الفهرس 
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Abstract
Arab Americans have faced a dilemma in the period
following the 9/11 attacks. They have been occasionally
suspected; they have often visited and interrogated by the
American government agents without any real evidence that
shows they are spies or terrorists. This is revealed through the
number of bias-motivated hate crimes reported by the National
Uniform Crime Reporting Program which collects official data of
the crimes against Arab Americans especially Muslims in post
9/11 America. For instance, this program reported 7,462 hate
crimes in 2002 in the United States. This thesis discusses the
dilemma faced by Arab Americans through its three different
chapters. In addition, it highlights the identity crisis that most
Arab Americans suffer from, as they often do not know to which
country they belong.
This thesis is divided into an introduction, three chapters
and a conclusion. The introduction briefly offers a background of
Arab Americans, including the different reasons which led them
to travel to the United States. It also focuses on the post-colonial
theory which serves as a theoretical framework of the thesis. The
introduction handles the theory highlighting the two terms coined
by Homi Bhabha ”mimicry” and ”ambivalence”. It also refers to
the contribution of Frantz Fanon, Edward Said and Gayatri
Spivak to the theory.
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Chapter one, entitled ”Back of the Throat: The Dilemma of
the Oppressed”, has explored the play and analyzed the harsh
treatment Khaled, the protagonist of the play, receives just
because he is an Arab and Muslim. Back of the Throat poses
serious questions through humour. Moreover, the element of
suspicion overwhelms the whole play. The two government
agents suspect that Khaled has a relation with terrorists and
behave accordingly. This results in a great deal of irony and dark
comedy.
Chapter two, ”Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and
Combat: Enemies are Nearby”, has handled a significant theme
which is that close friends can be the worst enemies. This is
evident in the play as Gamal opposes Noor, Mohsen and Sheikh
Alfani and behaves as an enemy to them. The play, thus, focuses
on the violent encounters among Arab Americans.
Chapter three, ”Language Rooms: Patriotism or
Espionage”, has revisited the theme which El Guindi has started
in Back of the Throat. Language Rooms clarifies that Khaled has
been isolated in a Guantanamo-like area and he is interrogated by
Ahmed who happens to be a translator within such area. The play,
thus, discusses the father-son relationship and how it gets affected
by conflict. It subtly shows that the United States adopts a policy
which makes close family members interrogate each other.
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The Conclusion sums up the findings of the thesis and
offers a comparison of the three plays Back of the Throat, Our
Enemies and Language Rooms. It shows the similarities between
the three plays and how they are thematically interlinked. It offers
an answer to the research questions posed in the introduction