Arabs fall short of Olympic medals, along with Israel, Turkey and Iran
By Ray Hanania
As the final day of the Sochi 2014 Olympics arrives (Sunday Feb. 23, 2014) and as the two weeks of athletic competition comes to an end, unfortunately athletic contenders from the only two Arab countries that entered the Olympics, Morocco and Lebanon, failed to finish with any Olympic medals.
Jacky Chamoun, the Alpine Skier whose topless photograph session for an Austrian calendar featuring Olympic contenders, came in 47th in slalom competition. A total of 88 countries fielded athletes in the competition that began Feb. 7th in Sochi in Russia, but only two of the Arab World’s 22 nations entered athletes. Lebanon is represented by Jacky Chamoun, 22, from Deir el Kamar, and Alexandre Mohbat, 18, from Beirut. Morocco is represented by American and Canadian Arabs Adam Lamhamedi, 18, originally born in Montreal, Canada, and Kenza Tazi, 18, was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
Unlike many int he Arab World who criticized Jacky Chamoun, I feel that the Arab World needs to put the conservative fanatics in check and allow people the freedom to express themselves in ways that do not physically hurt other people or deny others their own freedoms. Ironically, the Arab World is overwhelmed with violence, racism, religious discrimination and hatred, and a woman who wishes to express herself in an artistic manner is condemned louder than Arabs condemn murder, killing and violence including suicide bombings.
The 2012 Summer Olympics two years ago represented the 100th anniversary of the first Arab athletes to compete and drew entrants from 17 Arab countries. The summer Olympics ostensibly offer games Arab athletes from the steamy hot Mediterranean climate can better compete and train. Ironically, though, the Olympics began across the Mediterranean in Greece. This year, Greece also did not win any medals. Neither did the Arab neighbors of Israel, which fielded five athletes, or Turkey, which fielded six athletes. Iran entered five athletes.
Click here to view the list of country medal winners.
For many Arab nations which have come under growing religious fanaticism and fundamentalism, participation in activities denounced as “Western imperialism” like the Olympics and holidays including Christmas, Valentine’s Day and even Halloween have been frowned upon. Ironically, although the Arab World continues to have a strong and influential secular presence, the religious extremists are able to bully and intimidate them. Oftentimes, secularists are targeted with violence, such as the Hezbollah inspired terrorism against the Muslim-Christian alliance in Lebanon.
Hundreds of millions of people around the world watch the Olympics, an opportunity for the Arab World to push down the violence and hatred of the extremists that the Arab World continues to miss.
Click to read my column on wishing Arabs would take the Olympics more seriously.
Click to read my news story on Jacky Chamoun’s controversy.
Click to read my column on the failure of Arabs to be like everyone else in the Saudi Gazette Newspaper.
One day the Arab World will free itself from oppression and dictators and tyrants. But before they can do that, they need to free themselves from the oppression of the religious fanatics and political extremists who embrace violence as a lifestyle that has destroyed everything from Palestine to Egypt.
(Ray Hanania is an award winning former Chicago City Hall political reporter and columnist. He is managing editor of The Arab Daily News at www.TheArabDailyNews.com.)
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Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.
Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).
Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.
Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.
His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.
Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.
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