He was celebrated in a video at the RNC: "Because I know that the surname, Mansoor (also spelled in other assorted, transliterated ways), is a common Arab (and, sometimes, Sephardic Jewish) last name, I praised him as an Arab American we can all be proud of (it turns out his father was an Egyptian Coptic Christian, his mother of Scandinavian descent). But Mayor Mansoor doesn't like being known as an Arab." (thanks Sam)