Ameen Rihani

Representatives Nick Rahall (D-West Virginia) and Charles Boustany (R-Louisiana) introduced a bipartisan resolution honoring the life of Arab American writer Ameen Rihani (1876–1940) and celebrating 100 years of the Arab American novel.

The resolution elaborates Rihani’s role in educating the American public about the Arab world at the turn of the century and describes his vision of a cooperative relationship between Arabs and Americans that emerged after his travels through the Arabian Peninsula in the 1920s. Rihani’s 1911 novel, The Book of Khalid, tells an extraordinary story of migration from Baalbek, Lebanon to Washington Street in Lower Manhattan. Washington Street was the home away from home for many Arab Americans.

We need you to help this resolution pass. Please urge your Member of Congress to co-sponsor House Resolution 608 honoring Rihani.


While you’re at it, please take a look at Save Washington Street, the effort to save what is left of Little Syria. So many of our ancestors walked along Washington Street. We need to preserve what remains for the next generations.