September 11, 2001 will be revisited and remembered in the minds of this American generation as one of the greatest tragedies on home soil. In one day, the world was radically changed; but in the days that followed, no group of Americans was more intensely and uniquely affected than Arab-Americans. Once in a Promised Land, Laila Halaby's 2007 novel, describes the real-world consequences of the assault of a fictional Arab couple. Halaby's work accurately portrays the circumstances Arab Americans found themselves in after the September 11 attacks, highlighting several themes related to patriotism, fear, and shame through his accessible characters and narrative styles. The desert is the home of Jassim and Salwa Haddad. Leaving their native Jordan for the American deserts of Arizona, the heat is their habitat. Unfortunately, the sun is the only source of heat in their cold relationship. Married and childless by choice, Halaby's reader encounters the Haddads in the midst of their unconscious routine. Jassim's career as a successful hydrologist, which has solidified their roots in America, consumes him and he is aware of little else. His life revolves around water: unpredictable, ever-changing, H2O. This first love keeps Jassim's wife repressed in his peripheral vision, where she has remained for too long. Salwa, a successful banker and real estate agent, thought she wanted the American dream. It had been one of the reasons why Jassim's quick and unexpected proposal years earlier in Jordan had seemed so attractive. He was in love with her and she was in love with the idea of ​​life he offered her. She came to America as a new bride with stars and stripes in her eyes, where life was everything she dreamed it would be. Lightening effort...... middle of paper ...... g America's future. Bibliography de la Cruz, G. Patricia and Angela Brittingham. “Arab Population: 2000.” United States Census Bureau. Last modified December 2003. http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-23.pdf.Halaby, Laila. Once in a promised land. Boston: Beacon Press, 2007. Johns, Michael, Toni Schmader, and Brian Lickel. "Ashamed of being American? The role of identification in predicting vicarious shame over Antu-Arab prejudice after 9/11." Psychology Press 4 (2005): 331-348. Salaita, Steven. “Ethnic Identity and Imperative Patriotism: Arab Americans Before and After September 11.” University Literature 32, no. 2 (2005): 146-168."Anti-Muslim Incidents Since September 11, 2001." Southern Poverty Law Center. Last modified: March 29, 2011. http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/splc-testify-about-increase-in-anti-muslim-bias/anti-muslim-incidents-since-9-11.