DETROIT – A full-day conference awaited local activists, students, community leaders and other attendees at this past weekend’s ‘A Year in Tahrir: The Future of Arab Spring and Its Implications in the United States’ at Wayne State University. The monumental mass movement in the Arab World was discussed in a wide variety of conferences by scholars and members of various organizations.  

At one such discussion titled ‘The Arab Spring and American Politics,’ Professor Saeed Khan of Wayne State University noted that the movements originally united Arab Americans across the board, but now there are questions about how they will respond as time passes. He said that the older generation still feels very much directly involved while the younger generation is beginning to feel more on the periphery, and both have not seen the results they had hoped for originally. 

“The challenge for the youth moving forward is whether or not they will continue to engage and to feel motivated (by the Arab Spring),” he said.

He also noted the movements’ impact on political awareness in general in America. 

“We’re seeing more people engaged in what’s going on whether it’s the fight for workers’ rights in Wisconsin or the emergency manager laws in Michigan, that kind of awareness has become much better-grounded.” 

Other conferences at the day-long event included members of the Arab American Institute in Washington, D.C., members of various think tank organizations and more, with titles including ‘The Spark of Revolution’ and ‘External Actors: Help or Hindrance.’ 

As the dust has settled from the Arab Spring, Arab Americans and Muslims have continued to feel the need to prove their loyalty to the country, but polls show they are, as Fay Beydoun, executive director of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce, noted, while they also have a lot invested overseas. 

“Every poll shows that Arab Americans and Muslims want the same things and have the same concerns as other Americans; healthcare, education, things like that, but they still have a strong connection to their original homes and they tend to have a great interest in foreign policy.” 

She also spoke about the importance the quest to invest in the region before other foreign powers do. 

Imad Hamad, regional director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said that he’s noticed a continuing trend of discrimination at home but said that there is hope to be found in the American political system, as did Khan, who noted the increased amount of Arab and Muslim names on local ballots in places like Dearborn, Canton, Hamtramck and other cities. 

“The elections are very important, even though after  Arab Spring the challenges at home are doubling,” he said. “I see the light in the political area…We have hundreds of youth getting people out to vote and ready to move forward.”