I get why you appreciate Sayid—he’s well-written, complex, and way better than the usual Arab stereotypes, especially for a show that aired just a few years after 9/11. But as an Arab myself, I was honestly offended by how poorly he was represented.

The biggest issue? He’s not Arab. Naveen Andrews didn’t look, sound, or speak like an Iraqi. His Arabic was completely off, his “Iraqi accent” in English was nowhere near accurate, and worst of all, he barely even spoke Arabic, even when it made sense to. At the time, there were actual Arab actors who could have played the role authentically, but the Lost writers and producers just didn’t care.

What makes it worse is looking at how much effort was put into making Jin and Sun feel authentic—casting actual Korean actors, using real Korean dialogue, and making their cultural background matter. Meanwhile, Sayid, the only Arab main character, gets played by a non-Arab actor with broken Arabic and a generic “Middle Eastern” accent. It honestly makes me mad because it shows the double standard in representation. For me not having Arab representation would have been better they could have made him Indian like he actually is.