Introduction.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Author: Terry, Janice J.
• Date: 22 June 2007

DURING THE FIRST YEARS OF THE twenty-first century, the Arab world has been assaulted by multiple crises, including but not limited to the U.S. war and occupation of Iraq, the 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, infighting among various Palestinian factions, the ongoing struggles against the Israeli occupation and for Palestinian statehood, and civil discontent over authoritarian regimes that systematically crush civil society. Given that these serious conflicts are not likely to be resolved in the near future, it is an appropriate time to look back forty years to another moment of crisis and tragedy. In the aftermath of the disastrous Arab defeat in the 1967 Arab Israeli war, a small group of Arab American academics and professionals gathered together to discuss what might be done to redress the stereotypes and misinformation about Arab history, culture, and people in the western world, especially in the United States. They determined that a venue for balanced scholarly debate, publications, and exchanges was vitally needed. The Association of Arab American University Graduates (AAUG) was the result of their efforts.

For the following two or more decades the AAUG was the premier Arab American organization for the...