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Cross-Cultural Understanding

Pathbreakers of Arab America—Ameen Faris Rihani

This is the twenty-ninth in 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 twenty-ninth pathbreaker is Ameen Faris Rihani, a preeminent Arab American Scholar. He was born in Freike, Lebanon, in 1876, the son of Maronite Christian parents, and emigrated to New York in 1888. Contributing writer, John Mason, writes about how he became an American citizen in 1901. Rihani was not only a fine Lebanese American writer and an intellectual and political activist, but he was also a major figure in the Arab diaspora literary movement developed by Arab emigrants in North America. He died back in Lebanon in 1940.

As World Cup 2022 Fades from Memory, it Leaves Behind an Important Message about Arab Culture

One particular highlight of the World Cup was tournament Argentine hero Lionel Messi donning the Arab bisht or traditional Arab men’s cloak. Some critics believed that Messi’s celebrating while wearing the bisht was a step too far. Foreign fans who had stayed on after the Cup sidled up to Qatar’s culture, enjoying some of its joys. Qatari ambassador to the U.S. declared that the World Cup, contributing writer John Mason reports, provided “a unique global opportunity to promote unity, discover commonalities, and break down cultural barriers and misperceptions, with soccer as the unifying force.

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