census Bureau database.

Blauvelt, C. (n.d.). Aladdin, Al-Qaeda, and Arabs in U.S. film and TV. Retrieved May 3, 2009, http://images.google.com.

Hanania, R. (January 26, 2009). American East: Movie review-a powerful portrayal of Arab Americans after Sept. 11. Arab Writers Group Syndicate. Retrieved April 27, 2009, from, http://arabwritersgroup.wordpress.com/.

Islam in the United States. (no date). Retrieved April 27, 2009, from http://www.answers.com/topic/islam-in-the-united-states.

Robinson, B.A.(2007). Religious identification in the U.S: How American adults view themselves. Retrieved May 1, 2009, fromhttp://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_prac2.htm

Shaheen, J. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2009, http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article385.html.

Shulman, L. E. (September 13, 2006). What is Islam? Retrieved April 28, 2009, from, http://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/religions/Islam/index.htm.

Ward, L. (January 25, 2007). From Aladdin to lost ark, Muslims get angry at ‘bad guy’ film images. The Guardian. Retrieved April 28, 2009, from www.guardian.co.uk.