Many factors contribute to the mistreatment of Arab Americans in the United States, but particular events have occurred in America that increased and enraged theses feelings in many. Discrimination primarily stems from lack of understanding of a particular culture or group. If there is more awareness, not just about Arab Americans, but about different cultures in general, then we can prosper and become an even stronger nation. With better understanding by all Americans, Arab Americans may benefit by having a voice, and worry less about defending their identities, ancestries, cultures or traditions and focus more on themselves as individuals.
The racialized identification of Muslims and Arab Americans as "terrorists" has not gone unnoticed. In a 1997 report, Maurice Glele-Ahanzano, the United Nations' special reporter on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related phenomena, noted racism and discrimination against Arabs in the U.S. and highlighted the media's tendency to identify Arabs and Muslims with terrorists. In 1999 a bipartisan coalition in Congress sponsored a resolution condemning "anti-Muslim intolerance and discrimination," urging recognition that "organizations that foster such intolerance create an atmosphere of hatred" and noting that law enforcement agencies should avoid the "rush to judgment" that followed the Oklahoma City bombing. However, just before Congress adjourned, the bill was effectively gutted and pulled off the calendar. Discouraged, James Zogby, president of the Arab