[Update after the quotes!]

Very interesting article in Foreign Policy entitled Arabs in Foreign Lands.

The article begins:
People of Arab descent living in the United States are doing far better than the average American. That is the surprising conclusion drawn from data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2000 and released last March. The census found that U.S. residents who report having Arab ancestors are better educated and wealthier than average Americans.

Whereas 24 percent of Americans hold college degrees, 41 percent of Arab Americans are college graduates. The median income for an Arab family living in the United States is $52,300—4.6 percent higher than other American families—and more than half of all Arab Americans own their home.

Compare this to Arabs in Europe:
In general, Muslims living in Europe—of which Arabs constitute a significant proportion—are poorer, less educated, and in worse health than the rest of the population.

The article concludes:
This census data should prompt soul-searching in many quarters. Cultural determinists may want to revise their theories of Arab backwardness. Arab leaders should be ashamed when they see their emigrants prospering in the United States while their own people are miserable. And Europe should wake up to the possibility that it may have less of an “Arab problem” than a “European problem.” Then again, maybe the cultural determinists have an explanation for why Europeans are so predisposed against Arab success.

I didn't know that Arab Americans were doing so well in the USA... Interesting...
C

[Update: Foreign Policy article above may be misleading because of demographic differences in Arabs immigrating to the U.S. - one of the commenters on Daniel Drezner's web site linked to the Arab American Institute web page and said, The main characteristics of the Arab American population can be found here:
http://www.aaiusa.org/demographics.htm
In effect, most are of Syrian/Lebanese/Palestinian/Assyrian ancestry and only 24% are Muslim. In Europe, most Middle Eastern immigrants are North African Muslims or Turks.
The mystery might be solved.]
- posted by Christoph Roggenkamp @ 5/24/2005 03:58:00 PM