From the oppressed woman to the angry Arab: the myths that Arabs face in Canada

Ranging from comics of angry Arab jihadists, to depictions of the sheltered and sexualized harem women in Aladdin, stereotypes and comical perceptions of Arabs and the Arab world exist so deeply in the fabric of consumption across the world. Though some of these depictions come off as harmless, they actually reflect a normalized prejudice that has grown into violent, normalized hatred. In 2021, Arabs in Canada reported the highest increase in hate crimes from the year prior. What starts off as a benign, orientalist microaggression could end in physical violence against Arabs. Hatred and prejudice often stem from the willful ignorance and misunderstanding of a group of people. Anti-Arab racism, too, does not stray far away from this realization, and the misconceptions that define prejudice against Arabs largely reflect this.

Here ARE nine OF THE myths that Arabs in the diaspora face when trying to integrate into Canada:

DEBUNKING:

Arabs make up one of the most diverse groups of semitic people in the world. Although we share a cultural identity, the term “Arab” spans race, ethnicity, religious identity, dialects, gender identity, and much more. In fact, Arabs come from 22 states, with a combined population of around 420 million people (as of 2022). There are over 25 different religious sects that Arabs belong to. Although we speak one language, Arabic is divided into over 27 dialects. Arabs are also racially diverse, which is why you will encounter Arabs with a range of different skin tones (even from the same family!). All this diversity speaks to the love that Arabs have for their culture, which is what unites us.

DEBUNKING:

Refusing to acknowledge the existence of the Arab world is to refuse reality itself. On the international stage, the “Arab world” refers to the 22 member states of the Arab League that culturally and/or linguistically share the Arab identity. The majority of people in these countries are Arab or are Arabized, and speak the Arabic language, which is the lingua franca amongst the dozens of dialects and languages across the region. The 22 members of the Arab League are Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The region has a deep history that weaves together ancient empires with modern-day cosmopolitans. The erasure of the Arab world, and the geographic components that make it up, not only complicates the Arab identity and history, but it also makes the fight against Anti-Arab racism more needed.

DEBUNKING:

Arabs are not inherently more angry than any other non-Arab. Stereotypes of the “angry Arab” emerges from the limited interactions and exposure non-Arabs have with the community. Not only are these perceptions flawed, but they also play down the struggles and successes of Arabs that have overcome difficulty in entrepreneurship, education, and migration. By setting up an image of an Arab personality that precedes any interaction with an individual of Arab origin, it sets them up for failure through preconceived biases.

DEBUNKING:

"Arab" and "Muslim" are often used interchangeably. The conflation of these two identities ignores the diverse religious beliefs of Arab people and also overlooks Muslims who are not Arabs. Indeed, Arabs constitute only a quarter of the global Muslim population. It also erases the historic and vast ethnic communities who are neither Arab nor Muslim, but who live in the modern-day Arab World. Islam and Christianity were founded in areas that are now considered the Arab word. In fact, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, located in modern-day Palestine. Accordingly, many Arabs are Muslim and Christian. In Canada, around half of the 1 million people of Arab descent in the country are Muslim. The rest are Christian, Druze, Jewish, or come from other minority religions.

DEBUNKING:

Arabs are severely underrepresented on television – and when they are represented, they’re reduced to shallow stereotypes. In Western media, Arabs tend to be depicted as perpetrators of physical violence and incapable of change. These orientalist illustrations of Arabs are debunked by Arab cinema. The Arab world has been home to a thriving film and cinema scene since the 1930’s - Arab films are undoubtedly a more accurate representation of Arabs than the orientalist films of the West. In the last few years, Western media companies like Hulu and Netflix have produced shows that offer a more accurate portrayal of Arabs; shows like Ramy and Mo show how Arabs are just like any other immigrant group in the West.

Youssef Chahine's The Land focuses on a group of farmers seeking to recoup control of their land (Courtesy of The Arab British Council.

DEBUNKING:

Many of the stereotypes and myths that Arabs face have emerged from the perception of us being “uncivilized,” “barbaric,” and “savages”. This dehumanization of Arabs isn’t new - in fact, the image of the uncivilized Arab began in the early 1800s French occupation of Egypt, which was followed by the complete colonization of North Africa, and then Western Asia after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. According to Edward Said’s Orientalism, European colonizers saw Arab societies as static and undeveloped that can be repurposed for the service of the imperial power. The almost 200 years since France’s occupation of Egypt shows the long timeline of emerging stereotypes against Arabs. Nowadays, even though the nations of the Arab World reflect thriving economies and growing infrastructure that host diverse communities of Arabs and foreigners alike, Arabs are still reduced to a stereotypical myth. With the Arab diaspora growing across the globe, particularly in North America, being labeled as uncivilized while we make major contributions in these nations only overshadows our resilience and efforts.

DEBUNKING:

One of the other most prevalent discourses created against the Arab community is the perception of the Arab Woman and her autonomy – or lack thereof. Falsely viewed as the oppressed, sheltered, and incapable half of the Arab community, Arab women are often faced with the challenge of correcting these perceptions and replacing them with visions of success and autonomy. Though a potentially empowering process, it often results in work that comes at the cost of these women’s existence. This myth of oppression, and the fetishization that emerged from it, places more hurdles and challenges on Arab women as they are forced not only to navigate success as a racialized minority, but also as a gendered minority. Despite this myth, the Arab world is and has been an arena for major feminist movements. Beginning from early on in the 20th century, women of the Arab world, particularly in Egypt, have campaigned for their rights to vote and to participate in the workforce. Arab women such as Leila Ahmed and Margot Badran, regardless of religious identity, have had a notable presence in the Arab world and abroad as is demonstrated through their contributions to literature, art, medicine, and many other fields. Though there exists gender imbalances in Arab nations—like all other nations on the globe—that does not overshadow their fight for gender equality, neither does it justify the stereotype of oppression that knows no ethnic or geographic origin.

DEBUNKING:

Not only do homosexuality and other gender identities and orientations exist in the Arab world, the criminalization of non-heterosexual relations only began during the European colonization of the region. There is a vast and rich history of queerness in Arab literature, art, and music dating back to the 7th century. In the 19th and 20th centuries, European writers and artists like André Gide, Oscar Wilde, Edward M. Forster, and Jean Genet traveled to Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, and other Arab regions to escape homophobia in Europe. European powers viewed Arab tolerance of homosexuality as “barbaric,” and thus forced the criminalization of the identity during their colonial rules. For example, homosexuality was outlawed in 1943 in Lebanon, to conform to the rule of the Vichy regime of France. Nowadays, this myth is forced onto Arab communities both in the homeland and in the Diaspora. However, whether Arab queer movements emerged more recently in the Diaspora or during the Nahda of the 20th century, queerness is having an increased and notable presence in Arab communities. More often than not, these movements of accepting gender and sexual diversity also lead other movements of social justice for the betterment of the Arab society and community.

DEBUNKING:

As shown in the history of Arab-Canadians, Arabs have no trouble integrating into the lands that they settle in globally. Whether it is in the US, Latin America, Australia or here in Canada, Arabs will always build a home away from home that adheres to the traditions and practices of their new home. For example, in the early 1900’s, Bedouin Ferran spent years trading and developing trust with Indigenous communities in the North, earning him the honorific nickname of “the Arctic Arab”. A century later, the Arab community is now the fastest growing immigrant group to Canada. With this label comes a lot of challenges for Arabs who want to settle and grow here, but are faced with systemic barriers and challenges that push them out of the labour market and housing market. Without a meaningful job and a home, it would be hard for anyone to integrate into a society. However, despite the challenges, Arabs continue to build successful lives and positively contribute to Canadian society

Despite all this, we will always be proud of our Arab history, culture, language, and background.

“I am an Arab,

I am a name without an epithet,

Patient in a country where everything has a tantrum,

My roots were deeply entrenched before the birth of time,

And prior to the ushering of eras,

Before cypresses and olive trees,

And even before the grass grew.

Write down: I am an Arab,

Hair color: coal-like; eye color: brown,

Distinguishing marks: I wear a headband on top of a keffiyeh,

And my palm is rock-solid, scratches whoever touches it.”

Mahmoud Darwiche, “Write Down, I am an Arab”

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