JOSEPH RICHARD PREVILLE What inspired you to write Arab Voices? There were two principle reasons. First and foremost is that the United Sates is deeply engaged and invested across the Middle East, and yet knows so little about the region. As a result, we have made significant foreign policy blunders, compromising our interests and our allies. As I note in the book, at the time we went into Iraq, only about 11 percent of Americans under the age of 35 could even find Iraq on the map. And because our educational system inadequately prepares Americans to understand the world, most of our thinking about Arabs is characterized by myths and stereotypes. The second reason is because after 40 years of traveling about and working in this region [the Middle East], I have come to know Arabs and wanted to share what I know with readers in the US, telling them stories of people I have met and experiences I have had. How will your book promote a deeper understanding of Arabs and their concerns? In the book, I take on five “super myths” about Arabs and attempt to knock each down by using hard data derived form exhaustive polling we have conducted across the Arabs world for more than a decade. While I tell stories to put “flesh on the bones” the polling is important because it provides a precise measure of real Arab attitudes about themselves, about their lives and their attitudes toward the US. Through this data, we learned that Arabs aren't all the same, but there are common threads of political concerns they share that creates and Arab identity. They're not all angry fanatics and they are not resistant to change. We also learned that while Arabs don't like American policy, they do like Americans and appreciate their way of life. The Arab American Institute is now 25 years old. What do you consider its greatest achievement? We have helped support a new generation of Arab Americans coming into the political mainstream, finding their place in both political parties, running for and winning elective office and securing appointments in government posts on the federal, state and local level. Through all this, we have helped solidify an Arab American identity and a commitment to public service and we have helped give voice to Arab American concern in critical policy debates. What touched you personally on your visits to Saudi Arabia? First and foremost are the Saudi people. From my very first visit 30 years ago, I was struck by the vitality and creativity of the business community, and I marveled at the creative energies at work in building a new country and modern cities from the ground up. Over the years I have seen significant changes in the country, defying those in the west who think that the kingdom is stuck in the past. I plan to be in Saudi Arabia in the end of Jan. 2011 How can Americans pay closer attention to Arab voices from around the world? There are many ways available for Americans to better understand Arabs. In the first place, they have to be open to listening, because if you don't listen, you can't learn. The Internet provides access to American readers to follow developments in almost every Arab country through the newspapers and even their television networks. And in every major US city, there are universities with Arab students and Arab professors and there are Arab American organizations that people can reach out to engage in conversation. But the Arab world can help too, and this is something I have advocated for decades. More delegations of Arab leaders, business people, and just regular citizens need to come to the US on a continuing basis to speak in cities large and small and to engage the American people where they live. We will not fully shatter the myths until Americans know Arabs, and they can't really know them unless they meet them.
