Quality Rating: 5 out of 5
"In my months of speaking English
while still thinking,
still dreaming,
in Arabic,
I have learned that sometimes
the simplest things are
the hardest things to say.
That sometimes there is no word
for what you feel,
no word in any language." (Warga, 281)
Summary:
When her hometown starts experiencing violent uprisings, Jude and her pregnant mother move in with relatives in Cincinnati, leaving her brother and father behind in Syria. The American movies that Jude loved barely prepared her for the fast-paced and loud environment she now finds herself in. Her new label of "Middle Eastern" is difficult to understand at first but as she learns her place in her peer group, her family, school, and society, Jude starts to develop a sense of who she really is.
Background:
Many people know very little about Arab Americans within the US. It is projected that the number of US Muslims in the US will reach 3.85 million by 2020. According to pewforum.org, in 2017, nearly six-in-ten adult Muslims in the US (about 58%) are first-generation Americans. About 18% of adult Muslims in the US are second-generation Americans, with at least one parent who immigrated to the country. Author Jasmine Warga, a Muslim, is a second generation Arab American from Cincinnati, Ohio. Her personal experience with being a Muslim born to immigrant parents makes Jude’s character more authentic, and helps educate readers on the experiences of Muslims and Arab Americans in the United States.
A common misconception people have is that “Arab” and “Muslim” are interchangeable terms. Arabs are people who speak Arabic as a native language and identify themselves as Arabs; Muslims are those who practice the religion of Islam. The terms are not interchangeable, but many people mix them up accidentally. It is important to help people understand that individuals can be Arab and Christian, or Arab and Hindu, not just Arab and Muslim. Likewise it is important to realize that when people are Muslim, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are Arab; they might be Arab Muslims, but they might be white Muslims, African Muslims, Italian Muslims, and so on.
Discussion:
Jasmine Warga’s story depicts a child’s perspective of immigrating from Syria to the US. Jude and her mother are in for a shock when they settle with Jude’s uncle in Cincinnati. The city life they become immersed in moves at a much faster pace than the life they lived in Syria. It is much louder as well. Jude experiences mild bullying when her peers find out where she is from, labeling her “middle-eastern” and alienating her from the rest of the class. It is not until Jude starts wearing her hijab that adults start to treat her differently than all of the other children her age. It shocked me to read that the “switch flipped’ for most people around her so quickly. The hijab is a symbol to the characters in the story, one of a foreigner who “does not belong”; unfortunately, such examples of Islamophobia— or prejudice against Muslims— are common in the US, despite our pride for being the “melting pot” of many cultures and ethnicities. These thoughts stem from the events of 9/11. Ever since that day (I was only 2 when it happened, so everything I’ve learned are from stories), the attitude towards Arab Americans and Muslims has been negative. Just as our society tends to label a group of people as criminals for the actions of one individual, we have done the same with Arab Americans-- some Americans see the terrorist attack as an event that was caused by all Arab people, not just those involved in Saddam Hussein’s terrorist group. Not all Arab immigrants have negative intentions towards the US. Similar to many others, Jude and her mother immigrated to the US to seek asylum from the difficult or dangerous circumstances of their home country.
Because of how prejudiced the American society has become against Arab Americans and Muslims, literature positively and proudly depicting these groups of people is not as readily available to readers— especially young readers. If there is little-to-no representation in literature, and society is feeding racial stereotypes about this group to children, they will start to believe the messages being shared, embody them, and internalize them. Having access to narratives that present alternative messages and allow for light-hearted stories as well as ones that address social issues provides children to paint a broader picture of the Arab-American population in America. Presenting students with literature such as Warga’s novel will provide an avenue for discussion that might have remained unexplored otherwise.
Additional content on/by Arab-Americans introduce to your classroom:
April is national Arab-American month. Spread the word and open up a dialogue!
Hi Rachel,
After reading your blog post, I have a desire to read this book and, in the future, would love to include this book in my classroom library. Many students in elementary school, including myself, were not exposed to as many multicultural novels in our classroom as we should be. I think that this influences some of the stereotypes and misconceptions people have about Arab Americans. Giving my students the opportunities to be exposed to these types of books will help my students to be familiar with different cultures and traditions.
In my experience, I have come to realize that other minority groups can be better, (still not fully, but slightly better) represented than the Muslim or Middle Eastern…
Hi Rachel,
After reading your blog post I have a strong desire to go out and read this book! I do not think that students are exposed to nearly enough multi-cultural books. Giving students the opportunities to read these books will help them to better understand different cultures and social issues. Sadly, there are a lot of children and adults who do not understand different cultures or ethnicities. That is why there is the misconception that “Arab” and “Muslim” mean the same thing. As a future educator, I am going to do everything in my power to have a diverse classroom library for my students. As teachers we are raising up the next generation. We need to expose our students…
Hi Rachel! By reading your post, my eyes were opened to the reality of how Arab Americans are so little represented in children's literature. This book is probably one of the few and I will definitely consider it for my future classroom library in order to make ALL my students feel represented and included. I thought it was interesting how you discussed the terms "arab" and "muslim" and how they are often regarded as the same thing when they are really quite different terms. By having a book like this in my classroom, it could lead to avoiding misusing these types of terms and students can become more aware of the different cultures around them. I am familiar with the…
Hello Rachel,
This book has peaked my interest for awhile now as I have seen it a few times in stores and even on Amazon. After reading your post I will be buying it for my future students! Distinguishing the terms Arab and Muslim is extremely important because, sadly, you are correct, many people, American's especially, improperly use them interchangeably. This is why it is especially important to educate students on other cultures. The part in the book about students and teachers treating Jude differently once she begins wearing her hijab to school is a sad reality that many Muslim students face in America every day, and I believe that by providing this story to my student, especially young students,…
Hi Rachel,
I chose to read this blog post because I have developed an interest for multi- cultural books. This book did not disappoint, I loved it! The topics such as race and religion that were discussed are powerful topics. As a future educator, I believe it is important to have books like these in my classroom to accurately educate all of my students. Another component I loved about this blog post was that it educated me! In order to make a positive impact on my students lives, I need to be educated on multi- cultural topics like the ones discussed in this book. The main thing I took away from this book is that it is important to expose…