TweetWhy is a northern Iowa town named for an Arab/Muslim hero? There are almost 20,000 cities incorporated in the United States. Elkader, Iowa, may be the only city in America named after an Arab Muslim. Emir Abdelkader was a young Algerian hero who fought French settlers for almost 20 years in the mid-19th century. How did a small town in the northeast corner of Iowa get a name like Elkader, a name that in the post-9/11, post-Trump era could get you kicked off a flight? I have a friend who, after 9/11, changed his name from El-Kader to Randy to avoid trouble at the airport and the hassle of spelling…
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AN ARAB AMERICAN’S 9/11
TweetAn Arab American’s 9/11 By AHMED THARWAT September 10, 2021 – 5:45 PM On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, I was starting my day slowly. I hadn’t even made it to the shower. My landline phone; the new message light was flashing, that is too early for that. I dialed *98, then listened to the frantic voice of my sister-in-law — “… I’m ok, I’m Ok” played it back a few times. I wasn’t sure what she meant. But I didn’t make much of the strange message; my sister-in-law sometimes known for eccentric outburses.
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THE HOLY WAR
TweetThe Arab American community must face its own prejudices, bigotry and biases, much of these the residual effects of colonial history and pure ignorance of Arab history and culture. Arabs themselves are people of color, our heroes were blacks, our prophets were blacks, our teachers our neighbors and friends were blacks. A few summers ago, it was Friday noonish, and I was standing by the door of Holy Land Grocery in Northeast Minneapolis. The place was vibrant; people were coming and going at a fast pace. A Somali man in his ironed white khamiis was rushing out of the door carrying some grocery bags. A policeman hanging around outside seemed concerned and…
