The October 7 Hamas attacks threatened to become a 9/11-like event for Arab and Muslim Americans. The attacks were followed by a wave of death threats and harassment against Muslims, and a rise in Islamophobia. Yet counterintuitively, the deadliest attack in history by a radical Islamist terrorist group has not resulted in a sharp rise in Islamophobia, but rather in greater pride, acceptance, and public visibility for Muslims, one of the fastest-growing demographic groups in the United States.
Since 9/11, Islamophobia and anti-Muslim attacks have been on the rise, with an exceptional spike in 2016 following Trump’s “Muslim Ban.” Yet despite facing racism and marginalization, America’s Muslim community continues to grow with a high birth rate. It is predicted that by 2040, Muslims will replace Jews as the second largest religious group in America.
But the Trump Ban also marks a turning point for American Muslims. Trump’s divisive politics and rhetoric forged a coalition of progressives, liberals, and moderates who saw his rise as a threat to the fundamental norms of what it means to be American. Women, the LGBTQ community, and people of color all felt threatened by the Trump administration and embraced Muslims as part of a coalition of oppressed peoples. For American Muslims, enough was enough, and they were waiting for the tide to turn.
In recent years, there has been a gradual acceptance of Muslim and Arab identities in American politics and culture. In 2007, Keith Ellison became the first Muslim elected to Congress, and in 2018, Rashida Tlaib became the first Palestinian woman elected to Congress. By 2020, a record 1.5 million Muslim Americans were registered to vote, and 71% voted, four points higher than the national average of 67%. More Muslim Americans are also running for public office, with a record 81 candidates running in 2020.
Arab identity, and Palestinian identity in particular, is receiving increasing attention, transforming from a purely political concept into a popular, even desirable, cultural identity. In 2022, Mo Amer became the first Palestinian lead character in an American television show in the Netflix series “Mo,” which depicts his days as a young refugee and entrepreneur in Houston, Texas.
By making the Palestinian experience entertaining and accessible, Amer has begun the Seinfeldization of Arab identity. In one scene, he takes his girlfriend to an olive grove where she works and befriends Mexican farmers. He sees the olive trees as a little bit of Houston. “Isn’t Houston your hometown?” she asks. “Of course, Houston is your hometown, but there’s another hometown that I can’t go back to,” he says, alluding to Palestine. Being Palestinian is no longer foreign, but part of the American dream of hard work, success, and belonging.
A cultural milestone in the United States
With Ramy Yousef as host, Arab identity reached a new cultural milestone. Saturday Night Live In March of last year, he became the second Arab host in SNL history. One of his most memorable sketches was “Ozempic in Ramadan,” which received both praise and criticism from the Muslim community and brought Ramadan directly into the mainstream through humor. In the monologue, he mocked the Biden campaign’s outreach to the Arab community and ended with a heartfelt prayer for peace in Gaza, calling for “free the Palestinian people. And free the hostages.”
Arab identity is seeping into the mainstream through pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the US. The growing popularity of the keffiyeh (a traditional Palestinian headscarf) worn by protesters shows how a symbol once almost exclusively associated with terrorism is being transformed into a fashionable, sexy accessory. Since October 7, Google searches have skyrocketed 1000% and keffiyeh sales have increased 75% on Amazon.
The rise of Arab and Muslim identity in America bears many similarities to another American minority that has been able to move from the fringes to the heart of the American mainstream: the Jews. Ironically, the Muslim community is following lessons directly from the Zionist playbook.
A century ago, American Jews were far from the highly integrated and successful minority they are today. They were relatively poor and plagued by prejudice and anti-Semitism. They were barred from country clubs, suffered quota restrictions at private universities like Harvard, and many companies refused to hire Jews. So how did Jews go from being a marginalized minority to being the most successful group in America, with three of the last four presidents marrying Jewish partners and having children?
Two events had a decisive influence. The first was World War II, when 500,000 American Jews served in the U.S. military. When these veterans returned from the war, they received benefits from the GI Bill and were supported in social mobility. The horrors of the Holocaust filled Americans with deep empathy for the Jewish community. For most people, this was their first exposure to the history of Jewish persecution.
The second event that brought Jews to center stage in America was the Six-Day War between Israel and the Arab countries in 1967. This was the moment when American Jews took their yarmulkes out of their pockets and stood proudly for the common cause. At a time when Israel was filled with fear that it was on the brink of catastrophe and haunted by its failure to act during the Holocaust, American Jews mobilized through massive fundraising, rallies, and intense lobbying. The swift and impressive victory transformed Israel from a weak state into a regional power, demonstrating its power to the whole world. With Israel considered the winner, American Jews were much more comfortable showing their love for Israel, and the calculations of the Cold War made the US-Israeli alliance stronger.
Jewish entry into mainstream America had immediate political and cultural implications: in 1961, there were only 12 Jewish members of Congress; by 1979, that number had nearly tripled. Intermarriage is another indicator of Jewish assimilation into American society: until 1970, only 17 percent of Jews married interfaith Jews, but by the end of the decade, this figure had doubled to 36 percent.
October 7th means the same thing to American Arabs and Muslims as the 1967 Six-Day War did to American Jews. In 1967, Israel was seen as the winner that contributed to the advancement of the Jewish people. Despite widespread condemnation, Hamas achieved the desired “winner” status on October 7th, and the Palestinian cause has proven to be an invigorating factor in the American Muslim community. Their highly successful “don’t care” campaign in the Democratic primaries showed that they can successfully mobilize voters. For the first time, the Arab vote is a voice that needs to be listened to. The growing support for the Palestinians among Americans, especially among young Democrats, proves that many Americans are indeed listening.
Many pro-Palestinian activists are expected to move into politics, and as their identities move from the shadows to the light, more Arab and Muslim Americans will assume positions of power and influence.
But this “Islamic moment” is not without its challenges: the fact that October 7th marked the beginning of this moment has instilled anti-American and anti-Semitic sentiment in Arab and Muslim communities, as evidenced by the numerous encampments and anti-Semitic protests that took place in front of the Nova Festival exhibits.
American Muslims lack mainstream organizational capacity, with much of their economic infrastructure concentrated in mosques and organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), but after its president said on October 7 that he was “happy” to see Palestinians leave Gaza, the White House denied this.
The “Islamic moment” comes at a time when American Jews are experiencing an unprecedented rise in anti-Semitism and hate crimes. One of the most widely read stories in the Jewish community is The Atlantic’s cover story, “The Golden Age of American Jewry is Ending.” It resonated with many as it described the end of an unprecedented era of safety and prosperity for Jewish Americans.
As is currently happening, the rise of Muslim and Arab identities and the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas have pitted Jews and Muslims in the United States against each other, creating major challenges for both communities in gaining status and power within the United States.
America is experiencing an “Islamic moment,” there’s no doubt about that. But how it will play out remains to be seen. Will the Muslim community ultimately distance itself from the atrocities of October 7 and create more moderate, mainstream organizations, or will extremist movements assume the role of representing the voice of Muslim Americans?
Instead of setting an example of coexistence and exporting solutions for peace, American Jews and Muslims are bringing the Middle East conflict to the U.S. This must change. While we cannot control the course of history, both communities can choose how to respond.
The author is a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Middle East Initiative and an expert on Israeli-U.S. relations, the Middle East, and world Jewry.
