Philippa Strum, ed. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. American Arabs and Political Participation.

• Author: David, Gary C.
• Position: Book review

Philippa Strum, ed. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. American Arabs and Political Participation. Division of United States Studies, 2006. Paper, no price indicated.

The book consists of a series of talks given at a conference sponsored by the Division of United States Studies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on May 5, 2006. The situating of the conference in "United States Studies" is significant since, much like the Arab American community itself, Arab American Studies has been straddling American and Arab Studies. Philippa Strum notes, "Surprisingly little has been written about the participation of American Arabs in this nation's political life" (1). This point is continuously addressed throughout the book by the contributors; most of whom have been engaged directly in Arab American studies. Attempting to fill this gap in our knowledge alone makes the book an important addition to the bourgeoning area of Arab-American Studies. At the same time, the book suffers from common short-comings that can be seen throughout works in Arab-American Studies. Overall, however, the book is a valuable addition for those interested in the Arab American experience.

After the attacks of 11 September many people in Arab American Studies went from "margins to mainstream" (to borrow a phrase from Abraham and Shryock (2000)) in terms of the attention given to Arab American Studies. Upon being asked about Arab American voting, a question arises: "Do you mean Arab Americans voting, or people voting as Arab Americans?"

Typically, interest is in the latter, which follows the interest of ethnic studies in general: namely how do members of an ethnic community act as identifiable members of said community? We tend not to be curious about how people who are of a certain ethnicity do not fit into the general pattern of ethnic activity, except insofar as their "deviance" from ethnic community standards is a topic of investigation. For most, this means that Arab Americans who vote are not nearly as interesting as those who vote as Arab Americans.

Thus, it is not surprising that, as Michael Suleiman writes, "no history of the participation of Arab Americans in politics has been written" (3). If by political participation we mean ethnic activism, then Suleiman's contention is not surprising there is little documented evidence of such in the early communities. However, if by participation we mean "simply" being involved in the entire...