IV.

Contemporary Issues

Arab Americans seek to participate in mainstream American society while retaining their distinctive cultural heritage and language. The best way to reconcile these two aims is far from settled in the minds of recent immigrants, especially among Arab Muslims.

Arab Americans also must cope with the anti-Arab and anti-Muslim stereotypes that pervade American popular culture. Beginning in the 1980s, Arabs and other peoples from the Middle East were often associated with terrorism and mistakenly suspected of terrorist attacks. With very few exceptions, Arab Americans have been law-abiding residents and citizens of the United States.