How Egyptian Americans, Nashville’s third-largest immigrant group, find community

Thousands of Egyptian families have arrived in Nashville since the 1990s, and many of the new arrivals have kept the local service industry afloat, staffing the Gaylord Opryland hotel and other tourist destinations.

As the community continues to plant roots in Nashville, it faces several challenges. There are those many communities face, like displacement due to gentrification, but also unique issues, like the need for an Arabic language option on driving tests, and more communication between a Coptic Christian majority and a Muslim minority. The community is also supporting a new wave of Egyptian asylum seekers that are entering the U.S. through Mexico. We sit down with three Egyptian Americans from three different generations.

But first, we hear an update on the legislative special session from WPLN’s reporting team at the statehouse.

Guests:

• Ashraf Azer, Operations Manager, Gaylord Opryland Hotel, board member, ElMahaba Center
• Ragab Rashwan, owner, King Tut’s food truck
• Mirette Henin, journalist, mapmaker for A Map of Coptic Nashville project from the ElMahaba Center

This episode was produced by Char Daston.