Why does racial stereotypes occur?
Anti-Arab and Muslim stereotypes remain persistent in American popular and political culture because of foreign policy attitudes and assumptions, competing domestic constituencies and public ignorance about this population. As people of color with non-Western customs, language, and names and in some cases religious affiliation, Arabs present a cultural and historical tradition unfamiliar to most Americans. While the majority of Arab immigrants have historically been of the Christian faith, the association of Arab culture with Islam has also resulted in a cultural disconnect between the Middle East and American’s Judeo-Christian foundations.
