Ray Hanna is the ACT for America Boston Chapter Leader. Some people like to make political predictions. Others have lived through “history” and
“persecutions” and speak with an authority and wisdom that comes from the crucible of fire, of
personal experience. Listen to them. They “understand the times” we are living in today. They
see the “markers.” They discern the Handwriting on the Wall. Ray was only a little boy when he came to America in the late 1960s from Cairo, Egypt, with his
family. As Coptic Christians, they were a minority in Egypt where Sharia law is written into the
constitution, and where Islam rules. Their only hope of freedom of religion and escaping
religious persecution was to come to America. They had witnessed 80,000 to 100,000 Jews exiled in 1967 under the Nasser régime.
They had witnessed what happens when a totalitarian regime takes control—the gradual
erosion of freedom and individual rights. That’s what Hitler did to the Jews in Nazi
Germany. That’s what radical Islam and Sharia law was doing to ALL non-Muslims in
Egypt—both Christians and Jews alike.
Ray grew up in America and quickly learned to speak English. By the time he reached junior
high, he had become a U.S. citizen and developed a passion for American football. He went on
to graduate from college with a degree in mechanical engineering. Ray is married, has a
daughter, and works for a general contractor in the Greater Boston area. He is living the
American Dream.
Ray was a Ronald Reagan Conservative long before he knew what the term meant. In fact, Ronald
Reagan was the first President he voted for when he turned 18. Ray knows how precious Freedom is.
He cherishes his Freedom. He has never, ever taken, for granted, his right to vote. He knows all too
well that in the Middle East, “democracy” is defined as: one man, one vote, one time.
One defining moment for Ray’s family came in 1996 when both Easter and the Muslims’
Ramadan coincided on the calendar. In celebration, the Egyptian government issued pickled fish
to everyone. However, the Christians only were given fish that was tainted, contaminated. Ray
saw 3 family members die and 27 become hospitalized.
Sept. 11, 2001 was the tipping point for Ray. America would not remain free if Sharia law
became accepted in the name of “political correctness” and “tolerance.” Nazi Germany. Egypt.
Now America. That’s when Ray knew that Islamic jihad had come to America. Searching for an
organization to join none were to be found until 2008 when he joined ACT for America, the
largest national security grassroots movement in the U.S. that today has 185,000 members and
more than 650 chapters. Ray has been serving as the Boston Chapter leader ever since.
Ray saw the handwriting on the wall. He discerned the times. He recognized his “calling.”
He says, “I would die for America and what it stands for.”