Years from now, when historians look back on this decade and try to understand the first years of the so-called “war on terror,” any progress made will be determined by whether the narrative of the Muslim experience is included in this historiography.

If it is, then Moustafa Bayoumi’s book, “How Does It Feel To Be A Problem?” will be an indispensable guide. Borrowing the phrase from W.E.B. DuBois’ work, “The Souls of Black Folk,” Bayoumi makes the correct observation that this relatively new prejudice is, in fact, just the latest installment of a continuing American drama.

In “How Does It Feel To Be A Problem?”, Professor Bayoumi chronicles the lives of seven young Arab Americans in their early to mid-20s — six Muslim, one Christian — in the post-9/11 era, focusing on how they dealt with racism.

Their experience of chafing under employment discrimination, media bias, the Hollywood stereotype machine and American aggression/anti-terrorism while going through the usual rigors of growing up make their stories all the more compelling — and inspiring.

Professor Bayoumi does a decent job bringing these people’s experiences to life and putting the reader into the middle of their diverse lives and experiences in the one location they all have in common — Brooklyn, New York.

Each profile seems to highlight a different facet of American Arab/Muslim life.

Rasha, the Syrian American, lived through the nightmare of detention in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 along with her family. Sami was torn between his Arab heritage and his time in the Marines, especially during his two tours in Iraq. Lina was thrust into her Iraqi homeland and experienced sanctions as a way of de-Americanizing her. And so on.

Bayoumi’s choice of Brooklyn is interesting, considering that Dearborn has the highest concentration of Arabs in the United States.  Bayoumi claims Brooklyn has the highest numbers, a statement Los Angeles would certainly challenge.  Born in Zurich and raised in Canada, Bayoumi is an associate professor of English at Brooklyn College; he was coeditor of “The Edward Said Reader” and his writings have appeared in The Nation, London Review of Books and the Village Voice.

The book is readable, yet he over-emphasizes the personal over the empirical; while he cites certain studies showing workplace discrimination against Muslims as well as poll data, articles, etc., they melt away into the landscape of the interviewees’ lives.

That’s ok, but if Bayoumi’s intention were to understand the problem of Islamophobia, his goal would be better served through a more scholarly work, combining scientific data and dozens of interviews to paint a more complete picture.

The problem begs for more than a documentary look into seven lives; it demands a new way of looking at things. Islamophobia has to be put into perspective in order to be understood; it has to be understood in order to be fought. This book doesn’t quite do that, and I suspect Bayoumi’s goal is just to open up the minds of Americans in the hope that a simple observation through his words will be enough. Unfortunately, it isn’t.

Still, “How Does It Feel To Be A Problem?” is a well-written book on a subject that is often overlooked or treated as a side note to bigger problems, like the occupation of Iraq, Israeli aggression and civil liberties.

Racism is the outcome of these and other problems, but it fuels them as well, and maybe the first step towards solving them lies in combating that time honored American tradition of hating and dehumanizing those of a darker hue.