March 7, 2003, 6:43PM

Arab-Americans in military battle against stereotyping

By JOHN W. GONZALEZ
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

When Mahmoud El-Yousseph of Columbus , Ohio , inquired about joining the U.S. Army in 1984, a recruiter told him he was ineligible to serve because he was born in Lebanon .

Convinced he was qualified, the naturalized U.S. citizen challenged the recruiter's decision. The Army eventually conceded he was correct, apologized for their mistake and offered him enlistment.

But El-Yousseph promptly joined the Air Force Reserves instead, "just to make a point," he said.

Nearly 20 years later, Tech Sgt. El-Yousseph is one of 3,500 Arab-Americans in the U.S. military, serving as a food service specialist in the Ohio Air National Guard.

Like others with ethnic roots in the Middle East, he's aware that some fellow troops still look at him with curiosity and suspicion, especially now that the nation is preparing for war with Iraq .

But he's one of many proud Arab-Americans in uniform -- Iraqi-Americans included -- who said they are ready to die for this country and are eager to battle the Arab stereotyping that persists in society as well as in the armed services.

"We're not just a bunch of foreigners with accents and terrorist sympathizers," El-Yousseph said.

"This is my country now. It's my home. And I just want everybody to know that Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans can be counted on in time of crisis and we will pick up arms to defend our country and our freedom," El-Yousseph said.

He is among several hundred people who form the Association of Patriotic Arab Americans in the Military, which was launched the month after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to counter anti-Arab sentiments. As the group continues to grow and strengthen, it operates with the knowledge that deep-seated bigotry is hard to eradicate among both civilians and soldiers.

In January, there was fresh evidence of that reality. In Medford , Ore. , two Army National Guard members were charged with assaulting an Indian man whom they mistook for an Arab. A third Guardsman committed suicide after the incident. The soldiers, recently returned from duty in the Middle East , claimed they were on a "mission" to clean up their community by attacking minorities and homeless people.

In December, a Guardsman in South Carolina claimed fellow soldiers ejected him from their barracks, citing his Jordanian background. Amid clashing accounts of the incident, the man also claimed he had previously been called a "camel jockey" and other insulting terms.

While both cases made local headlines, many smalle-r incidents have not, like the times El-Yousseph was teased about his heritage and called a "bomb-thrower."

El-Yousseph said officers, to their credit, have come to his defense on several occasions. When a fellow soldier joked that El-Yousseph might have a bomb in his briefcase a few years ago, the soldier was required to publicly apologize for the remark.

"One guy referred to me as `Dude from Lebanon .' But when the instructor heard him, he tore him apart. He said, `We cannot tolerate that. He has a rank. He has a name. If you don't know his name, call him by rank.' " El-Yousseph said. "I was really impressed."

Still, there's a continuing need for consciousness-raising within the military ranks, said Marine Staff Sgt. Jamal Baadani, founder of the Arab-American soldiers group. That's why he often speaks to troops about the contributions made by Arab-Americans in the military, going back to World War I. He also has addressed community groups and students.

Baadani, a California-based reservist recently summoned to active duty, appeared on CNN to further spread his message. In recent months he also was profiled in People magazine and in the PBS documentary They Came to America. A naturalized U.S. citizen, Baadani was born and raised in Egypt .

"A lot of people ask, `How come you're going to go fight another Arab?' I tell them, `I'm not going to fight another Arab, because I'm going there as an American. I took an oath to the Constitution to go fight for our freedom, regardless where it may be. It just happens to be right now in the Middle East ," Baadani said.

"The underlying theme of my message is, we're Americans -- no matter what the foreign policy is from Washington . We have hopes and dreams like anybody else," he said.

While he, too, has been subjected to anti-Arab comments while in uniform, Baadani said the Marines are renowned for their ethnically diverse and inclusive environment.

"You really don't notice any discrimination or any kind of pressure or uncomfortable atmosphere. You're judged on your rank and on your job in the Marine Corps," he said. The only troubling incidents noted by his organization in recent months were those in Oregon and South Carolina , he added.

Some Arab-Americans in uniform said they haven't endured any hardships because of their ethnic or religious background. Air Force Sgt. Rima Kassis, an aircraft maintenance specialist at Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls and a first-generation Arab-American, said, "Overall, I've been treated fantastic ... I have not found any constraints. Me being an Arab-American has not affected my career" of more than 16 years.

Kassis, whose family immigrated from Lebanon , was born in California and entered the service at age 24.

"The only thing I got teased about was being one of the older people in our flight (unit)," she said.

"One of the reasons I enlisted was due to the fact that America had let my family in and, bottom line, I wanted to pay back this country," she said, even if it means going to war in the Middle East .

"Anything's possible," she said.

For more information on the Association of Patriotic Arab Americans in the Military, see www.apaam.org.

LINKED ARTICLE: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/1809578