Skip to content
  • Image
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Podcasts
  • Email
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
  • Contact
The Arab Daily News

The Arab Daily News

Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem

  • About
    • About
    • Our Writers
    • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
    • Book Store
    • Contact
    • Submit Book Reviews, Press Releases
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Corrections Policy
    • Profile on Ray Hanania
    • Submit Press Release
  • Features
    • Food
    • Book Review
    • Humor
    • Movies
    • Travel
  • Arab US Community
    • Arab Stores Targeted
    • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Heritage America resources
    • Directory
      • Groups & Organizations
      • Mosques, Churches
      • Restaurants
      • 2008 & 2014 Arab Media Directories
    • National Arab Heritage Month
    • Video: Chicago Arab History
    • Video: Photo Array of Chicago Arabs
    • Overview of Arabs in America
    • Hanania standup comedy
    • Arabs on the Titanic
    • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
    • Ray Hanania on Politics Podcast
    • Arab News Ray Hanania Radio
    • Arab Radio Podcast intro
    • Radio Baladi Detroit
    • TwoGuys on Politics
  • Ray on Tiktok
  • Subscribe Ray’s Columns
  • Archive 2004-2013
  • Toggle search form
  • Arab Center Washington DC
    Arab Center Washington DC to host Conference on Second Trump Administration Policies toward the Middle East American Arabs
  • The Arab American Foundation, launched in2 019 to educate Americans about the Arab identity and empower and connect Arab Americans, will host the "Connect Empowerment Summit" on Friday and Saturday, October 24 and 25, at the Teaeck Marriot at Glenpointe in Teaneck, New Jersey.
    Arab America Foundation to host “Connect Empowerment Summit” in New Jersey Activism
  • CNN Commentator Van Jones courtesy of Wikipedia
    CAIR Calls Van Jones Apology for Joking About Slaughtered Palestinian Children a ‘Positive But Insufficient’ Step American Arabs
  • Boats with the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza are seen moored at the small island of Koufonisi, south of the island of Crete, on September 26, 2025. (Photo: AFP/ Eleftherios Elis) Courtesy of the Committee to Protect Journalists
    CPJ calls on Israel to release journalists detained on the Global Sumud Flotilla Activism
  • Arab Center of Washington DC Fellows and affiliates analyze Palestine State recognition. Arab Center Washington DC Sept. 24, 2025
    Arab Center of Washington DC Fellows and affiliates analyze Palestine State recognition American Arabs
  • WRMEA Sept 2025 issue cover
    Video Interview Delinda Hanley of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs Activism
  • ADC ArabCon Image
    ADC to issue awards for community leadsership at Convention American Arabs
  • CAIR Executive Director and co-founder Nihad Awad
    CAIR Wins Injunction Ordering U. of Missouri to Permit Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine into Homecoming Parade American Arabs
  • Orland Township and logo
    Orland Township board shows concern for District 230 students American Arabs
  • Israeli snipers fire at Palestinians protesting in support of hunger strikers at the Gaza border with Nahal Oz. Photo copyright Gaza Strip Photographer Ahmad Hasaballah
    CAIR‑Chicago Urges DOJ to File War Crime Charges Against Naperville Man Who Joined IDF, Admitted Sniping Children Christian & Muslim
  • United Nations UN Building Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania 2019
    Denying Palestinian Officials Visas to Join UN General Assembly: Wrong and Hypocritical: American Arabs
  • United Nations UN Building Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania 2019
    UN experts urge US to grant visas to Palestinian officials, uphold diplomacy for peace Human Rights
  • Terrence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas with HE Turki Alalshikh Photo courtesy of GEA
    HE Turki Alalshikh joins opening faceoff ahead of Fight Week for blockbuster Canelo-Crawford clash in Las Vegas Arab News
  • No Azure for Apartheid
    Microsoft fires a Jewish worker for taking part in the “Liberated Zone” American Arabs
  • Jeremy Ben Ami J Street President
    J Street among many Jewish groups supporting justice for Palestine and Israel Activism
Christian and Muslims iconic religious images in Occupied Jerusalem, Palestine. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania

Our Arab identity is being smothered by our religion

Posted on January 9, 2020January 15, 2020 By rayhanania No Comments on Our Arab identity is being smothered by our religion
SHARE ...
          
 
  

  • Tweet

Our Arab identity is being smothered by our religion

Arab Christians are marginalized, ignored and pushed aside by everyone even though we can play a critical role in trying to bring the East and the West, the Christian and Muslim Worlds, together towards understanding. This issue surfaces all the time and most recently when the mainstream media reported on the Golden Globe Award won by Egyptian Arab comedian Ramy Youssef recently. No one wants to talk about it, but it is “the camel in the room.”

By Ray Hanania

I was very excited to see Ramy Youssef win a Golden Globe on Sunday. The Golden Globes are the second most important performance awards an actor can receive next only to the Academy Award Oscars. Winning a Golden Globe usually increases the odds that an actor, or actress will win the Oscar which will be presented next month.

But of course, the excited is quickly smothered by the fact that Youssef’s achievement isn’t honored as an achievement for Arabs, but rather an achievement for Muslims.

Social media took off in thunderous excitement for Youssef’s win as a victory for Islam and Muslims. Many of the social media posts from the Arab and Muslim community across the world focused on his fearless use of the phrase Allah uh-Akhbar, which as most Arabs know is Arabic for “God is Great.”

Christian and Muslims iconic religious images in Occupied Jerusalem, Palestine. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
Christian and Muslims iconic religious images in Occupied Jerusalem, Palestine. So close and yet so far. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania

Most Americans who heard Youssef offer the supplication on the Golden Globe stage probably associated it with Islam as a common Muslim cry usually at times of violence and religious fervor.

The truth is Allah uh Akhbar is as much a Christian declaration as it is Muslim. Unfortunately, few outside of the Arab and Muslim Worlds will ever know that because the essence of being Arab is being pushed aside by the Islamic identity of the Arab World.

I watched “Ramy,” the 10-part streaming series when it first broadcast on the popular online streaming service Hulu last April. To me, Ramy’s challenges as a Muslim in America were actually challenges of being Arab in America.

The very same stereotypes that Muslims must face in America and the West, fueled by the bias in the mainstream Western news media, as the stereotypes and challenges that Arab Americans must also face.

But the challenges of racism and discrimination that Arabs face, and the challenges of educating an often closed-minded Western audience to the realities of being Arab, will never be answered.

Arabs are harassed as often as Muslim in America. Americans view Arabs as harshly as they view Muslims, fueling the rise in discrimination that is taking place against both, although we often only hear about the discrimination that is taking place against Muslims.

Some might ask, why are you complaining that you are not being victimized as a Muslim and that you can escape societal persecution because you are just an Arab?

My answer, I am suffering as certainly as does every Muslim in America, and maybe even a little bit more.

As a Christian Arab, I am discriminated against all the time, but not because I am Arab but because most Americans think I am Muslim. Many Americans and people in the West can’t tell the don’t know the difference and see Arabs and Muslims as being the same, although they only identify us as Muslim.

Yes, that does concern me. It’s one reason why no one really seems to care that Christians are steadily disappearing from the Arab and Muslim Worlds. The Western World doesn’t see the Christian Arabs. In part that’s because we’re not treated equally in the Muslim World.

Although I am a proud Christian, I am also a Christian who proudly declares himself as being “Muslim by culture.” Yet take a look at all of the big Middle Eastern conferences where the focus is no longer on being Arab but on being Muslim. Sure, there are a few Christians invited to speak, but very few. One of the few is the Archbishop of Jerusalem, my friend and a powerful voice for Arab and Muslim rights, Atallah Hanna.

There is no real difference between Christian Arabs and Muslims, Arab and non-Arab, as people. We both share the same challenges and face the same levels of racism and discrimination. We both are persecuted because of who we are, Arab and Muslim.

Part of the problem is that Americans are among the most educated people in the World but the least educated people about the world. In my humor and reality book about growing up Arab in America, “I’m Glad I Look Like a Terrorist: Growing up Arab in America,” which soon will be re-released under a new title by Cune Press, I despair about that irony in the naivete of Americans who can’t tell the difference between Iranians and Arabs. Readers of my American newspaper columns often write to me accusing me of being an Iranian, and a Muslim, too.

I am proud to be mistaken for a Muslim, but I am always perplexed when I am mistaken for an Iranian – Iranians are not Arab but are Persian. They don’t speak Arabic and if I were employed at a U.S. Embassy on their territory, I would probably be held captive along with the rest.

So, when Youssef cried “Allah uh Akhbar,” I cheered his accomplishments as an Egyptian American comedian, recognizing his unique and refreshing sense of humor, and his winning one of America’s top performance accolades. Because to me, that’s a cry I have heard all my life as an Arab, not in an act of violence but in an act of religious attrition and often as a cry of pride and even pain. More importantly, I didn’t just hear it from Muslims. I heard it from Arab Christians, too, a segment of the Arab community that is often shunned, marginalized and pushed aside.

Few actually “see” or recognize “Arab Christians” and we are too often pushed out of the focus on activism, debate and solutions to the growing problems that plagued the Middle East.

My father is from Jerusalem and my mother is from Bethlehem. Both prayed using the word “Allah,” which too many Americans misunderstand as a word that represents the name of the “Muslim God.” The reality is that the word Allah is merely the Arabic word – not Muslim word – for “God.”

It’s too bad few people in the West, especially Americans, will never understand that aspect of Arab and Muslim life, or recognize the broad achievements of Arab Muslim actor Ramy Youssef’s success.

The problem may be with the lack of education on the part of Americans and people in the West. But the reality of the problem starts with the failure of Muslims to treat Arabs, especially Arab Christians, as an identity they are proud to acknowledge.

Let’s stop saying that Christian Arabs and Muslims are the same when in fact in reality the Arab American and Arab World celebrate our victories as achievements of being Muslim.

newswire info
  • About
  • Latest Posts
rayhanania
rayhanania
Op-Ed writer, author, radio host, podcaster at The Arab Daily News
Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.  

His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at [email protected].

Follow RayHanania at Twitter
rayhanania
Latest posts by rayhanania (see all)
  • Israelisnipers shooting and killing hospital workers in Gaza - December 11, 2023
  • CAIR Condemns Israeli Executions of Wounded, Unarmed Palestinian in West Bank   - December 11, 2023
  • Arab and Muslim American voters face a “simple choice” between Biden’s inhumanity and Trump’s edgy politics - December 9, 2023
NVP: 56

  • Tweet

SHARE ...
          
 
  
 
          
 
 Tweet 
American Arabs, Bloggers, Chaldean, Christian & Muslim, Commentary, Culture, Entertainment, Features, Humor, Media Bias, Opinion, racism, Spotlight, Terrorism Tags:Americans, Arab identity, Arabs, Christians, comedy, Golden Globe Award, Hulu, identity, Muslims, Ramy Youssef, stereotypes

Post navigation

Previous Post: Rouhy Shalabi named Associate Judge in Cook County
Next Post: Special Adviser on Iran spells out war crimes of Qassem Suleimani and Iran

Related Posts

  • Left doesn’t care about Muslims, only uses them as wedge American Arabs
  • Brett Favre and those Anti-Semitic USS Liberty ‘Supporters’ Arab World
  • Response To: Mr. Trump, Steve Bannon and The NYT #ThisAmerican #PussyPower #TheResistance #WomensMarch American Arabs
  • Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri
    Have the Lebanese weathered the storm just in time? Arab World
  • Houston BDS targets RE/MAX for supporting illegal settlements American Arabs
  • Dome of the Rock view from Jerusalem street. Photo courtesy Ray Hanania
    Reaction to Trump’s recognition of Occupied Jerusalem as Israel’s capital American Arabs

More Related Articles

Holy Week registration begins for Orthodox Christians American Arabs
Disabled Palestinians compete in Basketball Arab World
Syrian refugee invents system to irrigate drought American Arabs
Imad Hamad Director American Human Rights Council AHRC calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon Arab World
Bassiouni under attack from extremists who hate Israel, peace & moderates American Arabs
PTSD Nation and Gaza’s Children of Resilience Arab World

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Ray Hanania's 4 times a week columns at https://RayHanania.com at Substack

Enter Your Email to Subscribe to Ray Hanania’s Columns

  • OPINION COLUMNS
  • Netflix Mo Series courtesy of Wikipedia
    Mo Amer’s “Mo” on Netflix is more than just a great comedy series
    September 6, 2025
  • Photo courtesy of Journalist Abdennour Toumi
    France: Political Compromise vs Political Instability
    August 28, 2024
  • Zakia Restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia
    Arabs eat Middle East food like they are making love
    June 27, 2024
  • Zwar lamb kabob and kufta with white and yellow rice
    Zwar ranked the Best Middle East restaurant in Chicagoland suburbs
    June 8, 2024
  • Pictured: Rahm Emanuel, Afghan activist Salman Aftab who was co-chair of the Iftar dinner, and several non-Arab Muslim leaders. Also pictured is Ald. Joe Moore. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania for Arab News
    Comprehensive look at the failings of former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel
    January 18, 2024

Creative Commons License
All work on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

The Lightning Strike Radio Sun 8-10 AM

Mohammed Faheem The Lightning Strike Radio Show
Mohammed Faheem The Lightning Strike Radio Show
  • NEWS
  • Arab Center Washington DC
    Arab Center Washington DC to host Conference on Second Trump Administration Policies toward the Middle East
    October 9, 2025
  • The Arab American Foundation, launched in2 019 to educate Americans about the Arab identity and empower and connect Arab Americans, will host the "Connect Empowerment Summit" on Friday and Saturday, October 24 and 25, at the Teaeck Marriot at Glenpointe in Teaneck, New Jersey.
    Arab America Foundation to host “Connect Empowerment Summit” in New Jersey
    October 8, 2025
  • CNN Commentator Van Jones courtesy of Wikipedia
    CAIR Calls Van Jones Apology for Joking About Slaughtered Palestinian Children a ‘Positive But Insufficient’ Step
    October 5, 2025
  • Boats with the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza are seen moored at the small island of Koufonisi, south of the island of Crete, on September 26, 2025. (Photo: AFP/ Eleftherios Elis) Courtesy of the Committee to Protect Journalists
    CPJ calls on Israel to release journalists detained on the Global Sumud Flotilla
    October 2, 2025
  • Arab Center of Washington DC Fellows and affiliates analyze Palestine State recognition. Arab Center Washington DC Sept. 24, 2025
    Arab Center of Washington DC Fellows and affiliates analyze Palestine State recognition
    October 2, 2025
  • New-iTunes-1400-x-1400-The-Ray-Hanania-Show-Podcast-Icon-300-x-300.jpg
  • powerpr300x300ad.jpg
  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png
  • terroristbookcover-300-x-300.jpg
  • Podcast-iTunes-Logo-Chi-City-Hall-1985.jpg
  • NEWSWIRE
  • The Arab American Foundation, launched in2 019 to educate Americans about the Arab identity and empower and connect Arab Americans, will host the "Connect Empowerment Summit" on Friday and Saturday, October 24 and 25, at the Teaeck Marriot at Glenpointe in Teaneck, New Jersey.
    Arab America Foundation to host “Connect Empowerment Summit” in New Jersey
    October 8, 2025
  • CNN Commentator Van Jones courtesy of Wikipedia
    CAIR Calls Van Jones Apology for Joking About Slaughtered Palestinian Children a ‘Positive But Insufficient’ Step
    October 5, 2025
  • Boats with the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza are seen moored at the small island of Koufonisi, south of the island of Crete, on September 26, 2025. (Photo: AFP/ Eleftherios Elis) Courtesy of the Committee to Protect Journalists
    CPJ calls on Israel to release journalists detained on the Global Sumud Flotilla
    October 2, 2025
  • Arab Center of Washington DC Fellows and affiliates analyze Palestine State recognition. Arab Center Washington DC Sept. 24, 2025
    Arab Center of Washington DC Fellows and affiliates analyze Palestine State recognition
    October 2, 2025

Follow Ray Hanania at
Twitter
Facebook
TitkTok
BlueSky
RayHanania Columns

Click here to get information on The Ray Hanania Radio Show and its podcasts

Copyright © 2025 The Arab Daily News.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme