Exploring Hidden Gems of Vibrant Arab American Community Life — Enclaves of Arabdom in almost every corner of the U.S.
By: John Mason / Arab America Contributing Writer
Little hidden gems of Arab community life dot the U.S. map. Some are well known, others not so much. What defines them as gems is their vibrancy. Arab cultural norms and values are predominant, followed by the use of spoken Arabic. Mosques and Churches also characterize these communities. Your ‘30 most popular Arab restaurants and groceries’ are ever-present. Civic associations abound, along with Arabic language movie theaters and radio stations. Life is often good for these Arab Americans. Here is a sample of their communities.
Little Yemen in the eastern Bronx
This is an ethnic enclave located in the eastern half of the New York City borough of the Bronx. It is comprised of mostly Yemeni Arab Americans. It lies wedged between Morris Park, Van Ness, and Pelham Parkway. Small businesses, small groceries, hookah cafes, and delis abound. Over 500 Yemeni-owned businesses fill the square mile radius informally known as Little Yemen. Following the Yemen war that started in 2014, the number of its citizens in Little Yemen grew. The Bronx Muslim Center is active in promoting Yemeni American causes, including a proposal to rename the area ‘Little Yemen.’ The community anxiously awaits its official name change. The Yemeni American Day parade has recently become popular, even among visitors from other states and a street was named recently after a former president of Yemen.
Atlantic Avenue and Bay Ridge, one of the earliest communities
New York City is a big place, the Big Apple if you will. That is one reason it has room enough for at least two vibrant Arab American communities. The second one is in another borough of The City. This one is in Brooklyn. It’s home to one of the country’s largest concentrations of Arab Americans. Early Arab immigrants in Brooklyn were mostly Christian, today the community is Muslim and Christian. They live in the areas of Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, and Bay Ridge. All the Arab accouterments from ethnic spices to halal meat and Islamic clothing are available in this community. Nablus Sweets offer syrup-soaked sweets such as knafah and basbousa. A halal butcher sits comfortably near a board emblazoned with graffiti bearing the words “Free Palestine.”
Dearborn, Michigan – the reputed ‘Heart of Arab America’
Besides being home to many Arab Americans, Dearborn is also home to The Arab American National Museum. Arabs call Dearborn the “demographic and cultural heart of the Arab community in the U.S.” While resembling a mosque, the museum is non-denominational and the only such institution in the U.S. dedicated to the Arab American experience. With all the trappings of an Arab community, the thing Arab Americans gravitate to is their culture. “So, no matter if you’re Lebanese or Palestinian, Muslim or Christian, we revert back to that shared commonality of our cultural experiences and try to uplift the community and bring people together, despite their differences.” Dearborn nicely depicts the wave of Arab immigrants arriving in the 1880s—mainly Lebanese Christians, Then, in the second decade of the 20th century, Palestinian Muslims began to arrive. And, on and on, the next arrivals were Iraqi Catholic Chaldeans.
A slice of ‘Little Arabia’ in Anaheim, California
Nestled in the heart of Orange County in Anaheim, California, is a slice of Arab culture better known as the Little Arabia District. Anyone who visits Little Arabia can experience new and exciting levels of Arab culture and food, through their ethnic markets, restaurants, and cafes. This community has the largest population of Arab Americans in both Orange County and Southern California. Currently, there is a rapid push for the designation of a small portion of West Anaheim known as the Brookhurst Corridor as Little Arabia. The Anaheim City Council will consider this request in August. (This description is adapted from an earlier Arab America article.)
Arab Americans play larger than life role in Paterson, New Jersey – the ‘Little Ramallah’
New Jersey is surprisingly fifth among states in its number of Arab residents. One of the largest Arab groupings in the state is Paterson, home to original immigrants from Syria at the turn of the last century, it now boasts a sizable Palestinian community–and the naming of a city street, “Palestine Way”. In fact, its mayor, Andre Sayegh, is Syrian/Lebanese. South Paterson is self-defining by ten city blocks that serve this vibrant Arab American community. Its barbershops, doctors’ offices, halal meat shops, and Muslim legal services all define this part of the city as Arab. It boasts mosques and eastern Arab churches. Underscoring its Muslim population are advertisements for all-inclusive trips to Mecca for the hajj or pilgrimage. (This was adapted from an earlier Arab America article.)
The best 30 ‘Arabic’ restaurants and 30 Arab food stores in Bridgeview, Illinois
Restaurant and grocery store mobile apps for Arab American communities start out with this litany—”the best 30.” Bridgeview, Illinois, home to a vibrant Arab community, has much more to offer than the top 30 or whatever. This suburb of Chicago has a rich mix of Arabs from Lebanon, Syria, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Palestinians outnumber other Arab groupings. Arab-owned grocery stores, insurance companies, restaurants, law offices, and community centers have sprung up. Churches, mosques, and religious schools also dot the landscape of this Chicago suburb. Residents call it the “Arab village.” Charitable organizations in Bridgeview help poor Muslims around the world.
America’s ‘Little Syria’ in Allentown Pennsylvania
Allentown, Pennsylvania has become known in recent years as a recipient of refugees from Syria’s long war. But this presents a problem for Arabs in that city. Namely, refugees are largely Muslim, while Allentown’s Arabs are mostly Christian and support Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. They fear that some of those refugees participated in Syria’s civil war. Arabs there have the typical commercial, civic, religious resources, and opportunities that focus on Arab needs. There is also an outward focus on helping family, friends, and members of religious groups still living in their homelands of Syria and Lebanon. An Arab American Cultural Association and Syrian Arab American Charity Association serve the needs of Arab residents of Allentown and overseas Arabs alike.
Egyptians, an important diaspora group in Jersey City, New Jersey
The largest diaspora of Arab American people in New Jersey is from Egypt, which designates New Jersey as the only state where Egyptian people make up the majority subgroup. There are also Syrian and Lebanese subgroups of Arab Americans in Jersey City. Egyptian Americans have enough influence to command their own flag-raising ceremony. Last year, the City of Jersey City recognized the 10th Anniversary of Egypt’s Revolution Day. Celebrated in cities across Egypt and in Jersey City, the flag-raising represents the solidarity of the Egyptian community in search of their independence. Egyptian Americans of Jersey City have been honored by the city government for their contributions to education, entrepreneurship, and government. Coptic Christian Egyptians in Jersey City number about 30,000, while Muslim Egyptians number about 25,000. Both groupings have brought baggage from their history of conflict in Egypt to Jersey City. But they try to unify as Egyptian Arabs when it comes to their adopted city.
Chaldean Christian Iraqi community thrives in El Cajon, a San Diego suburb
San Diego suburb El Cajon is home to one of the largest populations in the U.S. of Chaldean Christians. They are a persecuted religious and ethnic minority from Iraq. Chaldeans have brought to the U.S. their baggage from Iraq. Given the right to protest in their new home, they are protesting their treatment in Iraq. They do so in speeches and songs—in Arabic of course. About 15,000 Chaldeans comprise El Cajon’s population. They have put their stamp on the community, with the usual Arab ‘institutions’ of restaurants, grocers, clothing stores, jewelry shops, and corner markets catering to their community. Chaldeans have their own churches and schools and a radio station. One community member, a real estate agent, is running for a seat on the El Cajon City Council, striving to be one of the first to represent the interests of his community.
Summary – These “little hidden gems of Arab community life” in the U.S. show one thing. Arab Americans are as different from one another as are the countries they come from. Some of these gems have been established for more than a century, while others are much newer. Those older communities represent respected stability. Others have brought political strife with them from their countries of origin. A core value they’ve all carried from their homelands is the preeminence of the social grouping—family and beyond—a strong sense of hospitality to others, and a sense of a higher good, beyond themselves.
John Mason, PhD., who focuses on Arab culture, society, and history, is the author of LEFT-HANDED IN AN ISLAMIC WORLD: An Anthropologist’s Journey into the Middle East, New Academia Publishing, 2017. He has taught at the University of Libya, Benghazi, Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, and the American University in Cairo; John served with the United Nations in Tripoli, Libya, and consulted extensively on socioeconomic and political development for USAID and the World Bank in 65 countries.
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