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Shami and Levantine Dialect

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Arab AMerican Pathbreaker

Pathbreakers of Arab America—Jack Shaheen

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This is the ninety-ninth in Arab America’s series on American pathbreakers of Arab descent. The series features personalities from various fields, including entertainment, business, sports, science, the arts, academia, journalism, and politics. Our ninety-ninth pathbreaker, American scholar, author, and activist, Jack Shaheen, dedicated his life to challenging and exposing racial and ethnic stereotypes of Arabs in film and television. Contributing writer John Mason underscores how his work aimed to dismantle the negative portrayals of Arabs and Muslims in American media. He died on July 9, 2017 (aged 81) in Charleston, South Carolina.

Pathbreakers of Arab America—Ibrahim Abu Lughod

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This is the ninety-first in Arab America’s series on American pathbreakers of Arab descent. The series features personalities from various fields, including entertainment, business, sports, science, the arts, academia, journalism, and politics. Our ninety-first pathbreaker, highlighted by contributing writer John Mason, is Ibrahim Abu-Lughod, a Palestinian-born academic-activist who was one of the first to introduce Arab Americans to the world of national liberation struggles and post-colonial politics.

Pathbreakers of Arab America—Heather Raffo

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This is the ninetieth in Arab America’s series on American pathbreakers of Arab descent. The series features personalities from various fields, including entertainment, business, sports, science, the arts, academia, journalism, and politics. Contributing writer, John Mason, highlights our ninetieth pathbreaker, Heather Raffo, an American born to mixed Iraqi American parents. She is an eminent playwright who addresses issues as sensitive as Iraqi women affected by war and repression; an American Marine deeply affected by war in Falluja; and her two countries, Iraq and the U.S., both facing serious issues of internal division.

Pathbreakers of Arab America—Suhel Nafar

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This is the eighty-fifth in Arab America’s series on American pathbreakers of Arab descent. The series features personalities from various fields, including entertainment, business, sports, science, the arts, academia, journalism, and politics. Contributing writer John Mason depicts Palestinian Suhel Nafar, musician, producer, and entrepreneur known for promoting Arab and North African music globally and as co-founder of DAM, the first Palestinian hip-hop band. Suhel is well known for empowering the voices of fellow Palestinians.

Pathbreakers of Arab America—Raghida Dergham

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This is the eighty-fourth in Arab America’s series on American pathbreakers of Arab descent. The series features personalities from various fields, including entertainment, business, sports, science, the arts, academia, journalism, and politics. Our eighty-fourth pathbreaker is Raghida Dergham, a Lebanese American journalist, Founder and Executive Chairman of Beirut Institute, and Columnist for leading Arabic and English-language newspapers. She is one of the Arab world’s most well-known female journalists, famous as an interpreter of the Middle Eastern and American cultures and politics for her two audiences. As contributing editor John Mason highlights, Raghida is also known for her incisive analysis of President Donald Trump’s approach to world leadership and the necessity to treat his words seriously.

Pathbreakers of Arab America—Philip Hitti

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This is the eighty-first in Arab America’s series on American pathbreakers of Arab descent. The series features personalities from various fields, including entertainment, business, sports, science, the arts, academia, journalism, and politics, among others. Our eighty-first pathbreaker, Philip Hitti, is a Lebanese-born professor and scholar of Arab and Middle Eastern history, Islam, and Semitic languages, and a founder of Arab and Oriental studies in the U.S. John Mason,, contributing writer, focuses on Hitti as a strong proponent of an equitable political solution for Arabs who lived for centuries in what was historically known as Palestine.

Pathbreakers of Arab America—Riyad Mansour

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This is the seventy-fifth of Arab America’s series on American pathbreakers of Arab descent. The series includes personalities from entertainment, business, sports, science, arts, academia, journalism, and politics, among other areas. Our seventy-fifth pathbreaker, Dr. Riyad Mansour, is a Ramallah-born Palestinian American who has been a champion of Palestinian rights and presently serves as the third Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations. Contributing writer John Mason underscores Mansour’s total devotion to the Palestinian cause.

Pathbreakers of Arab America—Ismael Ahmed

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By: John Mason / Arab America Contributing Writer This is the seventy-third of Arab America’s series on American pathbreakers of Arab descent. The series includes personalities from entertainment, business, sports, science, arts, academia, journalism, and politics, among other areas. Our seventy-third pathbreaker, Ismael Ahmed, is an Arab American born in Brooklyn, New York, to a … Continued

Pathbreakers of Arab America—William Peter Blatty

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This is the sixty-ninth of Arab America’s series on American pathbreakers of Arab descent. The series includes personalities from entertainment, business, sports, science, arts, academia, journalism, and politics, among other areas. Our sixty-ninth pathbreaker, William Peter Blatty, a Christian Lebanese Arab, was a writer, a film director, and a producer. Blatty is best known for his 1971 novel, “The Exorcist,” and his 1973 screenplay for the film adaptation of the same name. Blatty won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for “The Exorcist” and was nominated for Best Picture as its producer. The film also earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama as producer. Contributing writer, John Mason, depicts Blatty’s rise to stardom as exceptional given his humble beginnings, characterized as “comfortable destitution.” He died in 2017.

Pathbreakers of Arab America—Rashida Tlaib

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This is the sixty-eighth of Arab America’s series on American pathbreakers of Arab descent. The series includes personalities from entertainment, business, sports, science, arts, academia, journalism, and politics, among other areas. Our sixty-eighth pathbreaker, Rashida Tlaib, an American lawyer and politician serving as a U.S. representative from Michigan since 2019, representing the state’s 12th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first Palestinian American woman to serve in Congress and is one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. Contributing writer, John Mason, highlights Rashida — a champion of underrepresented Americans and a staunch ally of Arab Americans.

Pathbreakers of Arab America—Ernest Hamwi

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This is the sixty-seventh of Arab America’s series on American pathbreakers of Arab descent. The series includes personalities from entertainment, business, sports, science, arts, academia, journalism, and politics, among other areas. Our sixty-seventh pathbreaker is Ernest Hamwi, a Syrian born Arab American businessman and entrepreneur. Born on November 18, 1883, in Damascus, Syria he is considered by some as the creator of the ice cream cone, which he purportedly conceived of while working as a concessionaire at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. Contributing writer, John Mason, informs us that there is much more information available on the ice cream cone than exists on Ernest himself. Nevertheless, this is his brief but eventful story.

Pathbreakers of Arab America—Rami Khouri

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This is the sixty-third of Arab America’s series on American pathbreakers of Arab descent. The series includes personalities from entertainment, business, sports, science, academia, journalism, and politics, among other areas. Our sixty-third pathbreaker is Rami Khoury, a Palestinian Jordanian, educated in both the Middle East and the U.S. A widely respected, internationally syndicated, political columnist and professor of journalism, Khoury is known for his clear, honest analyses of the global influence of the Middle East, including the hot button topics of today. Contributing writer, John Mason, takes us through a recent interview, in which Khoury renders a clear-eyed assessment of the Gaza war, especially the complicated roles of Hamas, Israel, and the U.S. in reaching a ceasefire.

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