'Sesame Street' teaches Elmo Arabic: 'What does salam alaykum mean?'

In between the Cookie Monster explaining his favorite exercise and Elmo pretending to be a DJ with frisbees, "Sesame Street" took time to promote Arabic culture.
The formerly beloved children's program put out a video celebrating "Arab-American Heritage Month" letting everyone know the word of the day is "habibi."
'Happy Arab-American Heritage Month, habibi.'
The word, a common term of affection often translated as "my dear," was not only featured in the caption for the show's social media push, but was featured in a video where Elmo learns Arabic along with viewers.
Sesame souk
New York comedian Ramy Youssef joined Elmo for the sketch; Youssef has Egyptian parents.
"Salam alaykum, everyone," the comedian began, prompting questions from the muppet.
"Mr. Ramy, what does salam alaykum mean?"
Youssef explained that "salam means peace" and that the greeting is generally a "way to say hello."
"Oh, cool," Elmo replied, before repeating the greeting to the children. "Oh, salam alaykum everybody. ... Happy Arab-American Heritage Month."
Elmo and Youssef then dove into the "Sesame Street" word of the day to teach viewers another Arabic word.
RELATED: 'Sesame Street' targets children for Pride Month ... again: 'This should not be promoted to kids'
- YouTube
Muppet madrasa
In a video with 1.2 million views on TikTok, Youssef said, "'I'm so proud of my Arab heritage, and I'm so happy to share this month with my fellow Arabs and Elmo. So, thanks, habibi."
Elmo, who is neither Muslim nor a native Arabic speaker, again asked for the meaning of the word.
"Oh, it's an Arabic word for a special friend," the comedian replied.
"Really? Uh, well, happy Arab-American Heritage Month, habibi. We love you," Elmo concluded.
The video might be more jarring if this type of content wasn't part and parcel of "Sesame Street" in recent years.
The show has been heavily invested in promoting progressive politics to children, even extending that to dipping its furry toes into gender politics.
RELATED: 'Elmo says ALL JEWS SHOULD DIE': Elmo X account goes rabid, calls for genocide after alleged hack

Street smarts
In 2022, "Sesame Street" promoted gay and lesbian parents to children through a song, and in May 2020 it showcased Jonathan Van Ness, a man who claims to be nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns.
Other odd presentations have included Hispanic Heritage Month and "Sesame Street: The ABCs of COVID Vaccines."
Youssef is reportedly a practicing Muslim and is married to a woman from Saudi Arabia.
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Sabrina Carpenter CLEARED of 'Islamophobia' after viral ululation confrontation

Pop songstress Sabrina Carpenter dared to express discontent with a different culture, and now she's apologizing for it.
In fact, the young singer had no idea what she was making fun of at the time, but she has been properly re-educated since the incident.
'I don't like it.'
Swiss miss
It was Friday night at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, when Carpenter heard what she thought was "yodeling" from a member of the crowd.
"I think I heard someone yodel," Carpenter said while seated at a piano. "Is that what you're doing?" she asked.
"It's Arab! It's an Arab call!" an audience member can be heard yelling back.
"I don't like it," Carpenter firmly replied.
The 26-year-old offered an awkward smile as the audience member provided further explanation.
"It's my culture!" they offered.
"That's your culture, is yodeling?" the puzzled singer asked back.
Still the fan tried to culturally enrich the Quakertown, Pennsylvania, singer.
"It's Arab, it's a call. It's a call of celebration," they went on, according to 7News Australia.
Seemingly ready to end the exchange, Carpenter jumped in, "Is this Burning Man? What's going on? This is weird."
Trilling tales
Fortunately, the internet stepped in to educate Carpenter, noting that the ululation she heard is called a zaghrouta.
A helpful community note on X described the screams as a "pre-Islamic cultural expression of joy used by Arabs across religions, including Christians, at celebrations."
It added, "It is not an Islamic practice, so Sabrina Carpenter's reaction to the sound does not indicate islamophobia."
OK, but what about ... Arabaphobia? A few cultural commissars tried to make the charge stick, but for the most part, fans were happy to chalk it all up to a misunderstanding.
Carpenter offered a playful apology on her X page, saying that she would welcome any further cultural cries, or yodels, in the future:
"My apologies i didn’t see this person with my eyes and couldn’t hear clearly," she wrote. "My reaction was pure confusion, sarcasm and not ill intended. could have handled it better! now i know what a Zaghrouta is! I welcome all cheers and yodels from here on out."
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ICE-capades
Carpenter has not shied away from controversial interactions, especially of the political nature.
In December, she demanded the White House cease using her music in a video that showed people getting arrested, presumably illegal immigrants.
"This video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda," Carpenter replied,
The singer also offered voter registration during her 2024 tour, registering more than 35,000 voters and officially engaging with more than 260,000, according to Variety.
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The Child-Rape Phase Of Liberalism Has Arrived In Ireland
The Irish are a deeply religious people. They have rejected their Catholic heritage and replaced it with devout secular liberalism.Dearborn Heights’ Arabic Police Patch Snafu Is A Badge Of Surrender
Dearborn Heights, Michigan, Mayor Bill Bazzi announced Friday that the new Arabic police patch was not “official” — but didn’t rule out adopting such a badge of surrender in the future. A Facebook post from the police department posted earlier this week read: “The Dearborn Heights Police Department [DHPD] is proud to share a new […]Michigan police force becomes first in US to have Arabic writing on its patch

An Eastern Michigan city is sparking controversy for having the first American police force with Arabic writing on its patch.
Less than a week after the Western Michigan University football team caused a stir by having one of its players take the field with his name written in Arabic on his jersey, a city just west of Detroit and close to the Canadian border announced its police force will also feature the foreign language.
'This new design is another way we continue to celebrate the rich cultures that make our city unique.'
Police in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, boasted in a Facebook post on Wednesday that they have unveiled a new Arabic/English patch for their officers.
"The Dearborn Heights Police Department is proud to share a new 𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 patch that our officers may wear as part of their uniform," the department wrote.
The patch displays the Michigan seal in the center with "Dearborn Heights Police" written around it in both English and Arabic.
"This patch was created by Officer Emily Murdoch, who designed it to reflect and honor the diversity of our community — especially the many residents of Arabic descent who call Dearborn Heights home," the post continued.
RELATED: Western Michigan sparks controversy with Arabic jersey during NCAA college football kickoff
They said their goal was to bring sharia law to America.
You should’ve believed them.
Pray for Michigan. https://t.co/M4Ge4wWN6T
— Congressman Randy Fine (@RepFine) September 5, 2025
The police department claimed that including the Arabic script was a sign of "unity, respect," and a "shared commitment to service."
"We are proud of Officer Murdoch's creativity and dedication in helping our department better represent the people we serve," the post added. "This new design is another way we continue to celebrate the rich cultures that make our city unique."
Fox 2 Detroit was able to confirm with the department that the patch was indeed optional for officers.
Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) shared an image of the new patch on X and said it was "their goal" to "bring sharia law to America."
"You should've believed them. Pray for Michigan," he wrote.
None of the Republican congressmen from Michigan appeared to make a public statement about the patch.

Dearborn Heights has a Middle Eastern and North African population of 39% as of 2023, Fox 2 Detroit reported. Dearborn, Michigan, its neighbor to the east, reportedly has a similar population, representing about 55%.
The region has long been considered to be a hub for Arabs, with Dearborn Police showing off a Community Policing Center that featured Arabic writing in November 2001, just two months after the September 11th attacks.
Also in 2001, Michigan State Police called the area "a major financial support center for many Mideast terrorist groups."
"Southeast Michigan is known as a lucrative recruiting area and potential support base for international terrorist groups. It is also conceivable that ‘sleeper cells’ may be located in that area of the state," a police report said, according to NBC News.
As well, a 2001 report by the New York Times cited Detroit as having around 300,000 Arabs in the metropolitan area. This included: Palestinians, Iraqis, Yeminis, Syrians, and Lebanese.
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Is Europe close to being conquered? These statistics paint a harrowing picture

When it comes to progressivism, Europe is just a few steps ahead of the United States. While there are many insidious policies contributing to its decline, such as the criminalization of hate speech, its immigration policies are the most outwardly destructive. Several European countries have opened their borders and allowed in millions of immigrants, many of whom hate Western values and the Westerners who live by them.
France specifically is going downhill at such a rate that in many ways, it’s beginning to look like a conquered nation.
Glenn Beck lists some terrifying statistics.
- “Over 260 French citizens have been killed in terrorist attacks since 2012.”
- “There were almost 1,000 anti-Christian hate crimes in France in [2023] alone.”
- “Earlier this year, a cemetery in Southwest France was vandalized with graffiti written in French and Arabic. The messages included ‘Submit to Allah’ and ‘France is already Allaha’s.”’
- “In May at a church in Western France, benches were set on fire and a statue of Mary was beheaded.”
- “Last week in a town in Northern France, an arsonist burned down another church. This one was built in the 1800s.”
- “In 2021 the president of the Paris-based Observatory of Religious Heritage reported that a church is destroyed in France every two weeks, with two-thirds of them caused by arson,” but “a new mosque is built every 15 days in France.”
Given that there are roughly 6.7 million Muslims in France, which is “about 10% of the French population,” something must be done about these alarming figures.
Luckily, President Macron has a plan. Unfortunately, it’s a terrible one.
“The centerpiece of Macron’s proposal is to certify and train imams in France. The proposed measure also included offering Arabic instruction in public schools, tightening control on private religious education, limiting homeschooling, and cracking down on speech or activities that contradict so-called Republican values such as gender-segregated hours at municipal swimming pools,” Glenn reads from Foreign Policy.
“The Muslims are going to line up for the government teaching … and everything’s going to change,” he says sarcastically.
Unfortunately, it’s not just France that’s spiraling toward disaster. It’s Europe as a whole.
From a Qatar charity that funds mosque-building in Europe and the conversion of churches into restaurants, gyms, and nightclubs to the catch-and-release policies that are putting illegal immigrant criminals back on the streets, Europe is looking more like a conquered continent with each day that passes.
To learn more, watch the clip above.
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FACT CHECK: No, The Mayor Of London Did Not Urge People To Learn Arabic To ‘Create Harmony’
Jews and gays must once again beware in German capital city, police chief says

Berlin is once again a dangerous place for Jews and homosexuals, according to the city's chief of police.
The German newspaper Berliner Zeitung recently asked chief Barbara Slowik whether Berlin was safe. Slowik initially tried to avoid characterizing her city as a haven for imported extremism, suggesting, "Berlin is as safe as many other cities in Germany and safer than many other European capitals."
When pressed on whether there were "no-go areas," Slowik, who was instrumental in setting up the Joint Extremism and Counter-Terrorism Center, admitted that "there are areas — and we have to be honest here — where I would advise people who wear a kippah or are openly gay or lesbian to be more alert."
Slowik said she wouldn't "defame any groups of people here" but acknowledged that "there are certain neighborhoods where the majority of people liv[ing there] are of Arab descent, who also have sympathies for terrorist groups."
The German ministry of the interior and community acknowledged in September that the country's worsening crime problem was the result, in part, of "more foreigner crime." Many of the non-Germans hail from Middle Eastern hotbeds for Islamic radicalism.
'It is not the job of Jews and homosexuals to be "more attentive" in certain areas of Berlin.'
According to the publication Junge Freiheit, the number of all registered crimes — not including violations of immigration law — skyrocketed by 4.4% last year to 5.6 million incidents. Rainer Wendt, the head of the German Police Union, highlighted police statistics in April indicating that foreigners now account for at least 41% of all suspects in Germany and are massively over-represented among violent and sexual offenders.
The problem of imported crime bled into 2024 with some high-profile examples, starting right away in the early hours of New Year's Day, when scores of Syrians and Afghan males rioted in several German cities, attacking first responders with incendiary devices and robbing others. Months later, an Afghan immigrant went on a stabbing spree and butchered a police officer at an anti-jihad rally in the southwestern German town of Mannheim.
Anti-Semitic attacks have apparently skyrocketed since Oct. 7, 2023.
"Open anti-Semitism is expressed there against people of Jewish faith and origin," continued the police chief, adding that the force has opened over 6,200 investigations into anti-Semitic incidents, including 1,300 violent crimes, since the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel last year.
'The safety of Jews and homosexuals can only be guaranteed by ending mass migration.'
According to Slowik, the city was able to prevent 24 mass gatherings that were explicitly aimed at celebrating the murder of Israeli civilians.
Other rallies featuring anti-Semitic messaging and glorifying Islamic terrorism have apparently gone unchecked in part due to the fact that bans would not ultimately rid Berlin of the extremists responsible as well as a desire on the part of officials to selectively respect residents' rights to expression and assembly.
Although keen not to encroach on the rights of foreign-born anti-Semites, German authorities have sought to ban, vilify, disarm, de-bank, and criminalize the popular Alternative for Germany party and its members, largely over their criticism of mass immigration, open borders, and Islamization.
Marie-Thérèse Kaiser, a member of the AFD, was convicted of a "hate crime" in May for sharing statistics about the disproportionate number of gang rapes committed by immigrants, specifically Afghan nationals, and for asking whether multiculturalism means accommodating rape culture.
Just last week, 113 German lawmakers from various leftist and establishment factions reportedly signed an application to begin proceedings to ban the AFD. They appear especially concerned by recent polls showing that the AFD ranks second going into the 2025 federal election.
While kneecapping the AFD is a key priority for the German political establishment, the AFD alternatively appears keen on tackling the fallout of Germany's failed multicultural project — having learned independently what former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman concluded in 2023: that "uncontrolled immigration, inadequate integration, and a misguided dogma of multiculturalism have proven a toxic combination" for the West.
The AFD said in a statement Tuesday that Slowik's admission about no-go zones was "an absolute declaration of bankruptcy for [Christian Democratic Union]-governed Berlin," adding that this "is what 'cosmopolitan' Berlin looks like under a CDU mayor."
"The police chief is turning the responsibilities on their head. It is not the job of Jews and homosexuals to be 'more attentive' in certain areas of Berlin, but rather it is the job of the CDU-led Senate to be 'more attentive' to consistent deportations, protected borders and an assertive constitutional state," said the AFD.
"The safety of Jews and homosexuals can only be guaranteed by ending mass migration," added the AFD statement.
Berlin is far from the only Western city where Jewish citizens have been told to keep their heads down to avoid the fallout of liberal elites' promised cultural enrichment.
Blaze News reported earlier this year that London's Metropolitan Police threatened to arrest Gideon Falter, the head of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, in April for daring to be "quite openly Jewish" in the English capital's Aldwych area while pro-Hamas protesters were demonstrating nearby.
A police sergeant took notice of Falter and his kippah cap and confronted him, saying, "I'm sure there are an awful lot of people of all sorts of faiths and creeds who want to go where they want. But unfortunately, today is different."
"So basically, because I'm Jewish, I can't cross the road today?" asked Falter.
"Because of the march," said the sergeant.
Falter pressed the issue, saying, "Yes, because I am Jewish?"
"That is part of — unfortunately part of the fact," said the sergeant.
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