Lifting the Veil or Keeping It? The Arab Americans between Acceptance and Assimilation
Lifting the Veil or Keeping It? The Arab Americans between Acceptance and Assimilation

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the complex position of Arab Americans between acceptance and assimilation in the US society, exploring how their identity has been shaped by historical dislocation, settlement, and cultural negotiation. Revisiting the veil metaphor, we consider the symbolic and literal barriers to integration, beginning with analyzing early Arab American experiences in the 19th century. The autobiography of Omar ibn Said, an enslaved West African, is a crucial historical perspective that highlights the resilience of an Islamic identity challenged by forced conversion and enslavement. Laila Halaby’s novel Once in a Promised Land extends this narrative, illustrating the doubleconsciousness of Arab Americans in the post-9/11 era. Through Salwa and Jassim’s struggles with racism, identity, and the illusory nature of the American Dream, the novel reveals the tension between external pressures to assimilate and internal efforts to maintain cultural identity. This study underscores the ongoing challenge of navigating cultural preservation and societal acceptance for Arab Americans.

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