Sami Zayn Interviewed By ESPN About Overcoming “Arab Villain” Stereotype

ESPN posted an interesting article about Sami Zayn, who is a Syrian Muslim, working against the demonization of Arabs and Muslims in wrestling and in pop culture generally.

Rami Sebei wrestles under the name Sami Zayn in the WWE. He is one of the company’s biggest stars, and he is also a Syrian Muslim who speaks Arabic fluently. Perhaps in another time and place, Sebei’s background would force him to be a villainous character paired up against an American hero, causing thousands of fans in arenas across the country to boo him and chant, “U-S-A!”

But times have certainly changed. Sebei, who was born and raised in Montreal, essentially plays a caricature version of himself in the ring, without allowing his race, religion or outside stereotypes define him in the eyes of others.

Of course, Ariya Daivari, who is Iranian, currently has a “Middle Eastern villain” gimmick.

Sami Zayn had this to say about the “evil Arab” stereotype:

“It’s definitely a sensitive topic to discuss, but I have felt since I signed with the WWE I was in a unique position to reestablish how Arabs were perceived in the WWE and western media,” Sebei told ESPN.com in a recent interview. “Ever since I was a kid and growing up and watching things like the ‘Naked Gun’ movies, there was always this stereotype about how Arabs were perceived and portrayed. I’ve never watched those Arab villains in the movie and felt like that was me. They were nothing like me, and now I get to just be me — and hopefully being me strikes a chord with a lot of young Arabs and non-Arabs, honestly. We’re really not all that different.”