‘If Not Now, When?’: The Arab American National Museum During the Post-9/11 Era and Afterward

Abstract

The Arab American National Museum (AANM) opened in 2005 to represent and serve the Arab American community following the surge in anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia after the September 11, 2001 attacks (9/11). With its opening, the AANM challenged predominant narratives concerning the Arab American community during the post-9/11 era, offering a multicultural vision for American society amid a landscape where Arab and Muslim inclusion to Western civilization was up for debate. The AANM remains an example for how hybrid museums can platform ethnic minorities and enable them to assert their perspectives. However, since the post-9/11 era, the AANM’s core galleries have fallen out of sync with the community and its own programming. They should be updated to reflect the community’s changed needs and interests.