Społeczność arabska w Polsce – fakty i mity. Raport z badań

This paper constitutes an attempt to confront the image of the Arab community living in Poland with the self-image of this community. It is based on interviews and surveys conducted with the representatives of both groups (Arabs and Poles), which reveal some myths about Arabs most frequently repeated by Polish respondents, such as: ‘There are a lot of Arabs in Poland and they are everywhere’, ‘Arabs in Poland benefit from social welfare as in Western countries’, ‘Arabs (immigrants) are stealing jobs from Poles’, ‘When you buy a kebab, you settle an Arab’, ‘Arabs in Poland do not integrate with Poles’, ‘Arab means Muslim, Muslim means Arab’, ‘Arabs are the most unpopular nation in Poland’, and other widespread stereotypes relating to the Arab community. These myths and stereotypes were confronted with the results of the author of this paper’s own research, which undermines their legitimacy.