| المستخلص: |
Migration is a prototypical rite of passage involving transition in space, territory, and group membership. Migrants are border-crossers who create transnational identities that mediate between different geographies and nations. This transnational identity recalls the folk archetype of Sindbad the Sailor of the Arabian Nights, a metaphor used here to indicate a role model for migrants’ successful adventures that go beyond locality, regionally and nationality. Sindbad is not merely a boater, but a determined traveler, adventurer and navigator spirited to succeed in finding new opportunities in new frontiers. Unlike authors such as Clifford (1997: 38), Julian (2004), and others, who have focused heavily on the oral histories of immigrants, in this paper, I discuss different forms of expression, in addition to oral narration, including writing. Arab American writings have played a critical role not only in documenting social and political events, but also in alerting nations and local communities of the consequences of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim attitudes intensively prevalent in the US following 9/11, thus providing a platform for discussions and potential solutions. These views are examined within the perspectives of both Arab American writers, as represented here by Edward Said, and ordinary Arab immigrants of the Detroit metropolitan area. The paper analyzes their complex positioning and various alternatives that have been proposed and discussed by Arab-American intellectuals, especially Edward Said, as related to the experiences of ordinary immigrant Arab Muslims and non-Muslims, and particularly, as in this paper, Egyptian-Arab immigrants [Arab Americans, identity, travel/immigration, diaspora].
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