Muslims and Arabs in Western Politics

Abstract

The “Muslims and Arabs in Western Politics” conference, held at Indiana
University, Bloomington, on September 22-24, 2005 and organized by
Abdulkader Sinno (assistant professor, political science and Middle Eastern
studies, Indiana University), was highly enriching and intellectually stimulating.
The two public lectures and five panels, ranging from civil rights and liberties
to public perceptions of Muslims, shed light on various aspects of the
complexities of this field and acquainted the participants with cutting-edge
research by leading scholars from North America and Western Europe.
James Zogby and David Cole delivered the two public lectures on “The
Emergent Arab-American Political Constituency” and “Paradigms of
Prevention: The Rule of Law and the War on Terror,” respectively. Zogby covered the development of the Arab-American community’s political
mobilization and inclusion in mainstream American politics throughout the
twentieth century. He narrated his personal experience as a Lebanese immigrant
who had experienced the “hard times” of discrimination and exclusion.
In addition, he reported on the significant increase in the political mobilization
of Muslim minorities in the United States over the last few decades,
combined with a growing interest from politicians. His speech ended on a
positive note: He is convinced that the community’s trajectory will continue
to move forward. On the other hand, David Cole’s talk focused on the state
of constitutional law after 9/11. He argued that substantial negative inroads
have been made to the five pillars of the rule of law, namely, equality before
the law, transparency of procedures, fairness of procedures, checks and balances,
and commitment to basic human rights ...