Why is America racist towards Arab Americans?

Answer 1

Most Americans do not hate Arabs, but there is a certainly a minority of Americans who do. Because they have no direct exposure to Arabs to discuss or argue these views, they see Arab-Americans as representatives of that culture and treat them negatively as an extension of how they feel about Arabs. The individuals who feel hatred towards Arabs do so for the following reasons:

1) Islamic Terrorism: Americans remember well what happened on 9-11, when Osama bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda Terrorist Organization intentionally attacked and murdered over 3,000 American citizens. While Al-Qaeda was based in Afghanistan, bin Laden was himself a Saudi as were 15 of the 19 pilots. Rather than express regret for the loss of life and condemnation of the attacks, a sizable minority of Middle Eastern clerics remained neutral or claimed this as "a victory against the West". Additionally, surveys have shown that many Muslims (including Arabs) believe that 9-11 was a Western inside-job and do not take credit for the failures in their society that lead to this type of terrorism. As a result, Americans are afraid of subsequent attacks from Arab individuals.

2) Arab Anti-American Protests: Nowhere in the world is more famous for US flag-burning than the Arab World. The US is often condemned for its actions in the Middle East and its symbols and ideals mocked and cajoled. For those with a sense of patriotism and pride, these acts engender rage towards those who perform them. Since this is more common in the Arab World than elsewhere, more animosity is directed towards Arabs. It is worth noting that such protests may be entirely meritorious due to US policies in the Middle East, but since most Americans are unfamiliar with their policies there, they only see this negative reaction.

3) Arab Anti-Israeli Sentiment: Many Americans fervently support the State of Israel as an expression of their Christian or Jewish faith. The Arab antagonism towards the State of Israel alienates them and infuriates them. They have no opposition to the Arab States existing, so why should the Arab States have any opposition to the Jewish State existing?

4) Rampant Human Rights Abuses: The Arab World is known numerous human rights abuses, such as torture for prisoners, attacks and unequal legislation against women, the execution of homosexuals, violence towards religious minorities, and other similar offenses. Instead of taking responsibility for these crimes, many Arabs prefer to claim that there are no problems and continue to engage in these activities. Americans often see themselves as the defenders of justice and righteousness and see the Arabs falling far too short in this regard.

5) Failure to Culturally Adjust: Especially in Europe, Arabs have failed to properly integrate into the European population, bringing their customs and traditions with them. There is the expectation in the USA that you come to the country and become American. You can be an American with some divergent culture, but it should not be your expectation that America will change to accommodate you. Americans see the Arabs in Europe not making those kind of concessions and expecting Europeans to incorporate Shari'a Law into proper governance. Not wanting a similar climate in the USA, they oppose Arabs.

6) Misconceptions about Islam: A lot of Americans know very little about Islam and have heard conflicting information from different sources. Rather than be open to people of different faiths, these Americans would rather close themselves off and stick to historical enmities.