Our experience with visiting an Arabic bookstore differed greatly from the experiences of those who visited the Spanish or Japanese bookstores. We went in hoping to learn more about the Arabic-Muslim community reflected through their literature, and we came out with a sinking feeling of the burden of current events and how it is keeping us from learning about a rich and thriving culture.

Trying to locate an Arabic bookstore that still existed was our first struggle. It seemed as if all the Arabic bookstores of N.Y.C. had disappeared as we visited places that were supposed to be places of Arabic literature but had instead long been transformed into pet stores and boutiques. When we finally found what had appeared to be the only remaining vestige of Arabic bookstores in N.Y.C., we were ecstatic to finally interview the shop’s owner. Unfortunately, he was not nearly as excited to talk to us. He regarded us suspiciously and left us to our own devices to explore his store. He didn’t mind us looking around but as soon as we started asking questions he gave off an air of hostility. He immediately questioned who we were and what we wanted and likened us to the media who negatively portray his community, even through all our insistence that we were merely college students trying to complete a project. We took a more cautious approach upon his obvious apprehensiveness, trying to spark a friendly conversation. However he made it clear he was afraid to and didn’t want to share any personal information, telling us to search online for any information we want. We attempted to sway the owner during a second visit, bringing one of our fathers to speak to him, in the hope that he would feel comfortable speaking to an older figure. Even then, there were no words that any of us could have spoken to change the owner’s conception of us. If there’s anything to learn from these visits is that it is necessary to try to understand the fear that people like him have of losing their business and culture due to negative portrayal in media. This particular business owner’s form of preservation was silence.