The Muslims on TLC’s “All American Muslims aren’t evil enough. That’s why home-improvement giant Lowe’s pulled its ads from the show. The Florida Family Association (FFA) claims the show is “propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values… the show profiles only Muslims that appear to […]
Category: The Civil Arab
Now We’re Invented?
So I was watching the news on Friday (as I always do… remember, CNN is a social activity for Palestinians), and I heard Newt Gingrich say the following: Newt on CNN: “I believe that the Jewish people have the right to have a state.” Me at home: “OK…” Newt on CNN: “Remember, there was no […]
Shafeeq, the Hummus-Lover
Shafeeq Zahr was born in Nazareth around 1912. He was smart, funny, and dashingly good-looking. He was a Palestinian, and he loved hummus. His mother died of complications during his birth, and his father quickly remarried. After his teenage years, Shafeeq left Nazareth and eventually settled in the beautiful Palestinian seaside city of Yafa. At […]
A Letter to Barack
Dear Barack, We Arabs and Muslims in this country were so excited when you won in 2008. We all wanted to have you over for dinner. You like lamb, right? During your inauguration, when Chief Justice John Roberts said “Barack HUSSEIN Obama,” we loved it. We all started calling each other. “Did you hear him […]
The Republican Yellow Brick Road
Barack Obama must be wondering how, in the midst of a recession, high unemployment, and little hope, he got so damn lucky. The Republican party is parading out a band of brainless, heartless, and gutless candidates to be the next leader of the free world. Watching their debates reminds me of my childhood, when my […]
Former Presidents
What a crazy couple months. We Arabs just cannot get out of the news. Whether it’s Qaddafi, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, or Iran (OK, they’re not Arabs, but, seriously, how many FOX viewers know that?), we just can’t get a day off. Muammar Qaddafi is gone. He was killed in much the same way he […]
There is a Place Called Palestine
Sometime this week, Mahmoud Abbas will be asking the United Nations Security Council for full recognition for the State of Palestine. Such a move would give the Palestinians full rights at the UN, allowing them to vote, actively participate in the body’s proceedings, and pursue legal action against Israel in international courts. The United States, […]
Not All Muslims Are Terrorists!
On September 11, 2001, I was 24 years old. I was a graduate student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and I woke up on that Tuesday morning around 9:15. I did what I did every morning at that time in my life. I turned on ESPN and saw the Twin Towers billowing […]
Happy Eid to Everyone… and I Mean Everyone!
Ramadan can cause a lot of confusion throughout this country. For the past 30 days, Americans have been wondering why their Muslim counterparts have been running out of energy after 3 pm. Well, Ramadan is finally over. And now we have completed Eid Al-Fitr, the three day long festivity that marks the end of the […]
Arabs and the Circle of Life
For us Arabs, this month has definitely not been short of news. Libya is in the middle of a revolution. Syria is in flames. And the Palestinians, if you haven’t heard, are about to have their own state. Qaddafi has been in power since Nixon took office. He is now on the run, trying to […]
A Little Bit of Israel
“There’s a little bit of Israel in all of us… Come find the Israel in you.” That’s what I heard. I was up at 3 am. It was one of those nights when I couldn’t sleep, laying awake, working out varied scenarios and schemes to liberate my homeland. Then on came a commercial, showing stunning […]
Merry Ramadan
Muslims are entering the holy month of Ramadan, a time of fasting, reflection, and sleeping in whenever possible. As I have told you all before, I come from an interreligious family. My father is a Christian and my mother is a Muslim. It is the type of marriage forbidden in both religions. And look what […]
BEWARE… Being Palestinian is Contagious
Last weekend, I was lucky enough to perform at the annual convention of the American Federation of Ramallah Palestine in Washington, DC. I saw many old friends and met many new ones. I performed in three comedy shows, and I can tell you this: Palestinians know how to laugh, especially at themselves. But I also […]
Islam is BAD… Or Is It?
On June 8, I wrote a column entitled “The Arab Spring & Big, Bad, Scary Muslims” about the depiction of Muslims in academia and media, citing the recent cover of “The Atlantic.” The truth is that I could write each and every day about the unfair depictions of Muslims and Arabs in the news, films, […]
The Arab Spring & Big, Bad, Scary Muslims
Yes, that was the cover of the most recent edition of The Atlantic, one of America’s foremost magazines on foreign affairs, politics and culture. At first, I wondered why this magazine would be advertising a Kung-Fu movie. After reading the headline, I quickly realized that it was referring to a different kind of ninja… a […]
We Can’t Split the Baby in Half
The Israeli-Palestinian marriage is reaching a monumental tipping point. With a right-wing Israeli government that has basically told the world it does not want to see any sort of Palestinian state, and a Palestinian leadership bent on declaring a non-effectual state in September, we are at a point where fate might just have to kick […]
Bibi, Barack, & Recognition
As a Palestinian-American, I have spent the last week glued to my television set. The Palestinian-Israeli saga has been in headlines daily. After over 60 years, even tornadoes, floods and volcanoes can’t stop us. It seems that God is trying his best to rip us from the headlines, but it’s not working. Presidential policy outlines, […]
May 15, and We’re Still Surviving…
It’s May 15. Israeli Independence Day. Nakba Day. Israelis “celebrate” this day. We Palestinians “commemorate” it. “Celebrate” and “commemorate” mean entirely different things. As Americans, we “celebrate” July 4. We “commemorate” September 11. Without getting into too much detail (which, I’ll tell you, is painfully difficult for a Palestinian), May 15, 1948 marked the creation of […]
Israel’s New Sarah…
A few weeks ago, I returned from a month-long trip in Palestine, where I performed some comedy shows, ate too much hummus (yes, that’s possible), and witnessed the general ridiculousness of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. As it turns out, however, I was not the famous American in the region at the time. Sarah Palin was also […]
Obama, Osama, & Me
Osama bin Laden is gone… finally. His death will save lives. It will also change lives around the world. America is gasping a collective sigh of relief. Bin Laden was that gum you can’t get off the bottom of your shoe, that bit of sand you can never get rid of after a walk on […]