Arguably, although Edward Said’s Orientalism was published almost five decades ago, Muslimah or Muslim women have remained unseen and invisible in contemporary Anglo-American society. To question this invisibility toward marginal groups, especially Muslimah Americans, this panel investigates how Palestinian-American Muslimah writers write their own stories to make their experiences visible within the US and beyond and contest Israeli Zionism. This panel explores how Palestinian-American Muslimah writers thematize the ideas of visibility by illuminating their characters' experiences and activism to contest Israeli Zionism occupied their motherland, Palestine, which has suffered from colonialism and US neo-imperialism. In doing so, the writers represent their female characters as lionesses, activists, educators, scholars, politicians, and even prostitutes in order to be visible in every aspect of the dominant groups.

By highlighting the visibility of Palestinian-American Muslimah, this panel explores various tropes, strategies and theories the writers engage in, ranging from the bildungsroman, memories, spaces, violence, and environment to challenge Israeli occupation in Palestine for over seventy-five years. The rationale for organizing a session on the visibility and Palestinian-American Muslimah is to contest US neoimperialism linked to Israeli Zionism and to understand better how Palestinian women have suffered from the eras of colonialism to the periods of neo-imperialism and Israeli Zionism. This panel explores Palestinian women’s visibility and activism in establishing their individual and national freedom. Arguably, Palestinian Muslimah's visibility and activism are seemingly excluded in women’s studies and activist studies, which mainly expose white women’s activism.

This topic is related to existing scholarship, especially women's studies and postcolonial studies struggling to challenge white supremacy, US neoimperialism, and Israeli Zionism. This panel focuses on how Palestinian-American Muslimah decolonize both neo-colonialism in their homelands and white sovereignty by illuminating Muslimah visibility and activism in their writings. The methodology arrayed, which encompasses close reading attached within historical, cultural, and, remarkably, religious contexts, is fittingly united with the subject matter. This session will operate for one hour and 15 minutes. We have four presenters who will speak for 15 minutes; the rest will be for 15 minutes for discussion and the Question and Answer.

Each presenter reveals how each Palestinian-American Muslimah literary work enhances the character’s visibility and activism in fighting against neo-imperialism and Israeli Zionism. These writings cover multiple genres, including fiction, historical fiction, memoir, poetry, and short story collections, to break white hegemony and Israeli Zionism in multiple aspects: economy, culture, history, and memory. Thus, each presenter engages with various studies, ranging from the bildungsroman, postcolonial, memory, ecofeminism, and Islamic studies to national history and trauma studies, to illuminate how Palestinian Muslimah writers have participated in larger debates of global problems: neo-colonialism, neo-imperialism linked to Israel occupation in Palestine since 1946 and global capitalism rooted in white supremacy.

These panelists come from various cultures and nations, focusing on the ideas of visibility and freedom in Palestinian-American Muslimah Literature, and the following are the details of each presenter.

Sirène Harb is a Senior Lecturer in English at the American University of Beirut (Lebanon), where she teaches American and Comparative Literature.

Nada I. Tayem is pursuing a Ph.D. in English at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP).

Doaa Omran is a visiting professor in English at the University of New Mexico.

Hasnul Insani Djohar is a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence (2023-24) at Southern Utah University and an Associate Professor of English and Head of the English Department at Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University Jakarta.

Touria Khannous is an Associate professor in the Department of World Languages and Literatures and the International Studies Program at Louisiana State University.

I chose these speakers because they are experts in Palestinian-American Muslimah Literature, as seen in their CVs. Each speaker will contribute to providing evidence of how each literary work makes Palestinian Muslimah visible within the homeland, Palestine, and the host land, the US, through their various stories and experiences of being oppressed and occupied by Israeli Zionism. Sirene investigates Hala Alyan’s and Etaf Rum’s works to reveal how Muslimah spaces, landscapes, and homes are visible within the Israeli settlements and beyond. Nada and Doaa’s presentation tries to make Palestinians’ affection and emotion visible under the Israeli gaze. Hasnul engages with the bildungsroman and self-narratives to make Palestinians’ long journeys visible under Israeli occupation in the works of Sahar Mustafah, Ahed Tamimi, and Dena Takruri. And finally, Touria tries to make Palestinians' trauma dealing with violence visible in Susan Abulhawa’s works. These presenters also discuss how the widespread Islamophobia is contributing to Muslimah's invisibility.