Friday March 29th, 2024
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Did You Know These Celebrities Were Syrian?

Created by Syrian artist Moustafa Jacoub, the 'I Am Syrian’ campaign fights prejudice one picture at a time by identifying celebrities and notable historical figures of Syrian origin.

Staff Writer

Did You Know These Celebrities Were Syrian?

Much like a vicious circle, the war in Syria has triggered a self-perpetuating mechanism continuously leading to xenophobia and discrimination against Syrian refugees, not only in Western nations but also in Egypt and the Middle East. Be it the terrorist attack in Paris or the New Year’s Eve mass assaults against women in downtown Cologne, Syrian refugees are often victim to demonisation and, more importantly, de-humanisation.

Aiming to counteract the negative narrative, Syrian artist Moustafa Jacoub kickstarted a campaign to highlight the historical contributions of talented Syrian artists, professionals, and scientists, including internationally acclaimed celebrities of Syrian origin.

Entitled I Am Syrian, the campaign was so well received that Jacoub launched a sequel, including other accomplished Syrian natives such as Dina Katabi, Director of the MIT Wireless Centre. “After the Paris attacks and the events in Germany, Western media reduced the image of Syrian people to terrorists or sexual harassers; so the campaign aims to revert that image and highlight the cultural contribution of Syrians,” the artists and engineer tells CairoScene.

Jacoub, born in 1981, fled his home country of Syria four years ago and settled down in Germany, where he stayed until 2015, after which he moved to Texas where he recently began studying digital arts. “Unfortunately, Westerners know nothing about Syria. They do not know that we were a civilised nation and always will be, and that we have a deep effect on world cultural heritage,” he says. The posters, published on his Facebook profile, have rapidly circulated through the net and been shared thousands of times. 

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Apple Co-Founder and CEO Steve Jobs

Jerry Seinfeld, Creator of Seinfeld 

Academy-Award Winning Actor Murray Abraham