Obituary: Jack Shaheen, a fighter against negative Arab stereotypes

LONDON: Dr. Jack Shaheen, an internationally recognized authority on anti-Arab stereotyping, passed away on Monday aged 81.
An American scholar and author of Lebanese origin, he dedicated his career to highlighting “a dangerously consistent pattern of hateful Arab stereotypes … that rob an entire people of their humanity.”
His works include “The TV Arab,” “Guilty: Hollywood’s Verdict on Arabs After 9/11” and “Arab and Muslim Stereotyping in American Popular Culture.”
Although not Muslim himself, Shaheen believed that “whenever we see anyone vilified on a regular basis, we have to speak up.”
He is best known for authoring “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People,” which was adapted to a documentary, and for which he studied 1,000 Hollywood films over a span of more than a century.
Shaheen’s research led him to conclude that “Arabs are the most maligned group in the history of Hollywood.”
In exploring the reasons for this systemic anti-Arab sentiment in the film industry, he said: “Once upon a time I thought the stereotyping of Arabs was because of ignorance. No more. I know it is more straight-out purposeful now ... Arab-bashing is a sure-fire box office winner.”
He gave lectures and media appearances, was a consultant on Middle East affairs at US broadcaster CBS News, and received awards from the University of Pennsylvania (where he did his master’s) and the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).
The Dearborn, Michigan-based Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) named him Arab American of the Year in 2015.
Having received a Fulbright scholarship to teach at the American University of Beirut (AUB), he was also a professor of mass communications at Southern Illinois University, and the distinguished visiting scholar at New York University’s Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies.
Despite highlighting Hollywood’s widespread portrayal of Arabs as “sub-human,” and its use of them as “stock villains” and “comic relief,” he said he was optimistic that “the stereotype will change.”