Re-Writing "War on Terror" as "War of Terror" in Selections of Contemporary Arab-American Poetry

Abstract

This study focuses on Arab-American poetry as a counter discourse that attempts to defy the U.S.-led "war on terror" which bases its legitimacy on the illusion of eradicating terrorism in the countries that shelter it such as Iraq and Afghanistan. The study traces the defiance of such illegitimate war in Arab-American poetry through attempting an analysis of a number of poems written by some prominent Arab-American contemporary poets such as Sinan Antoon, Samuel Hazo, and Nathalie Handal. Through a peaceful, yet poignant discourse, these poets attempt to rewrite the "war on terror" revealing its horrifying masked face. Such rewriting is carried out through depicting the hideous acts committed against Iraqis, particularly children, through picturing terrorist acts against civilians which have been ironically supposed to put an end to terrorism. Employing a counter discourse, these Arab-American poets further condemn the support the U.S. gives to Israel to escalate its military massacres against innocent Palestinians who are labelled as "terrorists" because they resist the brutal occupation of their land. The redefines "war on terror" as "war of terror".