The Face of the Enemy: (61) Arab-American Writing Post-9/11

El Said, Maha, Studies in the Humanities Pub ication information: Article title: The Face of the Enemy: (61) Arab American !ritin" #ost $%11& 'ontributors: El Said, Maha Author& (ournal title: Studies in the Humanities& )olume: *+& ,ssue: 1 - #ublication date: (une .ecember -++*& #a"e number: -++/& 0 -++1 ,ndiana 2ni3ersity of #ennsyl3ania, .e4artment of En"lish& '5#67,8HT -++* 8ale 8rou4&

Right now, the face of terror mostly looks like me. --Richard Montoya, "Anthems" The 4redicament of $%11 9as not only an American national security 4li"ht, it brou"ht about a 4ersonal dilemma to Arab Americans& As e:4ressed in the 4re3ious lines in 7ichard Montoya;s satirical 4iece, similar to the (a4anese in 1$<1, Arab Americans bare the face of the enemy, e3en thou"h they themsel3es are Americans& Arab Americans are confronted 9ith the double burden of mournin" their country;s misery on the one hand, and defendin" their Arabic herita"e on the other& Althou"h they are Americans by nationality, they still ha3e the Middle Eastern features and roots that cate"ori=e them as the enemy& The aim of this 4a4er is not to "o throu"h all the harassment that Arab Americans had to face 4ost $%11, or those 9ho loo>ed li>e Arabs or Muslims in any 9ay& Eric Muller, a 4rofessor of la9, analy=es the

situation and ma>es a com4arison 9ith the (a4anese Americans 4ost #earl Harbor to conclude: Sadly, the anti-Arab and anti-Muslim incidents of the last few days have shown that Americans are no less susceptible to racist fear than we were after the tragedy at earl !arbor. "he situation of Arab Americans is, however, different from that of the #apanese Americans during $orld $ar %%, and we live in a different legal world as well. Althou"h the situation 9as ne3er accelerated into internment, the ne9 ?le"al 9orld,? 9hich Arab Americans li3e in has im4osed 9hat Abinader calls ?mental internment&? This 4a4er 9ill focus on ho9 Arab American 9riters reacted to the situation: 9here you li3e and belon" to a society but bear the face of the enemy& As Elie 'halala, editor of El (adid (ournal, says: %t is useless to search for the right words to e&press the ine&pressible pain that followed the horrible death of thousands ... but there is another source of this pain' the severe blow that has struck against the accomplishment made by Arab-Americans toward correcting centuries of stereotypes of both themselves and Arabs in the Middle (ast. The tas> becomes e3en harder, as freedom of s4eech becomes more controlled& Many incidents ha3e been re4orted, 4ublic fi"ures ha3e been 4ersecuted, uni3ersity 4rofessors lost their @obs for hintin" at anythin" that may seem fa3orable to Arabs& (6-)

,n 1$$A, in a dissertation entitled The ,dentity of Arab American #oets, , tried to 4ro3e ho9 Arab Americans are the o4timi=ation of #ostmodernism 9ith their hy4henated identity as they had added a ne9 3oice to the mosaic of contem4orary American 4oetry& , concluded that: "he poetry of Arab-Americans proclaims an identity that is not part Arab and part American, but one that simultaneously incorporates the two' the uni)ue cultural identity of ArabAmerican. *(l Said, +,-. This uniBue identity that Arab Americans ha3e nourished and celebrated is challen"ed today, and is turnin" into a source of conflict& The attac> that brou"ht do9n the !orld Trade 'enter constructed a hi"her 9all that se4arates ?Self? from ?5ther&? This di3ision 9as enforced by the sim4listic 3ie9 e:4ressed by the 2&S& forei"n 4olicy, 9here the 9orld is di3ided into ?"ood? and ?e3il,? ?9ith us? or ?a"ainst us&? Thus, a re3ision of nationalism based on the definition and redefinition of the national Self becomes necessary& A "eneral need to define boundaries, rather than cross boundaries, has risen& ,n the midst of this ne9 schism, Arab Americans, 9ho are a melan"e of Arab and American, become tra44ed in an attem4t to redefine their identity, and reconstruct a hybridity that seems im4ossible in a 9orld that is di3ided into ?9e? and ?them&? Accordin" to Manuel 'astells, national identity ?is, most often, a reaction a"ainst a threatened autonomous identity,? 9hich ?becomes the trench of cultural resistance&? 6et in this case, 9hich cultural identity 9ould Arab Americans claimC 'astells "oes on to define nationalism as ?4roduced throu"h the labors of shared history, and then s4o>en into the ima"es of communal lan"ua"es 9hose first 9ord is 9e, the second is us, and unfortunately, the third is them? (D-)& ?The most in3isible of the in3isible,? as (oan Eadi calls them, ha3e become the 3isible embodiment of the ?other? in a 9orld that has no "rey =ones for them to e:ist, 9here absolute ?ri"ht? and ?9ron"? re4laces the idealistic 3ie9s of 4ostmodern relati3ism& (6*)

Suheir Hammad, 9hose 4oem 9as one of the first 9ritin"s after Se4tember 11th, demonstrates this schism& (6<) Her shoc> at the attac>, li>e all other Americans, is ob3ious 9hen she says: there are no words i have not written one word. no poetry in the ashes south canal street. no promise in the refrigerated trucks driving debris and dna not one word This 9ordless shoc> seems to be a "eneral attitude re4orted by many 9riters& Hammad, stunned by the e3ident destruction, finds ?no 9ords? that are ca4able of con3eyin" the ne9 reality but, out my kitchen window is an abstract reality. sky where once was steel. smoke where once was flesh The im4act has mar>ed history as it becomes a turnin" 4oint 9here reality has chan"ed& ,t has chan"ed both 4hysically and intellectually& The chan"e that too> 4lace in Fe9 6or> 'ity is not only e3ident in its s>yline and the rubblesG it has become a confusin" reality as e:4ressed by the o:ymoron ?abstract reality&? A reality that has no 4lace for otherness, and accordin"ly the 4oet "oes on to say: fire in the city air and i feared for my sister/s life in a way never before, and then, and now, i fear for the rest of us. The fact that Hammad ?fears for her sister? establishes the boundary, as ?they? and ?us? become clearly cut off from each other& The subtle discrimination bet9een Arab and American becomes e3ident in: ?4lease "od &&& don;t let it be anyone 9ho loo>s li>e my brothers?

Fe"otiation of boundaries is halted as the Arabic 4ole of identity ta>es 4rominence& ,nstead of the amal"amation that 9as a44arent in: ?today is a 9ee>, and se3en is of hea3ens, "ods, science,? or the min"lin" of the 4ri3ate and the 4ublic in the first stan=a and the mi:ture of references to ?"ods? and ?science,? the 4oet feels her Arab identity, and s4ells it out: even as a woman, as a palestinian, as a broken human being. never this broken. ,n an attem4t to reconstruct ah identity that can transcend boundaries, Hammad concludes her 4oem by em4hasi=in" similarities as thou"h to direct attention to human common ties rather than differences: more than ever, i believe there is no difference. the most privileged nation, most americans do not know the difference between indians, afghanis, syrians, muslims, sikhs, hindus. more than ever, there is no difference. Thou"h conferrin" her Arabness, she still shares 9ith the Americans the inability to com4rehend the situation& She too cannot understand: ?ho9 bad a life has to brea> in order to >ill? or ho9 ?an"ry so as to 9ant to control a "un o3er a 4en&? Thus, she simultaneously falls in both cam4s of ?us? and ?them? as she diminishes national boundaries to re4lace them 9ith a uni3ersal ?9e&? This same tone of disbelief and confusion is echoed in Faomi Shihab Fye;s letter ?To Any !ould be Terrorist&? (6D) The letter starts 9ith a reference to the discrimination a"ainst Arabs: 0o you know how hard some of us have worked to get rid of that word, to deny its instant connection with Middle (ast1 And now look.

2ook what e&tra work we have. 'orrectin" ima"es im4osed by American media on Arabs, such as terrorism, 9here, usin" Fredric (ameson;s 9ords, ?the ;otherness; of the so called terrorist has be"un to re4lace older ima"es of criminal ;insanity,;? has been a lon" lastin" battle for Arab Americans& (1<A) Althou"h Fye ne3er claims a totally Arab identity, as Hammad does in the 4re3ious 4oem, she maintains her hybrid identity 9ith both the Arab and American 4oles& And thus, she says: ?, feel a little closer to you than many Americans could 4ossibly feel, of e3er 9ant to feel? but this does not ne"ate her Americanism as she continues: ?, am humble in my country;s 4ain and , am furious&? She then "oes on to enumerate e:am4les of Arab Americans, ma"nifyin" their human Bualities in an attem4t at denyin" their ?otherness,? such as the ?the #alestinian "rocer,? ?half Arab brother,? and ?#alestinian cousin? hi"hli"htin" the im4act of the deed on their li3es& An e:am4le is: My alestinian cousins in "e&as have beautiful brown little boys. Many of them haven/t gone to school yet. And now they have this heavy word to carry in their backpacks along with weight of their papers and books. Fye ta>es on a double burden rele3ant to her double identityG she attem4ts to educate both Americans and Arabs as she e:4lains the alternatin" 3ie9s of American forei"n 4olicy and ,slam& She also em4hasi=es her Americanism, refusin" the im4osed di3ision bet9een ?us? and ?them,? and thus e:4lains: ?As ordinary citi=ens 9e don;t run the "o3ernment and don;t "et to ma>e all our "o3ernment;s 4olicies, 9hich ma>es us sad sometimes&? As can be seen, unli>e Hammad;s ?us? indicatin" Arabs, or e3en Arab Americans, Fye;s ?us? em4hasi=es her Americanism&

Fonetheless, she mana"es to connect 9ith Arabs on a different le3el throu"h her "randmother, and her e:4lanation of ,slam& Further on, she connects on a human le3el in sharin" 4ain and 4oetry e3en 9ith the ?9ould be terrorist?: % beg of you as your distant cousin, American neighbor, listens to me. 3ur hearts are broken, as yours may also feel broken in some ways we can/t understand ... Read Rumi. Read Arabic poetry. ,n s4ite of the connections, she maintains her distance as ?you? and ?9e? maybe com4arable but not identical& She is, therefore faithful to her 4ostmodern attitude, 9here ne"otiation ?bet9een centers and mar"ins? is a ?9ay that ac>no9led"es differences and its challen"e to any su44osedly monolithic culture? (Hinda Hutcheon, -+$)& A stand 9hich furnishes a comfortable niche for her hybridity& Fye concludes her letter 9ith a final 4lea: 4ind a friend who is so different from you, you can/t believe how much you have in common. 2ove them. 2et them love you. Surprise people in gentle ways, as friends do. "he rest of us will try harder too. Make our family proud. This belief in a 4ostmodern 9orld, 9here there are ?borderlands? for communication, 9as actually closin" do9nG transformin" the American scene& (in"oism "re9 and free s4eech became controlled, into its endless 9ar a"ainst terrorism, 9here the media made a clear distinction bet9een 9hat terrorists loo> li>e by o44osin" them to ?American 4eo4le;s "oodness&? This created 9hat 7obert Iohm refers to as, ? a s4eciali=ed en3ironment that ma:imi=es conformity and stifles throu"h "ro9th in the national community;s sense of its o9n ri"hteousness and infallibility e:4ressions of dissent? (6)& Fye a44arently did not then reali=e she had the face of the enemy&

The third reaction to the $%11 e3ent to be considered is Elma= Abinader;s ?#rofile of an Arab .au"hter&? (66) 2nli>e the 4re3ious t9o e:am4les, Abinader 4ersonali=es the incident by dra9in" 4arallels bet9een it and her mother;s fall& My mother/s voice rattles hollow when she speaks to me. $hat can we do1 eople fall. "hings fall. My mother tumbled at the same time of the morning another 5et burst into the entagon, dangerously close to where she lives in Maryland. Fonetheless, this stri>in" 4arallelism, 9hich identifies her 4ersonal crisis 9ith America;s crisis, does not blur her Arabness nor her a9areness of the discrimination a"ainst Arabs: My brother/s son asks my sister do you think someone will try to kill my dad1" Hi>e Hammad, she too is afraid for her family& Abinader 9ea3es the 4ublic 9ith the 4ri3ate 9ith a masterly manner that enforces their duality, as the "eneral disbelief and incom4rehensibility, to"ether 9ith the 4ain of the situation, are reflected in her mother;s li3in" room: My mother doesn/t know these things as her heels numb, her shoulder electrifies her with spasm, and she shifts and shifts trying to relieve the pain radiating in her lower back. "he television flashes at her but she can take the pictures only in small doses, much stronger than the painkillers that don/t seem to reach the fire in her body.

Her family becomes a microcosm that simultaneously reflects and contrasts the outside 9orld& Her home, li>e the outside 9orld, becomes a 4lace 9here 4ain and lo3e are intert9ined& Abinader then shifts in time to identify herself 9ith this domestic 9orld as she touches u4on the resemblances bet9een herself and her mother& 6et this sameness mar>s them as different, as ha3in" the face of the enemy: % am told that is my face, the one % grew into. "he one that causes all the trouble. "hey caution, when you travel, try not to look so.... Arab1 6es, Arab. Irin"in" her Arabness to the fore"round, Abinader shifts from the 9armth of her mother;s li3in" room to her school days, 9here she and her American schoolmates 9ere to cut out their 4rofile: "he other girls had gentle lines of faces, silky hair, slender noses ... My knees softened watching them, my body slumped and % wanted to bolt, out of the cafeteria.... The difference bet9een ?them? and ?her? is ma"nified, as she stands out as different, only because of her face, because of her Arabness& And thus ?9hen e3eryone sa9 the 4ortray, they 9ould say ;sand ni""er&;? Abinader;s a9areness that she bares the face of the enemy is confirmed e3en further, by a different >ind of 4rofile: racial 4rofilin"& As % followed my husband through the gate, a security guard raised her hand, "go over there," she pointed to ah empty low table against

the wall staffed by a man in the same security uniform. 5nce more, her face sin"les her out& This shift of time and 4lace reflects an unchan"in" 4icture in a 3ery chan"ed 9orld& The same feelin" of bein" different is a"ain enforced, but this time 9e "et to >no9 more about the ?sand ni""er?: As % read about the security guards being trained in what a terrorist is likely to look like as they pass through security. 7ut not any kind of terrorists, ones with dark hair, a)uiline features, deep eyes. 7y the end of the article, my entire family was indicted. Therefore, bearin" the face of the enemy cate"ori=es her as the ?other? in s4ite of her bein" an American: My mother, whose face % inherit, would never believe % have been profiled over and over. She talks about Arabs as them, the other population in 2ebanon, her home country ... 0espite our looks, our language, our music, our politics, our food, our customs. 3ur sympathy with alestinians. Abinader, the Arab American, is bein" denied her Americanism, on the basis of her loo>s& She is bein" denied her ci3il ri"hts as an American, as she has the face of the enemy& ,n s4ite of their shared "rief and sense of loss, they are, as Abinader 4uts it, ?branded?: % don/t want to believe that suddenly we are all suspects and apart from everyone else, need to be feared and named. !istory is a poor

teacher. "attooed numbers flash across my arm. Mental internment camps construct in the desert of my imagination. My eyes darken. The allusion to the Fa=is and the (a4anese internment cam4s is ob3ious& The ?9ar a"ainst terror? that Arab Americans find themsel3es tra44ed in is not the same 9ar the !hite House is leadin", it is a 9ar a"ainst internal terror& ,t is a situation 9here, the Me:ican American 9riter and acti3ist, 8loria An=aldua;s 9ords rin" true, 9hen she says: "he $hites in power want us people of color to barricade ourselves behind our separate tribal walls so they can pick us off one at a time with their hidden weapons8 so they can whitewash and distant history. *99+,. The attac> on the !orld Trade 'enter did not only destroy the buildin"s, but it also destroyed one of the basic ci3il liberties of Arab Americans& 6et, Arab Americans thri3e and maintain a 3oice& As Abinader ta>es her mother for her Arab ,.: She will complain to my nearly deaf father that they are :hristian. 0oesn/t anyone understand1 7ecause they don/t reali;e how poor their hearing is, their Arabic will echo all around them. %t will vibrate off pillars of the government building, float through the air and crash into the walls. Thou"h her mother, as sho9n here, is the ultimate amal"amation of Arab Americans, claimin" her Americanism in Arabic, she still

re4resents a challen"e to 9hat Ed9ard Said calls the ?official self identity?: "hose people compelled by the system to play subordinate or imprisoning roles within it emerge as conscious antagonists, disrupting it, proposing claims and advancing arguments that dispute the totalitarian compulsion of the world market. *<<=. A year after the attac>, Arab Americans are still tryin" to maintain their 3oice as 4art of the American mosaic& Abinader;s mother;s Arabic is echoed in Fye;s 9ords 9here she states: Maybe Arab Americans are twice as sad as other people. 7ut we ate still proud of everything peaceful and beautiful that endures. "hen speak beauty if we can--the beauty of culture, poetry, tradition, memory, family, daily life. 7ecause men with hard faces do violent things, because fanaticism sei;es and shrinks minds, is no reason for the rest of us to abandon our songs. Maybe we need to sing louder. *+>. And indeed, Arab Americans sin" louder, in s4ite of the bac>lash they had to endure and the intolerance they had to 4ut u4 9ith& An e:am4le of this intolerance 9as the attac> on The Fational Education Association, the lar"est teachers; union in the 2nited States, for su""estin" a lesson 4lan on tolerance& As re4orted by Eate Jerni>e in the Fe9 6or> Times, a research "rou4 released cun;iculum to counter 9hat they called ?the dan"erous idea of moral eBui3alence? and the ?usual 4a4 about di3ersity? that 9as ad3ocated by the lesson 4lan&

Thus the burden of education and buildin" brid"es is 4laced one more time on the shoulders of Arab Americans& ,n the continuous attem4t at educatin" the 4ublic, Suheir Hammad, a year after the attac>, 4ublishes her 4oem ?Se4tember <, -++-,? in fi3e stan=as that stand for the 9ord ?4eace&? (6A) The 4oem offers an ans9er to 7obert Iohm;s Buestion, 9hich he 4oses to American 4oets 9hen he says: ?Han"ua"e is all around us& Ho9 darin" are 9e as 4oets in 4lumbin" their de4thC? (A)& Hammad ?4lumbs? dee4 in an attem4t to find an a44ro4riate lan"ua"e& She starts off by shunnin" fear and 4roclaimin" her double identity, claimin" to be both Arab and American: . leave fear behind like smoke like all that inhibits us all that limits us what hates us what makes us hate one another not see each other in us The di3ision bet9een ?they? and ?us? that 9as 4ercei3ed in earlier 4oems is re4laced 9ith a unified ?us&? Ho9e3er, this unity is only attained throu"h the reali=ation of her self and her indi3iduality& % will stay in my sunshine living room and even my tangerine hall. % will stay inside of my self and see what % find there. Throu"h the mundane details of her e3eryday life, she connects on a human le3el 9ith all others, creatin" a 4o4ulation that can brea> the mono"amy of the American rhetoric of ri"hteous retaliation 4resented by the media, to offer an alternati3e America: (.

"he media is looking for America, what America thinks and wants. "ell the media to look in detention centers. $here will you be <?= days to the one @ew 6ork :ity broke down like a woman running1 "ell the media America is in the faces of the people she hates. "he people whose lives do not count as prime time or same time any time. "he people % come from. The reference to 9hat ironically is called the #AT7,5T Act, that is su44osed to ?2nite and Stren"then America by #ro3idin" A44ro4riate Tools 7eBuired to ,nterce4t and 5bstruct Terrorism is ob3ious& (61) 6et, those 4eo4le that are su44osed to be united are those 9ho ha3e ?the faces of the 4eo4le she hates?K At a time 9here you ha3e no ci3il ri"ht to 4rotect you, a time 9here you are surrounded 9ith memories of lost li3es, you need to be than>ful for li3in": A. % can see where those buildings once stood from where % am writing. "he night is clear and no one is here to see me staring at the awesome absence. A ladybug has adopted me and is in my kitchen now, red and black and alive. % welcome her, but tell her we are in a time where living things have to be careful. She is busy being fly. % am busy breaking down.

The ?absence? once more is not only on the 4hysical le3el, as she is alone, but also on the 4sycholo"ical le3el& Therefore, the ladybird becomes the symbol of 9hat #atricia !au"h has called ?the shared ideal truth and @ustice "rounded in fundamental need? as both fi"ht for their sur3i3al& (1$D) ,n the fi"ht for sur3i3al, not only in its literal meanin", but also the sur3i3al of an identity that combines friend and foe, lan"ua"e seems to be less useful, as lan"ua"e is colored by 4ersonal and national 4re@udices& Therefore, Hammad searches for a lan"ua"e that has no biases: :. %t is more truthful to do the math around September ++, 9AA+ than it is to utili;e the (nglish language in an attempt to translate life into prose. Math does not change from nation to nation. %ts self is not threatened with visa status nor border crossing. 3ne life always e)uals one life, though one never brings back another. @o matter the men in power--the math stands. % will not count the dead here. % will let those who care, ask. And then the math will write a memorial poem in (nglish, 4arsi, in Brdu, Arabic, in Spanish, in 6oruba, !ebrew, in Corean, in the tongue of angels, in the whisper of wind, in the call to prayer, in the walls, in the wails, in the absence of cameras, in the long hope for peace.

The double standards can only be re4laced by a nonlin"uistic uni3ersal lan"ua"e, an unerrin", unchan"in" lan"ua"e& !hereas, as Said has e:4lained, ?the 2nited States as an immi"rant society&&&, has a 4ublic discourse more 4oliced, more an:ious to de4ict the country free from taint, more unified around one iron clad ma@or narrati3e of innocent trium4h? (*1D), Hammad e:4oses the death of these ?ma@or narrati3es&? The mythical American narrati3e cannot hold true 9ith the racial discrimination and the trans"ressions that ta>e 4lace e3eryday& As #hili4 Fisher, in a sur3ey of American Hiterature, has indicated: ?American studies has 4assed from myth to rhetorics&? ,ndeed, the myth of America 9hich is ?the stable story that is used a"ain and a"ain to normali=e &&& accountLsM of social life,? and that ?tames the 3ariety of historical e:4eriences,? cannot stand the u4hea3al of the schisms that resulted from the di3isions that are ta>in" 4lace 9ithin the American society (-*-)& The need for a rhetoric to re4lace the one of 9ar that is bein" ad3ocated by the American forei"n 4olicy becomes an im4erati3e to sa3e the 4lurality of American ?rhetorics&? (6$) ,n the fall of America;s "rand narrati3e of freedom, a 3acuum must be filled& Fot only the 3acuum in F6 s>yline, but the 3acuum of a truth that 9ould hold true and fair for all& (. "onight America is looking for an idol. "ell her not to look in the $hite !ouse. 0irect her to the poems of #une #ordan, the diaries of Malcolm D, the survival of native nation. "ell her idols are born, not produced. Remind America of the idols she has murdered, e&iled, silenced. Maybe those idols, human and complicated, have some answers for us.

This 3acuum can only be filled, not by media ima"es, but by an alternati3e American narrati3e that can only be found in the true 3oice of its 4eo4le of all colors& As o44osed to a 4re@udiced 4olitical discourse, art is the ans9er, 9here all the narrati3es and metanarrati3es that could le"itimate foundations for their truth can be found& As a 4oet of color, Hammad uses ?us,? unli>e in the first stan=a 9here it is a reference to Arabs, as a 4oet of color: ,t clearly no9 Bualifies as a reference to American 4eo4le 9ith their different colors and ethnicities& Elma= Abinader also continues to ma>e a case for Arab Americans& Her 4oem ?Ho9 ,t;s Ieen? seems to be an ans9er to Hammad;s call as she tells the story of America& (A+) She starts her 4oem by de4ictin" a safe America, a safe moment as o44osed to the constant feelin" of insecurity: %t was about the moment when % could sleep in the rock-a-bye of hanging with a friend believin that nothin deep could creep in and shake me. This safe moment can only be attained by a unified self a self that can find security in human connections rather than di3isions 9here neither Arab nor American can sur3i3e the im4act of the media: % had shut them down, all of them' the voices of the newscasters broadstroking the sides of everything % cared about8 % earplugged the identity of olive groves as terrorist cells, Afghani mountains as enemy hide-outs. ut my hand up against a growing list of enemy combatants' doctors, art students, grandmothers who go to the same mos)ue as the guy in 7oston who called in the reservation Her dilemma bein" cau"ht u4 bet9een the t9o 9orlds 9here ?e3erythin"? she ?cared about? is a ?list of enemy combatants&? 6et

this moment is not sustained for lon" as her ?identity of oli3e "ro3es? is e3o>ed 9hen once more she is sin"led out, not as an American but as an Arab: 6ou emphasi;e for you so % know what you mean. The ?you? em4hasi=ed is denied American status: 6ou don/t mean, for the country, who has lost its heart in this, desperate to turn it around, dropping hope in favor of accusation. 6ou don/t mean for the people who can/t yet believe someone they knew, loved--needed to be recovered--a body, not intact, not easy to identify--belonged to them. Simultaneously, she is also denied her Arabness, as: 6ou don/t mean for the citi;ens and visitors swept up and hidden away in prisons with no charges, no identities and no contacts because they could be maybe somehow related to ... if they have a carpet to pray on 2ltimately, she is denied her indi3iduality: 6ou don/t mean you, the poet, the writer, the activist, the educator8 the performer. !ow has it been for you ... since ,E++. The alternatin" identities Abinader assumes reflect her multi4licity as a 4erson and her hybridity as an Arab American& 6et, she is denied all of this to be confined in: ?6ou, the Arab, you mean&?

The Buestion brea>s the 4erfection of a moment of safety that felt ?li>e crossed le""ed on the floor, 4layin" cards on the car4et bedtime,? to stir a series of 4re@udices that bearin" the face of the enemy brin"s about& Abinader asserts her identity by enlistin" the continuous discrimination she had to face as she claims her uniBue identity: !ow it/s been for me changing my name back to my name after being Americani;ed at school, how it/s been claiming my voice as important, my body as a temple and not entertainment, my eyes as visual and not visions. The Buestion can only be ans9ered, not in an American narrati3e, but li>e in Hammad;s 4oem, in a uni3ersal narrati3e: Ask all the thems in the Sudan, Somalia, %vory :oast, @icaragua, :olombia, Fie)ues, hilippines, 2ebanon, Sri 2ank, akistan, (ast "imor, "ibet, the countries in the A&is of (vil. South :entral 2.A., $est and (ast 3akland, @ewark, :hicago, :hiapas, ine Ridge, $ounded Cnee. As she dra9s a ma4 of the 9orld 4arallel to a ma4 of the States, she dis4erses all the ?thems? ma>in" ?otherness? inclusi3e rather than e:clusi3e& 2sin" Ia>htin;s terms, she mana"es to brin" to"ether the ?centrifu"al as 9ell as the centri4etal forces? in a ?4rocess of centrali=ation and decentrali=ation, of unification and disunification? that reflects her Arab American hybrid identity& Ho9e3er, the fact remains that since there is ?them? there must be ?us&? Iein" forced into the di3ision of ?us? and ?them,? bein" 4ercei3ed as the ?other,? she retreats to the safety of her 4ri3ate domain 9here she can be comfortable 9ith hybridity:

%/m sorry, the coffee/s cold and % need to get home. % need to burn frankincense and cedar logs, % need to outline my eyes with kohl. % need to shroud myself with embroidery and arabes)ues. % will practice marching to Marcel and recite the teachings of Mahmoud. ,n the 4ri3acy of her home she can ma>e the Arab American case& Since as Etel Adnan 4uts it: ?!ritin" is a meetin" 4oint bet9een a historical moment and the 4ri3ate identity&? Iein" an Arab American in a historical moment li>e this, 9here you become an embodiment of the enemy& A need, to the enemy, calls for a 4olitical 4ositionG a need for creatin" an alternati3e narrati3e to the 4re3ailin" intolerance arises& And thus Arab Americans seem to fulfill the 4ro4hesy of An=aldua, sho9in" their true faces, creatin" the American narrati3e as they chant: % am visible--see this ... face--yet % am visible. % both blind them with my beak nose and am their blind spot. 7ut % e&ist, we e&ist. "hey/d like to think % have melted in the pot. 7ut % haven/t, we haven/t. *99+,. Still, to e:ist does not im4ly that you are heard, as Fredric (ameson e:4lained: ?to s4ea> is not necessarily to achie3e a He"elian reco"nition of the 5ther? (1*1)& Fonetheless, Arab Americans celebrate their otherness, 3oicin" both their difference and similarities& Hi>e Han"ston Hu"hes, they ?too sin" America,? but sin" it to a different tune& F5TES

(61) The title is deri3ed from (im 7e"an;s article ?Ha3in" the Face of the Enemy? 4osted on The 'hristian Science Monitor (999&csmonitor&com) on Se4tember 16, -++-& (6-) To name only a fe9: Stanley Fish 9as attac>ed for sayin" that the terrorists ha3e their o9n moral 3aluesG Iill Maher, a 4rominent T) host, lost his @ob because he a"reed 9ith his "uest, the 9riter .inesh .;Sou=a, that the act cannot be described as ?co9ardly?G and Amiri Iara>a 9as attac>ed for his 4oem ?!ho Ile9 u4 America? 9hich Buestions the reasons behind the attac>& 5f course, there are the less famous 4rofessors and thousands of students 9hose stories may or may not ma>e the ne9s& (6*) Accordin" to Iurmma"en 8roat, there is 9hat he calls ?"ray 4ride,? 9hich is ?the sense of moral su4eriority you "et from condemnin" other 4eo4le;s sense of moral su4eriority& (6<) This 4oem 9as 4ublished electronically on ?The Artist Fet9or> 5f 7efuse And 7esist,? htt4:%%999&artistsnet9or>&or"%ne9s%ne9s<-&html& (6D) This 4iece 9as circulated on the internet after the Se4tember 11, -++1, attac>& (66) Al (adid A&*A (Fall -++1), htt4:%%999&al@adid&com& (6A) This 4oem 9as 4ublished electronically on ?The Artist Fet9or> 5f 7efuse And 7esist,? htt4:%%999&artistsnet9or>&or"%ne9sD%ne9s-<D&html& (61) An act that allo9s for the detention of immi"rants on the basis of sus4icion of 4olitical association for an indefinite 4eriod of time& ,t also "i3es the "o3ernment the authority to interce4t 9ire, oral, and electronic communications relatin" to terrorism, 4lus more immi"ration rules that restricts those comin" from Arab countries& (6$) Accordin" to Fisher, rhetorics ?re3eals interests and e:clusions& To loo> at rhetorics is to loo> at the action 4otential of lan"ua"e and

ima"es&&, 9ords, formulas, ima"es and units of meanin" 9ithin 4olitics&? (A+) 2n4ublished 4oem& !57ES ',TE. Adnan, Etel& ?;There; A Meditation on 'onflict&? Al (adid ,nter3ie9s, Al (adid& <&-* (1$$1)& htt4:%%999&al@adid&com& An=aldua, 8loria& Iorderlands%Ha Frontera: The Fe9 Mesti=a& Heitch --11 ----& Ia>htin, Mi>hail& ?.iscourse in the Fo3el&? Heitch 11$+ 1-1$& Iohm, 7obert& ?History and Han"ua"e: T9o 'onsiderations&? Ieyond the Sentimental to the 7eal: A #oet;s )ie9& htt4:%%999&"eocities&com%4oetryafterse4tember11-++1%bohm-&html, 4osted .ecember <, -++1& 'astells, Manuel& The #o9er of ,dentity& Ioston: Ilac>9ell, 1$$A& 'halala, Elie& ?Arab Americans After Se4tember 11th: 7ethin>in" ,deas Fot 'ar3ed in Stone&? Al (adid A&*6& htt4:%%999&al@adid&com& -++1& El Said, Maha& The ,dentity of Arab American #oets: An Analytical Study& 2n4ublished dissertation, 'airo 2& 1$$A& Eno, Irian& ?The 2S Feeds to 54en 24 to the !orld: To this Euro4ean, America is Tra44ed in a Fortress of Arro"ance and ,"norance&? Artists Fet9or> of 7efuse and 7esistK htt4:%%artistsnet9or>&or"%ne9s1%ne9s*<A&html, 4osted (an 1-, -++*& Faul>ner, !illiam& 1$D+ Fobel #ri=e S4eech& htt4:%%999&4oets<4eace&cona%faul>ner&htm, accessed $%<%--+-& Fisher, #hili4& ?American Hiterary and 'ultural Studies since the 'i3il !ar&? Ste4hen 8reenblatt and 8iles 8unn, eds& 7edra9in" The

Ioundaries: The Transformation of En"lish and American Hiterary Studies& Fe9 6or>: MHA, 1$$-& -*- -D+& (ameson, Fredric& ?From #eriodisin" the Si:ties&? !au"h 1-D 1D-& Hutcheon, Hinda& ?From A #oetics of #ostmodernism&? !au"h -+6 -11& Hee, Michael S& Healin" the Fation: The Arab American E:4erience After Se4tember 11, !ashin"ton, .&'&: Arab American ,nstitute, -++-& Heitch, )incent, ed& The Forton Antholo"y of Theory and 'riticism& Fe9 6or>: Forton, -++1& Montaya, 7ichard& ?Anthems&? Ha Hutta .is4atch Media #ro@ect& htt4:%%999&Halutta.is4atchMedia#ro@ect&htm& -++1& Muller, Eric H& ?An Arab American ,nternmentC,? The .ays After: Essays !ritten in the Aftermath of Se4tember 11, -++1& 'hica"o: 2 of 'hica"o #, -++1& htt4:%%999&4ress&uchica"o&edu%Fe9s%daysafter&html& Fye, Faomi Shihab& Michael S& Hee& Healin" the Fation: The Arab American E:4erience After Se4tember 11& Arab American ,nstitute, !ashin"ton .'& -++-& 7oentsch, .an& ?An ,nter3ie9 9ith the 7elati3ist&? The 7adical 'a4italist& htt4:%%999&4rometh&com%7adca4%flair%Flair+++1&as4& -++-& 7orty, 7ichard& ?From The 'ontin"ency of Han"ua"e&? !au"h 1A+ 116& Said, Ed9ard& 'ulture and ,m4erialism& Fe9 6or>: )inta"e Ioo>s, 1$$*& !au"h, #atricia& ?From Modernism, #ostmodernism, Feminism: 8ender and Autonomy Theory&? !au"h 11$ -+<&

!au"h, #atricia& #ostmodernism: A 7eader& Fe9 6or>: 7outled"e, 1$$-& Jerni>e, Eate& ?Hesson #lans for Se4t& 11 5ffer a Study in .iscord&? Fe9 6or> Times, Au"ust *1, -++-& MAHA EH SA,.