Sumaya El-Zaher
The portrayals of Muslims in the Western entertainment world have always been about terrorists or Aladdin and the magic lamp. These stereotypical images of Muslims have been used for a period of what seems to be forever. However, it feels like these stereotypes might change very soon. Ramy Youssef is the name of the man who is showing the world what the reality of many Arab Muslims looks like.
Ramy Youssef is the Egyptian American actor, comedian and writer who won this year’s TV musical or comedy actor Golden Globe for his role in “Ramy”, a semi-autobiographical Hulu comedy series. The series, of which a second season has been confirmed, talks about the life of the young American Muslim Ramy who lives in between his Egyptian community and his fearless millennial friends. Although Ramy doesn’t want to generalize his story to all Muslims, this series shows how many Muslim second-generation immigrants in America struggle to identify themselves and claim their position in society. Ramy not only played the main character, himself, in the series, but also participated in directing and writing the series.
During his Golden Globe acceptance speech, he said, “I would like to thank my God – Allahu Akbar – and Hulu” and continued “I know you guys haven’t seen my show. Everyone is like, ‘Is this an editor?’”
Ramy is also a stand-up comedian. In his first HBO show ‘Feelings’ he talks about his life as an Egyptian American working in the entertainment industry and about his father’s immigration story, Donald Trump and many more topics.
Youssef was born in New York in 1991, studied political science and economics in college before attending the William Esper Studio for a professional actor training program. After he finished his studies he moved to Los Angeles and started his acting career.
The comedian and actor is currently working on two more shows, one for Apple TV+ and one for Netflix.