Frederique and Brian with Elkader, Iowa's namesake Abd al-Qader

Couscous and Cultural Diplomacy

From: Andrea Wenzel
Length: 28:00

What's it like to be the only Muslim in the only US town named after an Arab Muslim… Elkader, Iowa was named after an Algerian jihadist in the 19th century. After September 11th, some wanted to change the town’s name. At the same time an openly gay Algerian man and his partner decided to start an Algerian-American restaurant on Elkader's Main Street. The story charts their adventures with cultural adaptation, American identity, and small town politics. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Couscous and Cultural Diplomacy
From: Andrea Wenzel

Elkader-frederique_and_brian_small

Piece Description

Broadcast History

Originally broadcast as part of the documentary series Global Perspective, in conjunction with the Australian Broadcast Corporation, BBC World Service, Canadian Broadcast Corporation, Radio Television Hong Kong, Radio Netherlands, Radio New Zealand, SAFM South Africa, and WAMU. WAMU broadcast April 28, 2011. Other networks broadcast different dates spring/summer/or anticipated fall 2011.

Transcript

music…outside sound

Schera’s Algerian American Restaurant sits on a picturesque small town main street. There’s a city hall, library, clock tower, and some antique shops. From the outside, Schera’s looks like a classic America bar—in the window you can see neon signs advertising beer and some historical photos on the wall.

Restaurant sound
F: Hey guys how you doing?

But when you walk through the door your eyes are drawn somewhere else.
F:.…so we have a little Algerian slash Emir area where there are both the flags of US and Algeria hanging next to each other.

This is Frederique Boudouani—a co-owner of the restaurant.

F: …and then the picture of the emir with a little bio just to give people a sense of who he was and what his deeds were.
Emir Abd al-Qader’s most famous deeds were leading an armed resistance to French colonial rule. He was a 19th Century jihadist. But after he...
Read the full transcript

Timing and Cues

Ic: music… Schera’s Algerian American Restaurant…
Oc:…thanks for coming. Have a nice evening.
(last words at 27:05—music can be faded under)

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

...We travel to the US state of Iowa—to a town of 15 hundred people-- surrounded by corn and soybean farms.

It's a town that's felt the impact of September 11th in a unique way. That's because the town's name is Elkader, Iowa. It was named after the Algerian independence fighter Emir Abd al Qader in 1834.

Since then the name's drawn people to explore the town’s Algerian connection-- including an openly gay couple that decided to start an Algerian American restaurant after September 11th.

WAMU Producer Andrea Wenzel takes us to meet two unlikely restaurateurs.

[Pronouncers:
el-KAY-der
eh-MEER ahb-del-KAH-der]

OUTRO:

Couscous and Cultural Diplomacy was produced and presented by Andrea Wenzel for WAMU American University Radio.