AUTHENTIC ARABS, AUTHENTIC CHRISTIANS: ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX AND THE ...

266 Pages·2010·2.55 MB·English

AUTHENTIC ARABS, AUTHENTIC CHRISTIANS: ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX
AND THE MOBILIZATION OF CULTURAL IDENTITY

by

Matthew W. Stiffler

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
(American Culture)
in The University of Michigan
2010

Doctoral Committee:

Assistant Professor Nadine C. Naber, Chair
Associate Professor Scott T. Kurashige
Associate Professor Andrew J. Shryock
Assistant Professor Andrea Smith, University of California, Riverside
© Matthew W. Stiffler
All rights reserved
2010
Dedicated
to my family
and my moo

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This project would not have been possible without the parishioners and clergy of
the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese. I want to first thank Fr. George Shalhoub and the
deacons, staff, and parishioners of St. Mary’s Antiochian Orthodox Basilica in Livonia,
MI, particularly the members of the festival planning committee and those individuals
who allowed me to interview them. With their knowledge and hospitality, Julia Ritter,
Pam Ferkett, and the staff at the Heritage and Learning Center’s and museum and library
at the Antiochian Village enabled me to tell a more complete story about the archdiocese.
With everyone’s help I have tried to present a fair and critical analysis of the role of
cultural identity in the archdiocese, but any omissions or errors are solely my
responsibility.
At the University of Michigan I want to thank my advisors, Nadine Naber and
Andrew Shryock, who have guided me through every step of my development as a
scholar. I hope my work is an accurate reflection of my training and my admiration for
their scholarship. I am thankful for the intellectual community of the Arab American
studies program, particularly Evelyn Alsultany. I am grateful to my dissertation
committee, Andrea Smith and Scott Kurashige, for their time and feedback. The Program
in American Culture has generously supported my studies and has given me the freedom
to construct my own interdisciplinary approach. Marlene Moore and the American
Culture office staff has kept me on track in addition to keeping the entire graduate
program running efficiently.
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I also have to thank my colleagues and fellow graduate students in American
Culture, History, and Anthropology, specifically the amazing, incomparable members of
Groove Theory, aka fall 2004 cohort. Thoughtful and encouraging feedback on this
dissertation has also come from the members of the Best Looking Writing Group
(BLWG), Brian, Sharon, and Manan. In the final push to finish my degree (in addition to
teaching and applying for jobs), Margot was the best writing/complaining partner I could
have asked for. Along those lines, I need to thank the many baristas at Amer’s and
Espresso Royale who have kept me caffeinated throughout the years.
More than anything, I want this dissertation to be a testament to my parents Bob
and Helene, my sister Kristin, and my entire family, who have supported me throughout
my twelve years (!) of college. Because of their love and support, no longer will I have to
field the question, “so when are you going to finish?” I also need to thank my extended
family, the Crooks, who have fed me and given me friendship and advice throughout my
graduate career. But in the last two years, the real push to finish this project came from
my beautiful girlfriend Jourdan, whose dedication to her own studies and career
motivated me to get off of my ass and start writing.
Finally, my ethnographic work and archival research was partially funded by
research grants from the Rackham School of Graduate Studies and the Program in
American Culture. The Institute for Signifying Scriptures, at the Claremont Graduate
School, directed by Vincent Wimbush, also provided support for the early stages of my
ethnographic work.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii
LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii
CHAPTER 1 Introduction................................................................................................... 1
The Antiochian Orthodox Church, St. Mary’s Basilica, and an Arab Cultural
Identity .................................................................................................................... 3
The Space of the Church and Lived Religion ....................................................... 15
The Cultural and the Multicultural ....................................................................... 21
Methods................................................................................................................. 41
Interventions and Chapter Outlines ...................................................................... 46
CHAPTER 2 Mobilizing Cultural Identity: Christianity, Politicized Action, and
Humanitarian Aid.............................................................................................................. 53
Background of Politicized Action and Humanitarian Aid .................................... 56
1976–77................................................................................................................. 60
1977, “Antiochian Holy Year” ............................................................................. 68
Post-9/11 ............................................................................................................... 73
Biblical Case against Israel ................................................................................... 82
CHAPTER 3 Arabian Nights, Self-Orientalism, and Representational Practices ............ 87
Arabian Nights and U.S. Orientalism ................................................................... 90
Antiochian Deployments of the Arabian Nights ................................................... 96
Internal Negotiations ........................................................................................... 112
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 122
CHAPTER 4 The Antiochian Food Festival: Multiculturalism and the Deployment of
Cultural Identity .............................................................................................................. 125
Food and its Festival ........................................................................................... 128
Bicentennial-era Multiculturalism and the Festival ............................................ 131
The Festival as a Playful Space .......................................................................... 138
Theorizing the Festival ....................................................................................... 148
A Publicly Traded Commodity ........................................................................... 152
Antiochian Women: Feeding Orthodoxy ............................................................ 159
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CHAPTER 5 The 2009 Sahara Fest................................................................................ 170
Arabness in the Festival Space ........................................................................... 172
St. Mary’s and Festival ....................................................................................... 177
Gender in the Festival Space............................................................................... 180
The Planning Meetings and My Role as Ethnographer/Worker ......................... 183
Anxieties of Representation ................................................................................ 186
Is it an Arab and American festival? Negotiations of Music and Food .............. 194
Outcomes and Futures......................................................................................... 201
CHAPTER 6 A “New Antioch”: The Holy Land and Authentic Christianity ............... 206
Antiochians and Their Holy Land ....................................................................... 210
Apostolic Succession and abouna ...................................................................... 215
The Rhetorical Holy Land .................................................................................. 219
A Basilica for the Future: Arabness and Christian Authenticity in Livonia ....... 223
Arabic in Church: Cultural Identity and Authenticity ........................................ 227
CHAPTER 7 Epilogue: The Camel as Church Mascot .................................................. 235
WORKS CITED ............................................................................................................. 245
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1-1 Entrance to Antiochian Heritage Museum at the Antiochian Village .............. 7
Figure 1-2 A second view of museum entrance ................................................................. 8
Figure 1-3 St. Mary’s Antiochian Orthodox Basilica, Livonia, MI ................................. 12
Figure 1-4 Flyer for 1972 hafli in Altoona, PA ................................................................ 39
Figure 2-1 Opening page of the 1977 archdiocese convention program book ................ 69
Figure 3-1 Flyer for 2008 hafli at St. George, Little Falls, NJ ......................................... 99
Figure 3-2 Cover of program book from 1983 St. George (Pittsburgh, PA) food fair ... 102
Figure 3-3 Advertisement for “Sinbad’s” ....................................................................... 116
Figure 3-4 Advertisement for “Mecca” restaurant . ........................................................ 117
Figure 3-5 “The Pyramids Lounge” in Johnstown, PA .................................................. 119
Figure 3-6 Advertisement for “The Desert Inn” ............................................................. 120
Figure 4-1 “Ali-Baba Restaurant” advertisement ........................................................... 137
Figure 4-2 “Cleo the Camel” .......................................................................................... 139
Figure 4-3 “Flying carpet” announcement .. ................................................................... 141
Figure 4-4 Flyer for St. Mary’s (Johnstown, PA) “Feast Day Celebration,” 2006. And
flyer from “St. Michael’s [Greensburg, PA] Feast,” 2006 ............................................. 145
Figure 5-1 Under the big tent, Sahara Fest 2009 ............................................................ 173
Figure 5-2 Festival attendees browsing the vendors ...................................................... 175
Figure 5-3 The men at the grill and falafel fryer ............................................................ 181
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Figure 5-4 Women of the Ladies Society of St. Mary’s, selling their zalabia (covered)
and other pastries ............................................................................................................ 182
Figure 5-5 Sahara Fest poster ......................................................................................... 191
Figure 6-1 Front page from Al-Nour, the weekly bulletin at St. Mary’s in Livonia ...... 208
Figure 6-2 “Holy Land” photographs in basement of basilica ....................................... 226
Figure 7-1 Flyer for West St. Paul (MN) “Middle Eastern Festival” ............................. 238
Figure 7-2 Camel rides at the 2007 St. George (Toledo, OH) Summerfest . .................. 239
Figure 7-3 Snoopy on camelback ................................................................................... 240
Figure 7-4 “Ya Habeebee” tote bag from St. Mary’s in Johnstown, PA ........................ 241
Figure 7-5 Display case at St. Mary’s (Johnstown, PA), showing icons and gold camel
pins for sale ..................................................................................................................... 242

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CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Al-Nour [the light], the weekly bulletin for St. Mary’s Antiochian Orthodox
Basilica in Livonia, MI, announced the upcoming annual Holy Land Christmas Concert.
According to the Dec. 6, 2009 bulletin, the concert will celebrate, along with the Nativity
of Jesus Christ, the Holy Land provenance of the Orthodox faith. The 2009 concert of
Orthodox Church choirs, the bulletin says, will be held at St. Mary’s Basilica and will
feature an “Arabic Ensemble” sung by Fr. George Shalhoub, St. Mary’s long-serving
priest. The proceeds from the event will support the International Orthodox Christian
Charities (IOCC), which performs extensive humanitarian work in the Middle East, as
well as throughout the Orthodox world from Russia to Ethiopia.
A full-page insert in the same weekly bulletin advertised the 2010 New Year’s
Eve Party at the church, featuring local Detroit singer and oud player Ali Barada, who
has performed at previous St. Mary’s New Year’s Eve parties. The flyer says that the
rather steep admission price of $100 includes dinner, drinks, dancing, and “American &
Arabic music.”
A few days later, the Shoo fi-Mah fi email (roughly “What’s up?”), which
contains weekly announcements from Fr. George and is emailed to each parishioner,
included a “Public Announcement” about an event at Byblos Hall in Dearborn, MI, as
part of the 77th anniversary of the Syrian Renaissance Movement. The event was to be
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