Edward George Farhat (June 7, 1926 – January 18, 2003) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name The Sheik.

During World War II, he falsified his records in an unsuccessful attempt to join the United States Army, likely using his older brother Edmund's birth certificate.

Farhat first started wrestling as The Sheik of Araby in the Chicago area, with the gimmick initially being that of a privileged son of a wealthy, aristocratic Middle Eastern family.

During this period, The Sheik received the biggest match of his career up to that point, when he was booked to face NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz in Chicago for his title.

Thesz, regarded in wrestling as a legitimate shooter, had a reputation for embarrassing "gimmick wrestlers" so The Sheik left the ring during the course of the match and hid under a bus in the parking lot.

[12] Often, the tactic backfired and the opponent got hold of The Sheik's pencil, leading to the extensive blade scars on Farhat's forehead.

[13] At the start of his career, his wife Joyce played the part of his valet Princess Saleema who would burn incense in the ring.

[12] In 1965, The Sheik made his return to the New York City area, competing for the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF).

[7] Following their success at Cobo Hall, the two took the feud to several markets, most notably Memphis, Tennessee, and Los Angeles, California.

[3] Starting in 1969, The Sheik began wrestling regularly in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he was undefeated for 127 matches at Maple Leaf Gardens.

He defeated the likes of Whipper Billy Watson, Lou Thesz, Gene Kiniski, Bruno Sammartino, Édouard Carpentier, Ernie Ladd, Chief Jay Strongbow, Tiger Jeet Singh, Johnny Valentine, and even André the Giant during Andre's first extensive tour of North America in 1974.

His JWA run was successful, but the promotion was struggling financially, so when the company went bankrupt, Sheik jumped to Giant Baba's All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW).

[11] The match was described by observers as "just classic, bloody mayhem.”[11] In 1980, The Sheik's Detroit-based Big Time Wrestling promotion ceased operations.

[7] On May 6, 1992, The Sheik wrestled in a Fire Death Match with Sabu against Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto, where the ring ropes were replaced with flaming barbed wire.

[3] In 1994, he had a brief run in Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW), notably teaming with Pat Tanaka to defeat Kevin Sullivan and The Tazmaniac at The Night the Line Was Crossed.

[10] During Sabu's match with Mr. JL at Halloween Havoc, The Sheik's leg was broken by the wrestlers during a spot he was previously unaware of, forcing him to finally leave the wrestling business.

[3][7][10] On March 31, 2007, The Sheik was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by his nephew, Sabu, and Rob Van Dam, who he had trained.

However, he would additionally become known as a benefactor to friends in need; according to Harley Race, after his wife died in an automobile accident and he was forced to take time off early in his career, The Sheik mailed him a check every week for a year until he could return to work.

A book about Farhat's life and career, titled Blood and Fire, was later released in April 2022 by ECW Press.