Being an Arabic woman in the United States has proved trying since Sept. 11, being a Palestinian is another matter entirely.
There were no streetlights down the longback-road; the arms of the yellow gates were left open just enough for a car tofit through. The darkness of the hidden stretch of road left the Muslimcommunity center of north Tampa secluded from the outside world.
In the parking lot, a photographer was politely asked to leave until she saidshe had an appointment with one of the sisters. Effects of the Sept. 11terrorist attacks on Muslim communities in America have been powerful. ManyAmericans reach out in understanding; others have sought retribution throughvandalism and intimidation.
The children didn't seem to notice anything had changed. A dozen of them ranfrom the playground past the Mosque and through the courtyard squeaking andsweating on a humid January night under the floodlights. Nahla Al-Arian walkedquickly out of the community center for greetings and offered tea for comfort. Anumber of women dressed from head to toe in finely detailed cloth chatted to oneanother in Arabic and offered to watch Nahla's youngest daughter while she spokewith the reporter.
Being an Arabic woman in the United States has proved trying since Sept. 11,being a Palestinian is another matter entirely. Once, while at a local mall,Nahla offered to help a woman with her baby carriage down an escalator. Thewoman gasped and pulled the carriage away from Nahla as if she were "goingto kidnap the child," Nahla said. Because she wears a hijab (Islamichead-covering) she has often been looked at in trepidation and mistrust and whenshe and her kids visited her homeland in 1998, now occupied by Israel, they feltthey were looked at like "animals and terrorists".
Nahla's older brother Mazen, spent 3 years of his life in federal custodywithout being charged for a crime, 1,307 days from 1997-2000. The secretevidence the government had held against him proved not to be so incriminatingaccording to an Immigration and Naturalization Services judge.
Nahla spent those three years fighting for his release and lobbying to endthe use of secret evidence.
In November of last year, while doing laundry, Mazen was again detained afterAttorney General John Ashcroft received powers given to him by Congress to roundup those he felt were a risk to national security. Two months earlier in lateSeptember, her husband was put on 'paid leave' from his job as a tenuredprofessor of computer engineering at the University of South Florida for anappearance he made on the conservative talk show The O'Reilly Factor. O'Reillyclaimed Al-Arian had ties to terrorists and pointed to an earlier speech he madewhen a comment was translated in English to "Death to Israel".Al-Arian said the producer deceived him by saying he was to speak for the Muslimcommunity in the U.S. to educate viewers and avoid unwarranted attacks onAmerican-Arabs.
In December, when Sami's student and faculty supporters were gone, theuniversity's board of trustees, a group of local conservative business leadershand-picked by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, recommended to university President JudyGenshaft that Al-Arian be fired. Nahla's husband of 23 years has been the centerof attention in local news and has received quite a bit of national news aswell. He's been called a terrorist link in the United States by some pundits inthe media, but has also been a rallying point for civil libertarians andacademicians.
Their eldest son Abdullah, a Duke University undergrad and intern to Rep.David Bonior, D-Mich., was asked to leave the White House without explanationwhile attending a briefing with members of the Faith-Based and CommunityInitiatives. The incident caused all other groups participating to walk out inprotest.
The FBI has shown up unannounced, searched her home and confiscated some ofthe family's possessions. There have been death threats on her husband and themedia have humiliated her family. Since Sept. 11 she and her family have beentreated with suspicion, harassed and yet her voice remains soft and centered,her movements are gentle and direct.
"She is such an inspiration," Jodi Nettleton, co-president ofGraduate Assistants United at USF and a campus activist said. "She is sostrong and has such courage to stand up during these times. And she's just sucha sweet woman."
Although she's been through a lot before and after Sept. 11, she is a womanwho says she can't complain. Talking to a reporter seems like too muchattention, but she does offer some insight. "You know, sometimes I wake upat five in the morning and I start thinking about all of this and can't get backto sleep," she said staring at her thin fingers through her hijab. "Ifeel very scared for my family and I feel insecure."
"This is stuff she's had to go through her whole life," LailaAl-Arian, Nahla's daughter said. "She's a Palestinian refugee. She's verystrong in her convictions even though she's soft spoken."
Only Mazen, the eldest, was born in Gaza in a country once called Palestine.Nahla was born in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 75 miles northeast of theholy city of Mecca. Her father was an Arabic teacher there and supported thefamily, which eventually grew to seven children. Nahla was a shy young girl whodidn't speak much, remained dedicated to religion and studied meticulously atschool. Nahla's father knew the value of education especially for statelessPalestinians. He made it a priority for all of his seven children and madecountless sacrifices to ensure that they were given a higher education incollege. "My father always used to say, 'education is a Palestinian's onlyweapon,'" Nahla said.
When Nahla was very young, her father brought the family to the occupiedPalestinian territories (Nahla still refers to it as Palestine) every year forvacation to keep the old homeland close to his children's heart. Nahla remembersa little family that lived in Gaza whom was close to her family when theyvacationed during those long hot summer days in the early 1960s. She remembersthe family was not rich, but didn't struggle, most of all though, she remembershow happy and humble they were. Speaking of that little family brings a smile toNahla's face.
In the beginning of the summer of 1967, Nahla's father again prepared hisfamily for a vacation in Palestine. Days before departure on June 5, the newscame through her father's little transistor radio in Jeddah. The Israeli armyhad attacked and bombed the Egyptian air force that lay idle. The Six Day Warhad begun.
"My father literally fainted and fell on the floor right in front ofeverybody when he heard the news on the radio," Nahla said. "It wasdevastating." At the end the Six Day War, Israel, armed by the Americans,humiliated the Arab world. Israel now occupied Syria's Golan Heights, Egypt'sSinai as well as the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in Palestine. The biggestembarrassment though, was the loss of Jerusalem.
Gamal Abd-Al Nasser, the charismatic Egyptian socialist president who triedso hard to unite the Arab world in a Pan-Arab political alliance, offered toresign afterwards.
By 1971 the political environment in the Arab world had changed. The SaudiArabian leaders had begun a closer relationship with the West, and Palestinians,already immigrants there, were finding it more difficult to stay. It wasn't longbefore Nahla's father began having trouble with the Saudi government.
"The whole situation was very similar to Mazen's many years later,"Nahla said. "There was a lot of secrecy involved."
Nahla's mother was crushed.
"She cried as if somebody died, she was very scared about what thefuture held for us," Nahla's brother Mohamed said.
The family was again displaced and unsure of what to do. In a moment ofclarity, or necessity, Nahla's father decided on Cairo.
Contrasting her mother, 11 year-old Nahla was very excited to move from SaudiArabia to the cultural center of the Arab world. Cairo was a place of modernbuildings, the arts and excellent education and was the center of the Arab worldfor women's freedom. She would no longer be forced to wear a hijab, she wouldhave a choice in Cairo. "Saudi Arabia was much more strict, especially forwomen. Segregation was everywhere. In Cairo, women had choices. I was very happyto leave Saudi Arabia even though my mother was upset."
At 12 years-old in October 1973 Egyptian president Anwar Sadat earned therespect of his countrymen when he invaded the Sinai on the Jewish holiday of YomKippur. Eventually the Israelis countered and sped toward Cairo where Nahla wasintroduced to war. Living in Eastern Cairo with Israeli planes flying above, thefamily got up in the middle of the night to break the Ramadan fast but wasn'tallowed to turn the lights on for fear of Israeli bombs. The young family wasleft in the dark and if someone accidentally turned on a light in the house,neighbors would scream at them to turn it off for fear of being targeted.
"That was the worst thing, I don't ever want to experience anything likethat again." Nahla said. At 14 years old Nahla was devastated when shewitnessed the death of a close girlfriend who was run over by a street trolleyright next to her. The difficulty in watching a close friend die stayed with herfor many years.
During those years in Cairo, there was a cultural revolution. Cairo was beingheavily influenced by the West, Sadat was liberalizing the economy and theAmericanization of Cairo was in full swing. Like many girls in Cairo, Nahlastopped wearing her hijab. She went to the movies, public parks and enjoyed theopen society.
But when she reached the age of 15, she began to have deep questions aboutlife and faith and drew inspiration from a close friend who was a devout Muslim.Unlike most girls her age, Nahla began wearing her hijab again and startedtaking religion seriously.
She was ridiculed by some men in Cairo for wearing it in a time of socialchange. There were very small Islamic youth movements beginning though. Cairowas starting to show the ugly side of Westernization such as greed, disparitiesin wealth and sexual promiscuity. Mosques began to reach out to those in need, aplace where the increasing amount of poor people could go for free schooling,food and medical attention which outlines the traditional sense of Islamiccharity in the Arab world.
"People turned to God for justice. Going back to God was a revoltagainst mass consumerism and wearing the head-covering was a revolt againstbeing treated as sex objects for young woman," Nahla said. "It wasliberating to wear the hijab again."
An Islamic Marriage It was about this time that Nahla's older brother Mazenbegan hanging around with another Palestinian. His name was Sami Al-Arian. Nahlanever paid any attention to Sami, he was just another guy to Nahla. Yet thefriendship between the young Palestinian boys in Cairo was a very special andintellectual one. They went to lectures, spent their money on books andconversed for hours at a time on philosophy, religion and politics.
"My parents used to get mad at Mazen for spending all of his allowanceon books," Nahla said proudly. "Mazen is a walking encyclopedia, hereally has a photographic memory."
Nahla's grades were excellent, even better than Sami's. When it was time forcollege she chose to study English Literature even though she was accepted tostudy medicine. She studied Shakespeare, Milton, Keats and Blake and wasenjoying college life.
Every once in a while she would sneak into Mazen's room and read letters thatwere written to him from Sami who had moved to America and was studyingengineering at the University of Illinois. Sami was very active in America, heorganized Islamic groups, gave speeches on awareness of Islam and even went toprisons to speak to Muslim inmates.
"I learned a lot about him through his letters," Nahla said."I loved reading those letters and I learned a lot about his personality. Iwas impressed."
In 1979, after earning an undergraduate degree in engineering, Sami came backto Egypt to look for a wife. When Mazen said his younger sister was availableSami jumped at the opportunity, as he had already been attracted to her for sometime. And thus began the four steps of an Islamic marriage.
First, Sami's mother came to visit Nahla and although they never once spokeof Sami, Nahla was quickly given approval. "My mother and grandmother fellin love with her," Sami said. Second, the future bride and groom sat downtogether to make sure there was a mental and mutual agreement.
"After one visit we felt we were ready to accept an engagement,"Nahla said. Third, the men of Sami's family gathered with the men of Nahla'sfamily for a formal marriage proposal. Nahla's father traveled from south Yemenand didn't accept Sami's proposal until he got the word from Nahla that she wassure. Nahla's father had only one stipulation, after starting a family Sami hadto promise that he would see to it that Nahla would finish her education, ofwhich Sami agreed.
The fourth step is the signing of the marriage contract finalizing the union.Nahla is quick to point out where she comes from marriage is important and nottaken lightly. "In our culture, a man enters through the front door, notthe window," Nahla said. "To go to the family of the woman to ask forher hand shows that he is willing to commit. Marriage is not just between a manand a woman, but between two families," Nahla said.
Sami said he had been attracted to her years before he proposed but neversaid anything and after reading Sami's letters to Mazen, Nahla felt attracted tohim from a distance as well. "I had proposals from other men who were muchricher than Sami. But because he was religious and I felt I we were connected, Ichose him."
By then, Sami had been accepted in a graduate program in computer engineeringat North Carolina University. As an English Literature student in Cairo, Nahlathought she would be able to understand English when she arrived in NorthCarolina. "Wow was I surprised, I didn't understand a single word, it wasnothing like what I had studied," she said.
In order to learn, she started watching Star Trek re-runs over and over untilshe improved.
By 1981 she had given birth to Abdullah and Laila. Abdullah now is a seniorat Duke University majoring in political science and history, a columnist forThe Chronicle, a campus newspaper. Laila is an undergrad at GeorgetownUniversity and was recently elected to the editorial board of La Hoya, also acampus newspaper.
After Leena was born in 1985, Sami fulfilled his promise to his father-in-lawand Nahla went back to college after a six-year hiatus earning a degree inreligious studies from USF and has had two of her papers published in nationallyrecognized periodicals.
For many years she lived the American dream. She was free to teach Islam inthe Muslim community where she now has 270 students from many differentcountries and races. After graduating from North Carolina University, both Samiand Mazen were offered doctoral degrees from USF and afterwards were given jobsas professors at the Tampa university. Both Sami and Mazen organized groupscentered around Arab and Palestinian causes. The World and Islam StudiesEnterprise and the Islamic Concern Project.
After the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 was connected to aprevious speaker for WISE both Mazen and Sami were targeted by the U.S.government for whom they were associated. Later, another speaker ended upbecoming the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a militant group connectedto terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians.
The links prompted an FBI to investigate and brought unwanted attention toUSF. Both Sami and Mazen were placed on paid leave in 1995 pending the FBIinvestigation, and an inquiry by William Reece Smith, an attorney hired by theuniversity to conduct an inquiry on his own. Lama, the youngest in the family,had a nightmare about one of the FBI agents that searched Nahla's home.
Sami was eventually given his job back but in 1997, Mazen was detained byfederal agents without being charged for a crime. The Secret Evidence Actallowed the government to hold illegal aliens it deemed a threat to nationalsecurity.
The detention became a national issue and catapulted Sami into the nationalspotlight in his stance against the use of secret evidence. But Sami was notalone Nahla and many other Muslim women gave speeches in New York, WashingtonD.C., Georgia and Michigan.
"It was the Muslim women that stood up for Mazen the most. Many of themen were themselves scared of secret evidence.. For myself, I had to learn topush my shyness to the side to be able to speak in public but I had no otherchoice," Nahla said showing off smiling pictures of George W. Bush on his2000 campaign trail holding her youngest daughter Lama in his arm.
On a nationally televised debate, after three years of working the legalsystem for Mazen's release, Republican nominee for president Bush spoke outagainst the use of secret evidence.
"Millions of people were listening to him when he said that," Samisaid. "I couldn't believe what I was hearing. At that moment, he had everyAmerican Muslim on his side."
By October 2000, Judge R. Kevin McHugh, after viewing the government's secretevidence against Mazen, released a scathing review of the government'smistreatment of Mazen and proclaimed that "WISE was a reputable andscholarly research center and the ICP was highly regarded. Not one excerpt ofthe composite depicted (Al-Najjar) engaging in fundraising for any (terrorist)organization."