Page - 181 - in Media – Migration – Integration - European and North American Perspectives

181 Kenneth Starck Perpetuating Prejudice: Media Portrayal of Arabs and Arab Americans Let me tell you ’bout A-hab The A-rab The Sheik of the burning sand He had emeralds and rubies just dripping off ’a him And a ring on every finger of his hands He wore a big ol’ turban wrapped around his head And a scimitar by his side And every evening about midnight He’d jump on his camel named Clyde...and ride by Composer Ray Stevens (see Appendix A) 1. Introduction Arabs today arguably are one of the world’s largest groups of people that have been marginalized by the rest of the world. Insofar as the United States is concerned, Arabs are “people who have lived outside of history” (Suleiman 1999a, p. 36). What is it about Arabs that over the centuries has evoked images that others perceive as negative? Or is it less about Arabs and more about others? And if the perceptions are negative, what is their origin? Or are the images more Islamic than Arabic? And if so, why the confusion? What is the role of the media in presenting information that leads to perceptions regarded as negative? Those are a few questions driving this paper. The focus is on the United States – the settling of Arab immigrants in the United States and the portrayal by US media of Arabs and Arab-American communities in the United States. In many ways, the coverage of Arabs and Arab-American communities is inseparable. The overall objective here is threefold: (1) to review from a historical perspective the nature and extent of Arab immigration to the United States, (2) to identify and analyze media research portraying Arab immigrants in the United States, and (3) to offer suggestions for improved performance. More specifically, the paper will: - Place the U.S. Arabic immigrant in context by reviewing historically the story of peoples from Arab lands migrating to the United States.