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Teacher challenges the mainstream view
Posted by Jeff (Guest) - Thursday, June 15 2006, 4:59:29 (CEST)
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Teacher challenges the mainstream view
By Ken Marten

Deborah Alkamano knows she’s ruffling feathers within the Chaldean community.

She presented a paper that questions how Chaldeans view and present their ethnicity at “Mapping Arab Diasporas: Border Crossings, Exile and Displacement,” an international conference sponsored by the Center for Arab American Studies in late April on the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus.

Alkamano, 40, is a full-time faculty member of the English division at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn. She teaches classes in English, research writing and Middle East identities.

Alkamano described her paper, “Multiple Betrayals: Reflections on Chaldean Identity & Academic Constructions of Ethnicity,” as a performance piece – part memoir, part academic exploration and part theory. She acknowledged that her concept of Chaldean ethnicity often contradicts that of other Chaldeans.

“I have always seen identity as multiple and prolific and profound and infinite and escaping definition,” Alkamano wrote in the conference abstract.
Foremost, Alkamano challenged the notion that Chaldeans are non-Arabs from the Arab world just because Chaldeans practice Catholicism and speak Aramaic. She said the non-Arab designation is historically inaccurate and believes Chaldeans in general are engaging in “Islamophobia” by making a conscious effort to widen the gap between Middle Eastern Christians and Muslims while presenting themselves as model Middle Easterners.

“I think mainstream America is afraid of immigrants, which is tied to racism,” she said. “In that sense, Chaldeans are no different than the mainstream American culture. American culture is Islamophobic, and Chaldeans have ingested that view.”

Alkamano said that while Islamophobia isn’t universal within the Chaldean community, it’s a view shared by many. Further, she believes the Chaldean movement to distinguish themselves from Arab Americans further isolates both identities, which in turn portrays both as feudal segregationists.

As evidence of Islamophobia, Alkamano points to the Chaldean effort of tracing the ethnicity’s roots to Babylonia. She said it’s a relatively new phenomenon.

“If it’s true that we’re from the ancient Babylonians, why are people just coming here from Iraq questioning that idea?” Alkamano asked. “They’re saying, ‘we never talked about that in Iraq.’ Twenty years ago in the 1980s we weren’t drumming that here in the U.S.”

Moreover, the lineage has a dark side. Under King Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BC), who likely suffered from mental illness, Babylonia was in a state of near-constant war. In 586, Nebuchadnezzar captured and subsequently destroyed Jerusalem, exiling the residing Jews to Babylon where they remained in captivity until 539. The Persians under Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and subsequently freed the Jews.

Alkamano said Islamophobic Chaldeans pressure other Chaldeans who hold more tolerant views.

“Those people (Chaldeans) who identify with Arabs, or those who work with other ethnic groups are asked, ‘why aren’t you working within the community?’” she said.

Alkamano said the prejudice expressed toward Arab Americans is often extended to other ethnic groups, notably African Americans.

“I think sometimes our community is very parochial, very narrow in its views,” she said. “Plenty of people say that behind closed doors.”

Alkamano said that local Chaldean church leadership is a notable exception and hopes all parishioners will someday practice what is preached. She said the local clergy is “more elastic and open minded” than the community in general.

Alkamano thinks Chaldean narrow-mindedness sometimes inappropriately delves into personal matters. She wishes Chaldeans would respect the privacy of other Chaldeans and accept lifestyles that meander from the perceived norm.

“A typical Chaldean marries a Chaldean, goes to church and has kids,” said Alkamano, who lives with her husband in Bloomfield Hills. “I don’t have kids and I’ve been married for eight and a half years. Chaldeans, whether they’re close relatives or whatever, bring it up and ask personal questions. Because we’re supposedly close-knit, they feel they can invade my privacy. We should be kinder and respectful of one another.”

Excessive emphasis on the model Middle Easterner image also comes at the expense of addressing problems with the Chaldean community, Alkamano contends. She noted that discussion about community maladies like gambling addiction, a high divorce rate and a tendency toward materialism is often stifled in favor presenting a perfect ethnic picture.

Every culture has diversity as well as pluralistic voices that speak for the culture, Alkamano said, pointing to American culture and the divergent voices heard in ongoing national debates over the war in Iraq, immigration and the economy. Alkamano would like the Chaldean community to adopt America’s pluralism rather than embrace its Islamophobia.

“We’re a new community and we’re trying to survive as a community,” Alkamano said. “But for some people, survival means cohesiveness, and cohesiveness means a unified voice. I have a problem with the idea of a unified voice. I don’t feel our community is open to a dissenting view.”



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