Enemies are nearby : the violent encounter among Arab Americans in Yussef El Guindi's play our enemies

الملخص EN

Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat is a play written by the Egyptian American playwright Yussef El Guindi.

It handles many important themes such as identity formation of Arab Americans, the misrepresentation of Arab Americans in the American media and internal conflicts among them.

The play illustrates how some Arab Americans are real enemies who involve each other in pranks, serious problems and who can even threaten each other's lives.

They can intimidate each other and, according to the play, often-misrepresent themselves in the American media.

The corrupt images and the harsh opinions spread by some Sheikhs, who speak on behalf of Muslims in the American media, are also portrayed in the play as leading to hatred among Arab Americans, especially Muslims.

The negative image of Arab Americans in the American media is drawn in the play as perpetuated by the Muslims themselves.

As a result, the American media conceptualizes Arab Americans especially Muslims as enemies to the United States of America.

Homi Bhabha's two major concepts "mimicry" and "ambivalence" are applied in the analysis of the play.