List of Arabs

Public figures and politicians

Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed

Anwar Sadat

Bashar Al-Assad, Syrian President

Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Secretary-General of the United Nations

Carlos Menem (born 1930), President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999

Dodi Fayed, businessman and Princess Diana's partner

Faisal of Saudi Arabia (1904–1975), King of Saudi Arabia from 1964 to 1975

Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918–1970), second president of Egypt

George J. Mitchell, (Lebanese) United States of America special envoy to the Middle East under the Obama administration, U.S. senator from Maine, Senate Majority Leader.

Hanan Ashrawi (born 1946), Palestinian legislator

Harun al-Rashid (763–809), fifth Abbasid caliph

Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah

Hassan II (1929–1999), king of Morocco

Hassan al-Turabi (born c. 1932), Sudanese religious and political leader

Hafez Al-Assad, former Syrian President

Hosni Mubarak, former President of Egypt

Ibn Saud (1876–1953), first king of Saudi Arabia

John E. Sununu (Palestinian), Senator from New Hampshire

John H. Sununu (Palestinian), Governor of New Hampshire and White House Chief of Staff under George H. W. Bush.

Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, son of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and second president of the United Arab Emirates

Mitch Daniels (Assyrian), Governor of Indiana.

Mohammed V (1909–1961), Sultan, then King of Morocco

Mohammed VI (born 1963), King of Morocco

Mohamed ElBaradei (born 1942), Egyptian, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency from 1997 to 2009

Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and brother of Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Muammar al-Gaddafi (born 1942), former Libyan leader

Muhammad Abduh

Muhammad Husayn Haykal

Muhammad Naguib, President of Egypt

Mustafa Kamil Pasha

Mustafa Wahbi (1919–1971) Jordanian poet, lawyer, teacher, judge, political agitator and philosipher

Nadya Suleman (Iraqi father), "Octomom"

Nick Rahall (Lebanese), Congressman from West Virginia.

Omar al-Bashir (born 1944), President of Sudan

Osama bin Laden (1957–2011), founder of al-Qaeda

Qasim Amin

Rifa'a el-Tahtawi

Rosemary Barkett (Syrian), first woman Supreme Court Justice and Chief Justice for the state of Florida.

Saad Zaghlul

Saddam Hussein, (former Iraqi president)

Saud ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd al-Rahman Al Saud (1902–1969), second king of Saudi Arabia

Selwa Roosevelt (Lebanese), former Chief of Protocol of the United States and wife of the late Archibald Bulloch Roosevelt, Jr., grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Spencer Abraham (Lebanese), Senator from Michigan and Secretary of Energy under Bush.

Steve Bracks (born 1954), Lebanese Australian politician

Talaat Pasha Harb

Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (682–720), notable Umayyad Caliph

Yasser Arafat, (1929–2004), Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize.

Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (1918–2004), president of UAE from 1971 to 2004

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (born 1949), prime minister of UAE and ruler of Dubai

Military

Abdel Ghani el-Gamasy

Abdullah ibn Aamir (622–678), Rashidun Arab general

'Abd Allah ibn Rawahah (?–629), Arab general

Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah (583–638), Rashidun Arab military commander

Ahnaf ibn Qais (?–660), Rashidun Arab military commander

Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha, Rashidun Arab general

Al-Qa'qa'a ibn Amr at-Tamimi, Rashidun Arab general

Amr bin Al'aas (592–664), Rashidun Arab Armilitary commander

Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl (?–636), Rashidun Arab general

Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib (567–625), Muslim general, also known as "Lion of God"

Hashim ibn Utbah, Rashidun Arab general

Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman(?–656), Rashidun Arab general

Khalid ibn al-Walid (592–642), Rashidun Arab military commander, also known as "sayf Allah" (Sword of God)

George Joulwan (Lebanese), retired general, former NATO commander-in-chief

John Abizaid (Lebanese), retired general

Mavia, warrior queen

Mohammed ash-Sheikh (1490/1491–1557), first sultan of the Moroccan Saadi dynasty

An-Numan ibn Muqarrin (?–641), Rashidun Arab general

Omar Nasiri, Moroccan spy

Saad el-Shazly (1922–2011), Egypt's chief of staff during the October War

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (595–674), Rashidun Arab military commander

Shurhabil ibn Hasana (583-639), Rashidun Arab general

Ubayda ibn as-Samit, Rashidun Arab general

Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan (?–640), Rashidun Arab general

Zayd ibn Harithah, Arab general

Zenobia, Arab general

Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (594–656), Rashidun Arab general

Activists

Al-Ard

Dahlia Wasfi

Harith al-Dhari

Jamal al-Dhari

Ralph Nader, (Lebanese) consumer advocate, politician, first Arab American to run for President of the United States.

Salem Hanna Khamis

Toujan al-Faisal

Ibtihal Al-Khatib

Islah Jad

James Zogby, (Lebanese) founder and president of the Arab American Institute.

Umar al-Tilmisani, third General Guide (Murshid al-'Am) of the Egyptian Muslim Brothers

Zainab Salbi, (Iraqi), co-founder and president of Women for Women International.

Religious figures

Muhammad (570 or 571–632), messenger and prophet of Islam

Abu Bakr, companion of Muhammad and First Caliph

Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah

Aisha (d.678), third wife of Muhammad, the daughter of the first caliph Abu Bakr, and narrator of many hadith

Ali ibn Abi Talib (c. 599–661), cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad and Fourth Caliph, according to Shi'a Muslims, his successor

Hafsa bint Umar, wife of Muhammad and the daughter of the second caliph Omer ibn Alkatab

Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (555–619), first wife of Muhammad

Muadh ibn Jabal

Mus'ab ibn Umair (594/598–625), first ambassador of Islam

Saeed ibn Zaid

Sidi Mahrez Tunisian Wali, scholar of the Maliki school

Umar ibn al-Khattab, companion of Muhammad and Second Caliph

Uthman ibn Affan, companion of Muhammad and Third Caliph

Zayd ibn Thabit, personal scribe of Muhammad and was assigned the role of authenticating and collecting the oral Quranic traditions into a single bounded volume

Mathematics, physics and chemistry

Ahmed ibn Yusuf (835–912), mathematician

Ibn Tahir al-Baghdadi (980–1037), arithmetician

Ibrahim ibn Sinan (908–946), mathematician and astronomer in Baghdad

Al-Uqlidisi (920–980), author of two works on arithmetic. He may have anticipated the invention of decimals.

Al-Umawi (1400–1489), mathematician who wrote works on mensuration and arithmetic.

Al-Zarqali (1028–1087), influential early mathematician and astronomer

Ahmed Zewail (born 1946) Egyptian-American scientist, winner of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Farouk El-Baz (born 1938) Egyptian scientist

Charles Elachi, Lebanese director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Fawwaz T. Ulaby, Syrian winner of the 2006 IEEE Edison Medal and former Vice President of Research for the University of Michigan.

George A. Doumani, geologist whose explorations helped prove the theory of continental drift.

Ali ibn Ridwan (c. 988 – c. 1061), astronomer and geometer with Khalid Ben Abdulmelik.

Muhammad al-Fazari credited with building the first astrolabe in the Islamic world.

Biology and medicine

Abd el-Latif el-Baghdadi (1162–1231). physician, historian and Egyptologist.

Elias Zerhouni (Algerian) current director of the National Institutes of Health.

Ibn Zuhr (1091–1161), prominent physician and parasitologist

Michael DeBakey

Ibn Abi Usaibia (1203–1270, Damascus, Syria), an Arab physician and Historian. He wrote Uyun al-Anba fi Tabaqat al-Atibba or Lives of the Physicians.

Al-Zahrawi (936–1013), influential medieval surgeon and author.

Al-Asma'i (739–831), pioneer of Zoology, Botany and Animal Husbandry.

Afif Abdul Wahab, doctor surgeon

Nayef Al-Rodhan, neuroscientist, philosopher and geostrategist

Sami Ibrahim Haddad, doctor, surgeon and writer

Wafaa El-Sadr, director of the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs

Engineering

Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil, architect

Hassan Fathy (1900–1989), noted Egyptian architect

Hassan Kamel Al-Sabbah (1895–1935), early electrical and electronics research engineer, mathematician and inventor.

Rifat Chadirji, architect

Suad Amiry, architect

Zaha Hadid (1950 – 2016), Iraqi-British architect

Humanities and social sciences

Edward Said (1935–2003) Palestinian-American literary theorist.

Ella Shohat, Professor of Cultural Studies at New York University, author and lecturer.

Ibn Wahshiyya (fl. 9th century/10th century) One of the first historians to partly decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Jack Shaheen, emeritus professor of mass communications at Southern Illinois University and author.

Nada Shabout (born 1962) Iraqi American art historian, lecturer, author.

Sasson Somekh (born 1933) Professor emeritus of Modern Arab Literature at Tel Aviv University.

Usamah ibn Munqidh (1095–1188, Damascus, Syria), an Arab historian, politician, and diplomat.

Philosophy

Ibn Hazm (994–1064) Andalusian philosopher

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, philosopher, researcher, and veteran practitioner of financial mathematics

Nayef Al-Rodhan, philosopher, neuroscientist and geostrategist

Traveling

Ahmad ibn Fadlan (10th century, Baghdad, Iraq) traveler; member of an embassy of the Caliph of Baghdad.

Ibn Majid (1421–c.1500) Arabian navigator

Writing

Ahmad al-Qalqashandi (1355–1418) writer

Abbas Ibn al-Ahnaf (750–809) (عباس بن الأحنف)

Iliyya Abu Madi, (d. 1957)

Layla al-Akhyaliyyah, (d. 704)

Abu-l-'Atahiya, (d. 828)

Muhyi al-din ibn al-'Arabi, (d. 1240)

Abdullah ibn al-Mu'tazz (861–908)

Abd Al-Rahman Abnudi (b. 1938)

Abdel latif Moubarak (b. 1964)

Abdul Rahman Yusuf (b. 1970)

Abo Al Qassim Al Shabbi

Abu-l-'Atahiya (748–828)

Al-Mutanabbi (915–965)

Abu 'Afak (7th Century)

Abu Tammam (c. 805–845)

Abbas Al Akkad (1889–1964)

Adunis (b. 1928–)

Ali Al Jallawi (b. 1975–)

al-Akhtal (c. 640–710)

Maymun Ibn Qays Al-a'sha (570–625)

Muhammed Almagut (1934–2006)

Al-Rabi ibn Abu al-Huqayq (7th Century)

'Alqama ibn 'Abada (6th century)

Ibn Ammar (c. 1031–1086)

Amr ibn Kulthum (6th century)

'Antara Ibn Shaddad (d. c. 580)

Asma bint Marwan

Abu Layla al-Muhalhel

Antarah ibn Shaddad

Ibn Hawqal (943–969, Iraq) writer

Imru' al-Qais

Al-Khansa

Al-A'sha

Zuhayr bin Abi Sulma

Amr ibn Kulthum

Harith ibn Hilliza Al-Yashkuri

Labīd

Tarafa

Al-Nabigha

Mathematics

Avempace (1085–1138) Polymath

Ahmed ibn Yusuf (835, Baghdad–912, Egypt) mathematician

Al-Battani (850, Harran, Turkey–929, Qasr al-Jiss, Iraq) mathematician

Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ibn Matar (786–833) mathematician

Al-Abbās ibn Said al-Jawharī (800–860, Baghdad) mathematician

Thabit ibn Qurra (826–902, Harran, Turkey) mathematician

Other

Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (936–1013) Andalusian scientist; also known as Abulcasis

Alhazen (965–c.1039) Scientist from Basra (modern Iraq)

Al-Jazari (1136–1206) Polymath from Al-Jazira (modern Iraq/Syria)

Christa McAuliffe, Arab American: schoolteacher/astronaut who lost her life aboard the space shuttle Challenger

Fatima al-Fihri (d. 880) founder of the University of Qarawiyyin, Morocco

Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf (1526–1585) Polymath from Damascus

Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen) (965, Basra, Buyid Emirate–1040, Cairo, Egypt) polymath and philosopher.

Wasil ibn Ata (700–748) theologian and jurist

Al-Kindi (801, Basra, Iraq–873, Baghdad, Iraq) philosopher, polymath, mathematician, physician and musician.

Film, TV, radio, and stage

Alia Shawkat, (Iraqi father) actress

Anissa Jones, (Lebanese maternal grandparents) actress Family Affair.

Casey Kasem, (Lebanese) radio personality and voice actor.

Danny Nucci, (Moroccan mother) actor.

Danny Thomas, (Lebanese) actor and his daughter Marlo Thomas, actress.

Duraid Lahham (born 1934) Syrian Comedian and director

Fawaz Gerges, (Lebanese) ABC analyst and regular guest on Oprah's Anti-war series.

George Noory, (Lebanese) radio host, host of Coast To Coast AM with George Noory.

Haifa Wehbe, Lebanese former beauty pageant contestant, singer and actress

Jamie Farr, (Lebanese) Hollywood actor especially famous for his role as Klinger (also Lebanese) in the TV series "M*A*S*H".

Kathy Najimy, (Lebanese) actress in many American films that include Sister Act.

Michael Ansara, (Syriac), actor.

Moustapha Akkad, (Syrian) film producer and director

Mahmoud Darwish, (1941–2008), Palestinian poet and author.

Mia Khalifa, Lebanese-American actress

Omar Sharif (born 1932) Egyptian actor

Ronnie Khalil, (Egyptian) stand-up comedian.

Sanaa Hamri, (Moroccan) music video and movie director; her films include the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.

Shannon Elizabeth, (Syrian father) actress.

Tony Shalhoub, (Lebanese) executive producer and actor of Monk.

Vic Tayback, (Syrian), actor.

Vince Vaughn, (partially Lebanese) actor.

Wendie Malick, (Egyptian), actress and fashion model

Wentworth Miller, (Part Syrian/Lebanese) actor.

Hoda Kotb, (Egyptian) television news personality for Dateline NBC and the Today Show.

Hala Gorani, (Syrian) CNN International news correspondent.

Yousef Abu-Taleb, (Jordanian) actor lonelygirl15, Film Producer

Susie Gharib, co-anchor of the Nightly Business Report, 100 most influential business journalists.

Hala Gorani, (Syrian) journalist and anchor of CNN's International Desk.

Remy Munasifi, (Iraqi father/Lebanese mother) comedian also known as GoRemy

Salma Hayek, (Lebanese), Actress, director and producer

Keanu Reeves, American actor of Lebanese descent

Sean Yazbeck, (Lebanese), winner of Donald Trumps 'The Apprentice', NBC (2006)

Samer al-Masry,(Syrian), Famous actor.

Musicians

Amr Diab, Egyptian singer and composer of geel music

Ahmed Mekky, (Egyptian) rapper and singer

Asmahan, (Syrian) singer and actress

Fairuz, (born 1935) Lebanese singer

Frank Zappa, (half Arab father) musician

Fredwreck, (Palestinian) hip-hop producer

French Montana (Moroccan) rapper

Haifa Wehbe, (Lebanese) singer

Hamada Ben Amor, (Tunisian) rapper

Karl Wolf, (Lebanese) singer

Cheb Khaled (Algerian) raï musician

DJ Khaled, (Palestinian) rapper, music producer

La Fouine, (Moroccan) rapper, singer-songwriter

Lydia Canaan, (Lebanese) singer-songwriter, recording artist

Maryem Tollar, (Egyptian) singer who primarily sings Arabic songs.

Massari, (Lebanese) singer

Naser Mestarihi, (Jordanian father) Hard rock musician

Nancy Ajram (Lebanese) singer

Omar Khorshid (Egyptian), instrumental guitarist

Paul Anka, (Lebanese) singer-songwriter.

RedOne, (Moroccan) singer-songwriter, music producer

Sammy Hagar, (partially Lebanese) rock musician and former lead singer of Van Halen

Shadia Mansour,(Palestinian) singer and rapper

Shakira, (half Lebanese), singer

Umm Kulthum (c.1900–1975) Egyptian singer

Wafah Dufour, (Saudi Arabian Father) supermodel and singer

Writers

Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad (1889–1964), Egyptian thinker and writer

Charles Corm (Lebanese) (1894–1963) Writer, businessman and philanthropist

Abdel Rahman Shokry (b. 1886), Egyptian poet

Al-Khansa (7th century) Arabian poet

Al-Mutanabbi (915–965) Poet from Samawah (modern Iraq)

Amin Maalouf (born 1949) Lebanese author

Antarah ibn Shaddad (fl.580) Pre-Islamic Arabian hero and poet

Fadwa Touqan (1917–2003) Palestinian Poet, known for her representations of resistance to Israeli occupation in contemporary Arab poetry

Ibrahim Touqan (1905–1941) Palestinian Poet and college professor

Imru' al-Qais (c.501–c.544) Arabian poet

Khalil Gibran or Gibran Khalil Gibran, (1883–1931) Lebanese-American writer, philosopher, and painter.

Naguib Mahfouz (1911–2006) Egyptian novelist

Naomi Shihab Nye (born 1952) Palestinian-American writer.

Sinan Antoon (born 1967) Iraqi poet and novelist.

Taha Hussein (1889–1973) Egyptian writer

Edward Said, (Palestinian) literary theorist and outspoken Palestinian activist.

Helen Thomas, (Lebanese) reporter, columnist and White House correspondent.

Nader El-Bizri, (Lebanese) philosopher, historian of science, and architect.

Ismail al-Faruqi, (Palestinian) philosopher and authority on Islam and comparative religion.

Ahmad ibn Khalid al-Nasiri, Moroccan writer

Mona Simpson, (Syrian father Abdulfattah Jandali) novelist.

Lorraine Ali, (Iraqi) reporter, editor, culture writer, and music critic for Newsweek.

Mohamed Ali al-Nasiri, Iraqi journalist

Mohammed al-Makki al-Nasiri, Moroccan writer

Albert Memmi, Tunisian writer.

Wafaa Abed Al Razzaq (born 1952), Iraqi poet and writer

Artists

See list of Arab artists

Fashion

Elie Saab (born 1964), Lebanese fashion designer

Zuhair Murad, fashion designer

Frederic Fekkai, hair stylist

Joseph Abboud, menswear designer

Reem Acra, Lebanese fashion designer

Georges Chakra, Lebanese fashion designer

Other

Rima Fakih (Lebanese), Miss USA 2010

Valerie Domínguez Tarud (Lebanese), previous Miss Colombia

Dina Azar, Miss Lebanon 1995

Gabrielle Bou Rached, Miss Lebanon 2005

Sonia Fares, Miss Lebanon 1969

Nadine Njeim, Miss Lebanon 2007

Georgina Rizk (born 1953) Miss Lebanon 1970/Miss Universe 1971

Christina Sawaya, Miss Lebanon 2001/Miss International 2002

Rosarita Tawil, Miss Lebanon 2008

Entrepreneurs

Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (1968–2010), UAE businessman

Al-Waleed bin Talal (born 1955), member of the Saudi royal family, and world's 19th richest person in 2010

B R Shetty, UAE businessman

Carlos Slim (born 1940), Mexican businessman and world's wealthiest person (April 2010)

Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc. (Syrian father Abdulfattah Jandali).

Qais Al Khonji, (Omani) founder of Genesis Projects and Investments.

John Zogby, (Lebanese) founder and current President/CEO of Zogby International.

Naguib Sawiris, 62nd richest person on earth in a 2007 list of billionaires, reaching US$10.0 billion with his company Orascom Telecom Holding

Najeeb Halaby, (Syrian) father of Queen Noor of Jordan Lisa Elhalabi, Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. CEO, and chairman of Pan Am.

Manuel Moroun, owner of CenTra, Inc., the holding company which controls the Ambassador Bridge and Michigan Central Depot.

Jacques Nasser, (Lebanese) former president and CEO of .

John J. Mack, (Lebanese) Chairman of the Board and CEO of Morgan Stanley.

Charles Corm, (Lebanese) exclusive agent of over 50 major US brands including Ford Motor Company.

Ray R. Irani, (Palestinian) Chairman and CEO of Occidental Petroleum.

Carlos Ghosn, (Lebanese) Chairman and CEO of Renault and Nissan.

Sports

Ahmed Kaddour, (Lebanese) professional boxer, from NBC show The Contender

Alaa Abdelnaby, NBA player for the Portland Trail Blazers, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Sacramento Kings

Bill George, NFL player and Hall of Famer

Drew Haddad, of the Indianapolis Colts

Doug Flutie, (Lebanese father) NFL Player of the Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers.

Gavin Maloof, owns the Sacramento Kings

George Maloof, Sr., owned the NBA’s Houston Rockets

Hicham El Guerrouj, Moroccan former middle distance runner, holder of multiple world records, and a double Olympic gold medalist.

Jeff George, quarterback for several NFL teams

Jim Harrick, UCLA’s coach

Joe Robbie, former owner and founder of the NFL's Miami Dolphins.

John Jaha, sports athlete, of the MLB Milwaukee Brewers.

Justin Abdelkader, American ice hockey forward playing for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Khalid Khannouchi, (Moroccan) marathon world record holder.

Omar Sheika, (Palestinian) professional boxer, four-time world title challenger.

Rich Kotite, NFL coach

Rocco Baldelli, (Syrian) professional baseball Red Sox.

Rony Seikaly, (Lebanese) former NBA Player, now DJ

Nasser Al-Attiyah, (Qatari) 2012 Olympic skeet bronze medallist, and racing driver.

Mostapha al-Turk, (Lebanese) retired MMA fighter that competed in the UFC