| The focus of this phenomenological study was to better understand the educational and career assimilation experiences of Arab American Muslims in a Midwestern city after September 11, 2001. Researchers have examined the history of assimilation and integration for various immigrant groups in the United States. However, researchers have only recently acknowledged the importance of allowing Arab American Muslims the opportunity to share personal stories of their assimilation and integration efforts. The primary theoretical construct for this study was Portes and Rumbaut's conceptualization of segmented assimilation. The central research question of this study explored how the events of 9/11 shaped the lifestyle changes, patriotism to America, and allegiance to both their culture and religion among Arab American Muslims from a metropolitan area in the upper Midwest. Data were collected through 17 individual participant interviews. These interviews were transcribed and coded using in vivo coding, axial coding, selective coding, and text queries. A key finding of this study was that the participants perceived the public vilification of all Muslims; this perception deeply impacted the participants personally, presented barriers to employment, and contributed to a sense of betrayal by the United States government. Positive social change implications emerging from the findings are better informed federal, state, and local policy makers in terms of the post-9/11 experiences of Arab American Muslims and greater consideration of future policy implementation that better protects Arab American Muslims from discrimination in key areas such as employment and education. |
