[From Bryan Thalhammer (2006.10.23.1425 CDT)]
* Salaita, Steven (2006). Anti-Arab Racism in the USA: Where it Comes From and What it Means for Politics Today. Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press. ISBN: 0745325165.
Totally off the beaten path of PCT, yet strangely a very good subject of research using the Test. The author brings some fresh air to the problem of Israeli/Jewish/Israelite aggression in Palestine over the centuries. While not a historical work per se, it nonetheless uses the histories of the peoples who have lived in the region since way before Biblical times. He describes his Christian Bedouin grandfather and then relates what his dad used to say about their family: "'No Whites converted us,' my dad would tell me as a child. 'The Salaita were baptized by Jesus.'" His grandfather played several of the bedouin roles in the film "Lawrence of Arabia." He says his grandfather was a self-described terrorist.
It is often difficult to tease out the facts from a biased media and government. Here the issues jump right off the page with amazing clarity. And, I might add, his claims are well substantiated, unlike a lot of populist writers who do not cite their references.
The introduction is titled: "The Evolution of White Supremacy." Another chapter is called "Is Zionism Racism?" Interesting? I would urge you to buy a copy.
--Bryan
"A sobering analysis of anti-Arab racism, from neo-conservative to liberal, rooted in America's settler colonial past and seeping into every corner of our lives. Steven Salaita takes the reader into the crisis of Arab-American communities in the wake of 9/11. Written with passion, this lucid account of the dangers of American imperialism paints a dark picture of the agenda of the Bush administration not only in the Arab world but also for people of color at home."
--Miriam Cooke, Professor, Duke University
"An impassioned and deeply compelling look at the origins, evolution, manifestations and implications of anti-Arab racism today. ... A tour-de-force."
--Lisa Suhair Majaj, co-editor, Etel Adnan: Critical Reflections on the Arab-American Writer and Artist and Intersections: Gender, Nation, and Community in Arab Women�s Novels
"Salaita dives head-first into the heart of racism in America and uses his personal experiences to help readers understand the mechanics of racism as it applies to Arabs, Muslims and people who look Middle Eastern in the post-Sept. 11 world."
--Ray Hanania, journalist and filmmaker, author of I�m Glad I Look Like a Terrorist: Growing up Arab in America and Arabs of Chicagoland
"A highly recommended read, not only for students of Middle East history, but for the average American who wants to know how we have become so intimately and yet so bitterly entwined with the people of the Middle East. ... Salaita has thoughtfully articulated a very regretful era of unabashed racism in American history."
--Ramzy Baroud, editor, Palestine Chronicle and author of Searching Jenin