One Hundred Questions and Answers About Arab Americans is part of the Michigan State University School of Journalism series in cultural competence. This guide has evolved from one that was created for journalists and published in 2000. That guide was underwritten by Knight Ridder, a newspaper company. This new guide has been updated throughout with some new questions and refocused to be helpful to all people, not just journalists. Joe Grimm has been the editor on both guides.
This guide is organized to answer common questions people need to answer as they encounter Arab Americans in communities coast to coast—as co-workers, neighbors and friends. The guide includes sections on Arab American origins, language, demographics, family, customs, clothing, food, politics, religion and more.
Among the 100 questions, you will learn:
Are most Arabs Muslim?
Are there Arab conventions for naming children?
Why do some Arab women cover their head or face?
Is Palestine a country?
What does hajj mean?