Moustafa Bayoumi

Moustafa Bayoumi is a professor of English at Brooklyn College, City University of New York, who writes about Arab American experiences and civil rights issues. He specializes in cultural criticism, focusing on how Muslim Americans navigate life in post-9/11 America. His book "How Does It Feel to Be a Problem" examines the lives of seven young Arab Americans in Brooklyn after September 11th. The work draws its title from W.E.B. Du Bois's question about African American identity, applying this framework to contemporary Muslim American experiences. Bayoumi contributes to publications including The Guardian, The Nation, and The New York Times. His writing addresses surveillance, discrimination, and the challenges faced by Arab and Muslim communities in the United States. He holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from Columbia University. His academic work intersects with his journalism and creative nonfiction, creating a body of work that documents the lived experiences of marginalized communities in America.

Readers appreciate Bayoumi's reporting approach in "How Does It Feel to Be a Problem," noting his ability to present personal stories without heavy-handed analysis. Many find the individual profiles of young Arab Americans compelling and illuminating, particularly the way Bayoumi lets his subjects speak for themselves. Reviewers frequently mention the book's accessibility and its success in humanizing a community often reduced to stereotypes in media coverage. Readers describe the work as eye-opening, with several noting they learned about experiences and challenges they had not previously understood. Some readers criticize the book's structure, finding the shift between different subjects occasionally disjointed. A few reviewers wanted more historical context or deeper analysis of the systemic issues the profiles reveal. Several readers praise Bayoumi's writing style as clear and engaging, though some find certain sections repetitive. The book's connection to Du Bois's work receives mixed reactions, with some readers finding the parallel illuminating while others consider it forced.