Monday, October 29, 2001

At Session for Arab and American Students, Political Friction and Personal Friendliness By THOMAS BARTLETT College Park, Md. At first, the discussion was less contentious than an average graduate seminar. But that changed when the moderator asked students to raise their hands if they believed Osama bin Laden was definitely responsible for the September 11 attacks. Most students from the United States put a hand in the air. Most Arab students did not. It was a demonstration of the political divide between 20 Arab Fulbright scholars studying in the United States and 20 American graduate students from the University of Maryland at College Park. The two groups were brought together for a colloquium Friday and Saturday on the Maryland campus. The event was sponsored by Amideast, a Washington-based organization that promotes academic exchange between the United States and the Arab world. Although the two-day event was divided into sessions with titles like "What Are Sources of Perceptions (Education, Media, Travel, Etc.)?" and "How Can Stereotypes Best Be Overcome?" students largely disregarded the planned topics. Instead, the discussion was free-wheeling and often personal. When Shannon C. Bentz, who is studying psychology at Maryland, described his feelings following the terrorist attacks, his voice trembled with anger. "My country had nothing to do with what happened," he said. "We got up, went to work, and we were brutally, brutally attacked." Mr. Bentz's belief that the United States shoulders no responsibility for the attacks was shared by few other students in either group. "We think that the United States is indirectly responsible because of its policies," said Rula Khalafawi, from the Gaza Strip, who is studying international policy at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California. That statement was echoed by Fahid Rabah, also from the Gaza Strip. Mr. Rabah, who is studying environmental engineering at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, condemned the attacks, as did all the students, but said he does not believe that the United States is blameless. "Osama is feeding on problems caused by the American government," Mr. Rabah said. Some of the harshest criticism of the United States came from the Maryland students. "Americans need to take a long, hard look at the dirty face of American foreign policy," said Amy E. Pate, who is studying government and politics. The first two sessions were filmed by the television program Nightline. The Maryland students and those from Arab countries were divided into two groups, and seated facing each other. Although the colloquium was billed as a "roundtable discussion," the format was closer to a political debate, with a member of one group responding to assertions made by a member of the other. Most of the students, accustomed to less-formal classroom interaction, chafed at the restrictions. The moderator was ignored several times by students who felt compelled to speak out of turn. Both sides said that news-media coverage in the United States in the wake of the events of September 11 events had been biased and incomplete. "The American media is not representing the truth," said Khalfan Al Harrasi, from Oman, who is studying English as a second language at the University of Northern Iowa. "They are concentrating on how to retaliate, how to get revenge. They should be playing a role in calming people down," he said. When Katie Swanson, who is studying public affairs at Maryland, wondered why more Muslim leaders had not publicly rebuked Mr. bin Laden, Arab students countered that they had, but that it had not been reported widely in the United States. Since September 11, there have been widespread accounts of Arab students in the United States having been harassed and assaulted. Many have returned to their home countries. While Arab students at the colloquium said they were worried about such incidents, none had experienced anything similar themselves. "I believe most of that has faded away," said Khaled Ishaq, from Yemen, who is in the international-studies program at the University of Oregon. Several students said that "our common humanity" would win out eventually over cultural, religious, and political differences. Others, like Ms. Khalafawi, were more skeptical. "I hear everyone saying that we need to get together, blah blah blah. But how are we going to do that?" In the afternoon on Friday, once television crews had departed, the discussion became more personal. Nadia Abdulhaq, who is from the West Bank, cried when she talked about how her father spent three years in Israeli custody. Most Arab students said their first contact with the United States was from watching television and movies. "Americans just seemed so nice and funny," said Rawaa Al-Saadi, who is studying civil engineering at Texas Tech University. She said her favorite program growing up in Syria was the sitcom Three's Company. Such lighter moments were more frequent as the event progressed. Although there were heated exchanges during the sessions, it was a different story when students mingled informally. At lunch, arguments over U.S.-Arab relations gave way to discussions of the best nightclubs in the area and complaints of endless dissertation research. As Mr. Rabah put it, "Just talking together felt very good." Background articles from The Chronicle: Arab Students in U.S. Head Home, Citing Growing Hostility (10/5/2001) A Scholar Without a Country (10/26/2001) Issues in depth: Articles on the terrorist attacks at the Pentagon and World Trade Center, and their aftermath Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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