This book is a powerful indictment of dominant American liberal-left discourse. Through twelve stylish essays, Steven Salaita returns again and again to his core themes of anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia and the inadequacy of critical thought among the "chattering classes," showing how racism continues to exist in the places where we would least expect it. By looking at topics as diverse as "Is "Jackass "Justifiable?," "Open Mindedness on Independence Day" and "Ambition, Terrorism and Empathy," Salaita explores why Arabs are marginalized, and who seeks to benefit from this. He goes on to make the case that Arabs and Muslims urgently need to be included in the conversations that people have about American geopolitics. Part of a long tradition of politically engaged writing, and a trailblazer in the emerging genre of Arab-American writing, this book is eminently readable and relevant to our times.

Acknowledgments Introduction Anti-Arab Racism, American Liberals, and the New Civilian TerroristsThe Indispensably Expendable I Was Called up to Commit GenocideOpen-Mindedness on Independence DayMichael Moore Does It AgainAmbition, Terrorism, and EmpathyIs Jackass Unjustifiable?The Perils and Profits of Doing Comparative WorkWhat is Michael Lerner Really Talking About?Immigrants Are Not HomogenousDistress and Bluster at Columbia; Or, the Day Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Was Invited to Academe and Promptly Emblematized Terrorism The Zealots of Clandestine FaithConclusion