The attack on Arab Americans and Muslims after 9/11 attack
- Details
- Hits: 3495
Background information
Naturally, the weak countries are more vulnerable to crime and terrorism than the strong ones. However, the vulnerability of the mighty countries was exposed in the 9/11 American attack. In efforts to fight terrorism and uphold American culture, the author recites how the Arab men and Arab women are affected respectively (Aladdin, 2011). The book has been adopted by many schools in various discussions including studies for politics, terrorism, racism, and culture. In this paper, we analyze the narration, theme, styles as well as the general arrangement of the book.
Author’s purpose
The author is mainly motivated by the aftermath of the attack, the effect of the social cycle of the Americans and the reactions of the government, the American society and political leadership. The main purpose of the author is to show how various groups in the community could become innocent target for a crime that they have not committed. The study of the Arab Americans and Muslim in the book is used to enlighten the audience on the dangers facing a minority in any community (Aladdin, 2011).
The scope covered
The focus of the author is the 9/11 attack which as explained earlier in this paper is deemed to be the worst terrorist attack on the American soil. A point of focus in creation of the objectives is the general social structure in America before the incident. To ensure that the audience has background information, the author explains how Arab American has grown over time. The earliest date covered by the author is 1915 (Louise, 2009). The author analyzes different cultures that are represented in the Arab American. The specific backgrounds cited out are the Middle East migrants, African (especially North African) migrants, and the Far East migrants. This study is aimed at defining different treatment of people from different cultures above (Aladdin, 2011). The author analyzes the immediate reactions of the government and political leaders. Development of laws to control terrorism is discussed in the book. The author gives an updated account on the target group since the date of attack. She goes further to foresee the changes that may occur in the social structure in America if the situation is not rectified. As we shall see later in this paper, the author has left out a vital group of people that is affected by 9/11 attack that includes Arabs and Muslims living outside the United States of America.
Primary argument and its support for the author’s thesis
The books main thesis is “the attack on Arab Americans and Muslims after 9/11 attack”. While, as noted above, the injustices against Arabs and Muslims on American soil did not start on the day of the attack, the reactions after the attack were specifically hard on the Arabs and Muslims on America soil (Aladdin, 2011). The arguments brought forward in aggregate prove the author’s thesis. One of the authors’ arguments is how the laws on visa were tightened. This included orders of arrest for persons who were in the country illegally. While this directive is overall for both Arabs and non-Arabs, the statement and spirit of the government showed target for the Arab-origin Immigrants Louise, 2009).
Apart from the government, the American community in general has shown displeasure with this target group since the attack. Interviews conducted by the author indicated that, the Arabs were forced to spend most of the time with fellow Arabs. While all citizens are deemed to be equal in law, the police have repeatedly regarded Arab men as suspects and this has worsened the situation. Wearing of Hijab by Muslim women became a discomfort with the community as this was seen as a violation of American culture (Louise, 2009).
Biasness of the author in presentation
The development of the thesis by the author is biased against the government agencies. Some of the efforts that are categorized by the author as marginalization against Arabs and Muslims have proved to be significant in the fight against terrorism (Louise, 2009). The example cited earlier in this paper where overstaying visas is prosecutable, has pushed high commissions and ambassadors an alert of their citizens on American soil. The author has not cited these positive efforts out. This portrays the government bad picture in the face of Arab Americans and Muslims. This literal bias may create a bad faith between Arab Americans and the government (Aladdin, 2011).
Research and use of sources within the book
The time used to research and put down the book is three years. The scope covered includes pre-event, the event and post-event activities. The research done by the author has covered virtually all the states in the United States of America. This qualifies the paper as thoroughly researched and thus a good base for the thesis of the author. However, the author has left out an important aspect of the thesis, which is the effect of the American government policies on Arabs who live in America (Louise, 2009). This aspect is critical to the thesis since America is a world leader and its policies affect both local and international politics and policymaking.
Most of the interviews involve Arab Americans and Muslims. This is the target group that the author has cited out as the main victim of the government and political leaders activities after the 9/11 attack. These are right sources as they provide first hand information to the audience. However, the author ought to hold more interviews with the government agencies and representatives (Aladdin, 2011). Failing to do so has created an imbalance on the data that is presented to the audience.
How would you rate the quality of the writing itself? Is the book flowing, clear, and colorful, or verbose, drab, and hard to follow?
On a rate of 1-10, I would rate the book 8. Grammar usage and style is perfect with the only challenges being as cited above. The book is easy to follow since the events are real, interviews are conducted on real people and the concerns made valid. The author chooses not to use hard vocabulary that would be difficult for nonprofessional comprehension (Louise, 2009). The author has restricted the scope to the thesis making it the book focused.
Organization of book
The organization of the topics is above board as it starts with the events prior to the 9/11 attack giving the audience a clear background of the thesis. The book is systematic in its approach, which evades the literal suspense common with pop literature. Constant reference to past sections of the book helps the audience to relate all the sections of the book. This keeps each point tackled by the author fresh at the end of the book. The introduction and the conclusions of the book help the audience to relate the topics to the thesis, which completes the validity of the research (Louise, 2009). Paragraph organization is also proper with introduction line, body and conclusion line. The author is also laudable for the use of headings throughout the book. Use of headings helps the audience to antagonize different points brought forward by the author.
Contribution to the area of study and its effect on personal view
The book helps the audience to understand the negative effect of the government and Political perceived goodwill on the Arab Americans and Muslims. The brainwash of the non-Muslim against Muslims is also covered well in the book (Louise, 2009). The book helped me to understand that the Arab Americans and Muslims are an innocent victim whose fate is determined by race and religion, which are otherwise non-vices. The book helps in studying vulnerability of communities due to race, gender, politics and religion. 9/11 is just a case study, which explains such circumstances clearly (Aladdin, 2011).
Who seems to be the author’s target audience? (Scholars? students? the public?
The target for the author seems to be:
- The government; explaining to them effect of the anti Arab Americans and Muslim policies
- The American community; encouraging them to embrace the marginalized who are innocent
- The general public; explaining the aftermath of 9/11 attack on Arab Americans and Muslims (Louise, 2009)
- The Arab American; they should understand government’s good faith albeit being victims
These targets are addressed through different topics in the book.