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An '''Arab''' ({{lang-ar|'''عربي'''}}, ''ʿarabi'') is a person who [[Identity (social science)|identifies]] as such on [[linguistic]] or [[cultural]] grounds.<ref>[http://lexicorient.com/cgi-bin/eo-direct.pl?hamas.htm Encyclopedia of the Orient]</ref><ref>Francis Mading Deng, ''War of Visions: Conflict of Identities in the Sudan '', Published 1995, |
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Brookings Institution Press, p. 405, via Google Books [http://books.google.com/books?id=iAPLHidx8MkC&pg=PA405&lpg=PA405&dq=definition+of+arabs&source=web&ots=H4z7bAsMBe&sig=6EMASoYXOzoWsTMBsAjDn1gucxg&hl=en]</ref> The plural form, '''Arabs''' (العرب ''al-ʿarab''), refers to the [[Culture|cultural group]] at large. |
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Though the [[Arabic language]] is older, [[Arabic culture]] was first spread in the [[Middle East]] beginning in the 2nd century as culturally [[Arab Christians]] such as the [[Ghassanids]], [[Lakhmids]] and [[Banu Judham]] began migrating into the Northern [[Arabia]]n desert and the [[Levant]].<ref>[http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/ch1s1.html Banu Judham migration]</ref><ref>[http://www-personal.umich.edu/~andyf/hist_arab.html#Linguistic%20Situation%20in%20Pre-Islamic%20Middle%20East Ghassanids Arabic linguistic influence in Syria]</ref><ref>[http://proteus.brown.edu/arabiaandarabs/1898?view=print The Ghassanids and Lakhmids]</ref> The Arabic language gained greater prominence with the rise of [[Islam]] in the 7th century AD as the language of the [[Qur'an]], and Arabic language and culture were more widely disseminated as a result of early [[Muslim conquests|Islamic expansion]].<ref>[http://islam.about.com/library/weekly/aa032300a.htm Islam and the Arabic language]</ref> |
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==Definition== |
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{{Further|[[Etymology of the word Arab]]}} |
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"Arab" is defined independently of [[religion|religious]] identity, and pre-dates the rise of [[Islam]], with historically attested [[Arab Christian]] kingdoms and [[Arab Jewish tribes|Arab Jews]]. The earliest documented use of the word "Arab" as defining a group of people dates from the 9th century BCE.<ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=pUepRuQO8ZkC&pg=PA211&lpg=PA211&dq=%22west+semites%22&source=web&ots=6kyuNF1B1w&sig=sLzW2BOuHDDYHYEHbQqW-RyqVh8#PPA105,M1</ref> Islamized but non-Arabized peoples, and therefore the majority of the world's Muslims, do not form part of the [[Arab World]] but comprise what is the geographically larger and diverse [[Muslim World]]. |
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In the modern era, defining who is an Arab is done on the grounds of one or more of the following three criteria: |
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[[Image:Ramallah-Family-1905.jpg|right|thumb|Arab family of [[Ramallah]],1905.]] |
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[[Image:Beduinphoto.jpg|thumb|right|Traditional Bedouin]] |
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* [[Genealogy|Genealogical]]: someone who can trace his or her ancestry to the [[tribes of Arabia]] - the original inhabitants of the [[Arabian Peninsula]] - and the [[Syrian Desert]]. This definition covers fewer self-identified Arabs than not, and was the definition used in [[medieval]] times, for example by [[Ibn Khaldun]]. |
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* [[Language|Linguistic]]: someone whose [[first language]], and by extension cultural expression, is [[Arabic language|Arabic]], including any of its [[Varieties of Arabic|varieties]]. This definition covers more than 250 million people. Certain groups that fulfill this criterion reject this definition on the basis of genealogy, such an example may be seen in the [[Egyptians#Identity|identity of many Egyptians]].<ref>Jankowski, James. "Egypt and Early Arab Nationalism" in Rashid Kakhlidi, ed., Origins of Arab Nationalism, pp. 244–45</ref><ref>qtd in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, p. 99</ref> |
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* [[Political geography|Political]]: in the modern [[nationalism|nationalist]] era, any person who is a [[citizen]] of a country where [[Arabic language|Arabic]] is either the [[national language]] or one of the [[official languages]], and/or a citizen of a country which may simply be a member of the [[Arab League]] (thereby having Arabic as an official government language, even if not used by the majority of the population). This definition would cover over 300 million people. It may be the most contested definition as it is the most simplistic one. It would exclude the entire [[Arab diaspora]], but include not only those genealogically Arabs ([[Gulf Arabs]] and others, such as [[Bedouin]]s, where they may exist) and those Arabized-Arab-identified, but would also include Arabized non-Arab-identified groups (including many [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]] and many [[Egyptians]], both Christians and Muslims) and even non-Arabized [[ethnic minority|ethnic minorities]] which have remained non-Arabic-speaking (such as the [[Berbers]] in Morocco, [[Kurds]] in Iraq, or the [[Somali people|Somali]] majority of Arab League member [[Somalia]]). |
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[[Image:Arabs Diaspora.PNG|thumb|left|Map showing the Arab populations around the world]] |
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[[Image:Arabic speaking world.svg|thumb|left|Distribution of Arabic as sole official language (green) and one of several official languages (blue)]] |
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The relative importance of these three factors is estimated differently by different groups and frequently disputed. Some combine aspects of each definition, as done by [[Habib Hassan Touma]],<ref>1996, p.xviii </ref> who defines an ''Arab'' "in the modern sense of the word", as "one who is a national of an Arab state, has command of the Arabic language, and possesses a fundamental knowledge of Arab tradition, that is, of the manners, customs, and political and social systems of the culture." Most people who consider themselves Arab do so based on the overlap of the political and linguistic definitions. |
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Few people consider themselves Arab based on the political definition without the linguistic one; thus few [[Kurdish people|Kurds]] and [[Berber people|Berbers]] identify as Arab. But some do, for instance some Berbers also consider themselves Arab (v. e.g. Gellner, Ernest and Micaud, Charles, Eds. Arabs and Berbers: from tribe to nation in North Africa. Lexington: Lexington Books, 1972). Some religious minorities within the Middle East and North Africa who have Arabic or any of its varieties as their primary community language, such as Egyptian [[Copt]]s, may not identify as Arabs. |
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The [[Arab League]] at its formation in 1946 defined ''Arab'' as "a person whose language is Arabic, who lives in an Arabic speaking country, who is in sympathy with the aspirations of the Arabic speaking peoples". |
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The relation of ''{{transl|ar|ʿarab}}'' and ''{{transl|ar|ʾaʿrāb}}'' is complicated further by the notion of "lost Arabs" ''{{transl|ar|al-ʿArab al-ba'ida}}'' mentioned in the Qur'an as punished for their disbelief. All contemporary Arabs were considered as descended from two ancestors, [[Qahtan]] and [[Adnan]]. |
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Versteegh (1997) is uncertain whether to ascribe this distinction to the memory of a real difference of origin of the two groups, but it is certain that the difference was strongly felt in early Islamic times. Even in [[Al-Andalus|Islamic Spain]] there was enmity between the Qays of the northern and the Kalb of the southern group. The so-called [[Himyarite language]] described by [[Al-Hamdani]] (died 946) appears to be a special case of language contact between the two groups, an originally north Arabic dialect spoken in the south, and influenced by [[Old South Arabian]]. |
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During the [[Muslim conquests]] of the seventh and eighth centuries, the Arabs forged an [[Arab Empire]] (under the [[Rashidun]] and [[Umayyad]]s, and later the [[Abbasid]]s) whose borders touched southern [[France]] in the west, [[China]] in the east, [[Asia Minor]] in the north, and the [[Sudan]] in the south. This was one of the [[List of empires|largest land empires in history]]. In much of this area, the Arabs spread [[Islam]] and the Arabic language (the language of the [[Qur'an]]) through [[Religious conversion|conversion]] and [[cultural assimilation]]. Many groups became known as "Arabs" through this process of [[Arabization]] rather than through descent. Thus, over time, the term ''Arab'' came to carry a broader meaning than the original ethnic term: ''cultural'' Arab vs. ''ethnic'' Arab. [[Arab nationalism]] declares that Arabs are united in a shared history, culture and language. A related ideology, [[Pan-Arabism]], calls for all Arab lands to be united as one [[state]]. Arab nationalism has often competed for existence with regional nationalism in the Middle East, such as Lebanese and Egyptian. |
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==Origins and history== |
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===Pre-Arabic Near East=== |
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{{see|Ancient Near East|Ancient Arabia}} |
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Early [[Semitic]] peoples from the [[Ancient Near East]], such as the [[Arameans]], [[Akkadians]] and [[Canaanites]], built civilizations in [[Mesopotamia]] and the [[Levant]]; genetically, they often interlapped and mixed.<ref>[http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/97/12/6769 Journal of Semitic Studies Volume 52, Number 1]</ref> Slowly, however, they lost their political domination of the [[Near East]] due to internal turmoil and attacks by non-Semitic peoples. Although the Semites eventually lost political control of the Middle East to the [[Persian Empire]], the [[Aramaic language]] remained the [[lingua Franca]] of Mesopotamia and the Levant. Aramaic itself was replaced by Greek as the Middle East's prestige language following the conquest of [[Alexander the Great]]. |
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The first written attestation of the ethnonym "Arab" occurs in an Assyrian inscription of 653 BCE, where [[Shalmaneser III]] lists a King [[Gindibu]] of ''mâtu arbâi'' (Arab land) as among the people he defeated at the [[Battle of Karkar]]. Some of the names given in these texts are [[Aramaic]], while others are the first attestations of [[Ancient North Arabian|Proto-Arabic]] dialects. In fact several different ethnonyms are found in Assyrian texts that are conventionally translated "Arab": ''Arabi, Arubu, Aribi'' and ''Urbi''. The [[Hebrew Bible]] occasionally refers to ''[[Arvi]]'' peoples (or variants thereof), translated as "Arab" or "Arabian." The scope of the term at that early stage is unclear, but it seems to have referred to various desert-dwelling [[Semitic]] tribes in the [[Syrian Desert]] and [[Arabia]]. |
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Proto-Arabic, or [[Ancient North Arabian]], texts give a clearer picture of the Arabs' emergence. The earliest are written in variants of [[epigraph]]ic south Arabian ''[[musnad]]'' script, including the 8th century BCE [[Al-Hasa|Hasaean]] inscriptions of eastern Saudi Arabia, the 6th century BCE [[Lihyanite]] texts of southeastern Saudi Arabia and the [[Thamudic]] texts found throughout Arabia and the [[Sinai]] (not in reality connected with [[Thamud]]). |
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The [[Nabataeans]] were nomadic newcomers{{Fact|date=March 2008}} who moved into territory vacated by the [[Edomites]] -- Semites who settled the region centuries before them. Their early inscriptions were in [[Aramaic]], but gradually switched to Arabic, and since they had writing, it was they who made the first inscriptions in Arabic. The [[Nabataean Alphabet]] was adopted by Arabs to the south, and evolved into modern Arabic script around the 4th century. This is attested by [[Safaitic]] inscriptions (beginning in the 1st century BCE) and the many Arabic personal names in [[Nabataean]] inscriptions. From about the 2nd century BCE, a few inscriptions from Qaryat al-Faw (near [[Sulayyil]]) reveal a dialect which is no longer considered "proto-Arabic", but pre-classical Arabic. |
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==Yemeni migrations to the North== |
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{{Unreferencedsection|date=February 2008}} |
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{{see|Ancient Arabia|History of the Levant|Syria (Roman province)|Arabia Petraea}} |
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In [[Sassanid]] times, [[Arabia Petraea]] was a border province between the Roman and Persian empires{{Fact|date=March 2008}}, and from the early centuries AD was increasingly affected by Arab influence, notably with the [[Ghassanids]] migrating north from the 3rd century. |
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The [[Ghassanids]],[[Lakhmids]] and [[Kindites]] were the last major migration of non-Muslims out of Yemen to the north. |
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*The [[Ghassanids]] revived the Semitic presence in the then Hellenized [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]]. They mainly settled the [[Hauran]] region and spread to modern [[Lebanon]], Palestine and Jordan. The Ghassanids held Syria until engulfed by the expansion of [[Islam]]. |
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[[Image:Antoninianus Philip the Arab - Seculum Novum.jpg|thumb|left|Coin showing the [[Roman Emperor]], [[Philip the Arab]].]] |
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Greeks and Romans referred to all the nomadic population of the desert in the Near East as Arabi. The Romans called Yemen "[[Arabia Felix]]"<ref>http://www.infilled.net/Infilled.net/reference/World%20map%20according%20to%20Dionysius,%20124%20A.D/Reconstruction%20of%20the%20world%20map%20according%20to%20Dionysius,%20124%20A.D..gif]</ref>. The Romans called the vassal nomadic states within the [[Roman Empire]] "[[Arabia Petraea]]" after the city of [[Petra]], and called unconquered deserts bordering the empire to the south and east [[Arabia Magna]]. |
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*The [[Lakhmids]] settled the mid Tigris region around their capital [[Al-hira]] they ended up allying with the [[Sassanid]] against the [[Ghassanids]] and the [[Byzantine Empire]]. The Lakhmids contested control of the Central Arabian tribes with the [[Kindites]] with the Lakhmids eventually destroying [[Kinda]] in 540 after the fall of their main ally [[Himyar]]. The Sassanids dissolved the Lakhmid kingdom in 602. |
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*The [[Kindites]] migrated from Yemen along with the Ghassanids and Lakhmids, but were turned back in Bahrain by the Abdul Qais [[Rabi'a]] tribe. They returned to Yemen and allied themselves with the Himyarites who installed them as a vassal kingdom that ruled Central Arbia from Qaryah dhat Kahl (the present-day Qaryat al-Faw) in Central Arabia. They ruled much of the Northern/Central Arabian peninsula until the fall of the Himyarites in 525AD. |
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===Early Islamic period=== |
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{{see|Muslim conquests}} |
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[[Image:PLATE8CX.jpg|thumb|200px|Dress of [[Arab women]], fourth to sixth century.]] |
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[[Image:PLATE8DX foruth sixth.jpg|thumb|200px|Dress of Arab men, fourth to sixth century.]] |
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Muslims of [[Medina]] referred to the [[nomadic]] tribes of the deserts as the A'raab, and considered themselves sedentary, but were aware of their close racial bonds. The term "A'raab' mirrors the term Assyrians used to describe the closely related nomads they defeated in Syria. |
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The [[Qur'an]] does not use the word ''{{transl|ar|ʿarab}}'', only the [[nisba]] adjective ''{{transl|ar|ʿarabiy}}''. The Qur'an calls itself ''{{transl|ar|ʿarabiy}}'', "Arabic", and ''{{transl|ar|Mubin}}'', "clear". The two qualities are connected for example in ayat [[Az-Zukhruf|43]].2-3, "By the ''clear'' Book: We have made it an ''Arabic'' recitation in order that you may understand". The Qur'an became regarded as the prime example of the ''{{transl|ar|al-ʿarabiyya}}'', the language of the Arabs. The term ''[[I`rab|{{transl|ar|ʾiʿrāb}}]]'' has the same root and refers to a particularly clear and correct mode of speech. The plural noun ''{{transl|ar|ʾaʿrāb}}'' refers to the [[Bedouin]] tribes of the desert who resisted Muhammad, for example in ayat [[At-Tawba|9]].97, ''{{transl|ar|alʾaʿrābu ʾašaddu kufrān wa nifāqān}}'' "the Bedouin are the worst in [[kufr|disbelief]] and hypocrisy". |
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Based on this, in early Islamic terminology, ''{{transl|ar|ʿarabiy}}'' referred to the language, and ''{{transl|ar|ʾaʿrāb}}'' to the Arab Bedouins, carrying a negative connotation due to the Qur'anic verdict just cited. But after the [[Islamic conquest]] of the 8th century, the language of the nomadic Arabs became regarded as the most pure by the grammarians following [[Abi Ishaq]], and the term {{transl|ar|kalam al-ʿArab}}, "language of the Arabs", denoted the uncontaminated language of the Bedouins. |
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====Levant and Iraq==== |
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The arrival of Islam united the Arab tribes, who flooded into the Semitic [[Levant]] and [[Iraq]]. In 661, and throughout the [[Caliphate]]'s rule by the [[Ummayad]] dynasty, [[Damascus]] was established as the [[Muslim]] capital. In these newly acquired territories, Arabs comprised the ruling military elite and as such, enjoyed special privileges. They were proud of their Arab ancestry and sponsored the poetry and culture of pre-Islamic Arabia whilst diffusing with Levantine and Iraqi culture. They established garrison towns, including [[Ramla]], [[ar-Raqqah]], [[Basra]], [[Kufa]], [[Mosul]] and [[Samarra]] — all of which developed into major cities.<ref name="Lunde">{{cite book |last=Lunde |first=Paul |title=Islam |year=2002 |publisher=Dorling Kindersley Publishing |pages=pp.50–52 |location=New York |isbn=0-7894-8797-7 }}</ref> |
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Caliph [[Abd al-Malik]] established Arabic as the Caliphate's official language in 686. This reform greatly influenced the conquered non-Arab peoples and fueled the Arabization of the region. However, the Arabs' higher status among non-Arab Muslim converts and the latter's obligation to pay heavy taxes caused resentment. Caliph [[Umar II]] strove to resolve the conflict when he came to power in 717. He rectified the situation, demanding that all Muslims be treated as equals but, his intended reforms did not take effect as he died after only three years of rule. By now, discontent swept the region and a bloody uprising occurred in which the [[Abbasid]]s came to power and moved the capital to [[Baghdad]]. The Abbasids were also Arabs (descendants of Muhammad's uncle [[Abbas]]) and unlike the Ummayads, they had the support of non-Arab Islamic groups.<ref name="Lunde"/> Through Islam and Arabic as the language of administration the Levantine and Iraqi populations were eventually Arabized. |
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====North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula==== |
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The [[Phoenicians]] and later the [[Carthaginian]]s dominated North African and Iberian shores for more than 8 centuries until they were suppressed by the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] and the later [[Vandal]] invasion. Inland, the nomadic Berbers allied with Arab Muslims in invading Spain. The Arabs mainly settled the old Phoenician and Carthagenian towns, while the Berbers remained dominant inland. Inland north Africa remained partly Arab until the 11th century, whereas the Iberian Peninsula, particularly its southern part, remained heavily Arab, until the [[expulsion of the Moriscos]] in the 17th century. |
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===Medieval=== |
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{{see|Islamic Golden Age}} |
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[[Ibn Khaldun]]'s ''[[Muqaddima]]'' distinguishes between sedentary Muslims who used to be [[nomad]]ic Arabs and the Bedouin nomadic Arabs of the desert. He used the term "formerly-nomadic" Arabs and refers to sedentary Muslims by the region or city they lived in, as in [[Egyptians]], [[Spanish people|Spaniards]] and [[Yemen]]is. <ref>Levity.com, Islam [http://www.levity.com/alchemy/islam20.html]</ref> The Christians of Italy and the Crusaders preferred the term [[Saracens]] for all the Arabs and Muslims of that time. <ref>www.eyewitnesstohistory.com - [http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/lionheart.htm]</ref> The Christians of Iberia used the term [[Moor]] to describe all the Arabs and Muslims of that time.<ref> - [http]</ref> |
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====Arabs of Central Asia==== |
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{{see|History of Arabs in Afghanistan}} |
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The Arabs that were once in Central Asia have been either killed or have fled the Tatar invasion of the region, leaving only the locals (e.g. [[Kazakhs]], [[Tajiks]], [[Uzbeks]]).<ref>History of Ibn Khaldun</ref>. |
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====Banu Umayya of Damascus in the Levant & North Africa, 661AD==== |
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The Umayyid Caliphs starting with [[Mu'awiyah Ibn Abi Sufyaan]] were the first Arab force to conquer the North African region, however most of them where in [[Damascus]] (The Levant) at this time and not in North Africa. It is not until their removal from Damascus by the Abbasid Caliphs will they enter Spain/Andalus and then North Africa after their expulsion from [[Spain]]/[[Andalus]]. |
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====Banu Fahr in North Africa, 670AD==== |
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Uqbah Ibn Naafi' and his forces (Banu Fahr) subdued Kusayla (a Berber chief) after the first Berber apostacy in the Aures Mountain region in modern day Algeria. This led to many bloody battles between the Arab Banu Fahr and the Apostates of the region. Uqbah Ibn Naafi' the chief of the Muslim forces was slain during these battles and buried in what will later be known as the city of [[Sidi Uqbah]] in the province of [[Biskra]],[[Algeria]]. Uqbah Ibn Naafi', a companion of [[Muhammad]], The Prophet of [[Islam]] and the Banu Fahr build the city of [[Qayrawan]] in modern day [[Tunisia]] and the city of Uqbah ibn Naafi' in modern day [[Algeria]] |
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====Banu Hashim ([[Idrisids]]) in North Africa, 788AD==== |
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Idris I, fell into a quarrel with the Abbasids and fled Egypt for the Maghreb. With the support of the Berber of the Region they established the Idrisid dynasty which was located in modern day Morocco and Algeria. |
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====Banu Umayya of Andalus/Cordoba in North Africa, 1031AD==== |
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The Umayyad Dynasty eventually fell after much infighting and mismanagement left them weak to invading European forces from France. This led to the wholesale murder, expulsion, and destruction of both the Muslim Arabs and Non-Arabs as well as much of the monuments and literature which they left behind. The Banu Umayya clan then fled with the rest of the Muslims to the Maghreb region. |
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====Banu Hilal and Banu Muqal (Banu Hashim) in North Africa, 1046AD==== |
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The [[Banu Hilal]] was a populous Arab tribal confederation, organized by the [[Fatimid]]s. They struck in [[Libya]], reducing the [[Zenata]] Berbers (a clan that claimed Yemeni ancestry from pre-Islamic periods) and the [[Sanhaja]] berber confederation to small coastal towns. The Banu Hilal, Banu Muqal, Banu Jashm and other smaller tribes eventually Settled in modern Morocco and Algeria. |
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====Banu Sulaym in North Africa, 1049AD==== |
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The [[Banu Sulyam]] is another Bedouin tribal confederation from [[Nejd]] which followed through the trials of [[Banu Hilal]] and helped them defeat the [[Zirids]] in the Battle of Gabis in 1052 AD, and finally took [[Kairuan]] in 1057 Ad. The Banu Sulaym mainly settled and completely Arabized Libya. |
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====Banu Kanz Nubia/Sudan, 11th-14th century==== |
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A branch of the [[Rabi'ah]] tribe settled in north Sudan and slowly Arabized the [[Makurian kingdom]] in modern [[Sudan]] until 1315 AD when the [[Banu Kanz]] inherited the kingdom of [[Makuria]] and paved the way for the Arabization of the Sudan, that was completed by the arrival of the [[Ja'Alin]] and [[Juhayna (tribe)|Juhayna]] Arab tribes. |
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====Banu Hassan Mauritania 1644–1674AD==== |
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The Banu Maqil is a Yemeni nomadic tribe that settled in Tunisia in the 13th century. The [[Banu Hassan]] a [[Maqil]] branch moved into the [[Sanhaja]] region in whats today the Western Sahara and Mauritania, they fought a thirty years war on the side of the [[Lamtuna]] Arabized Berbers who claimed [[Himyarite]] ancestry (from the early Islamic invasions) defeating the Sanhaja berbers and Arabizing Mauritania. |
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====Tribal genealogy==== |
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[[Image:Syrian Bedouin Kahlil Sarkees with family,1893 World's Columbian Exposition.jpg|right|thumb|[[Demographics of Syria|Syrian]] [[Bedouin]] with family, 1893]] |
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Medieval Arab [[genealogist]]s divided Arabs into three groups: |
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* "Ancient Arabs", tribes that had vanished or been destroyed, such as [['Ad]] and [[Thamud]], often mentioned in the [[Qur'an]] as examples of God's power to destroy wicked peoples. |
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* "Pure Arabs" of South Arabia, descending from [[Qahtan]]. The [[Qahtanite]]s (Qahtanis) are said to have migrated the land of [[Yemen]] following the destruction of the [[Ma'rib Dam]] (''sadd Ma'rib''). |
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* The "Arabized Arabs" (''musta`ribah'') of center and North Arabia, descending from [[Ishmael]] son of [[Abraham]]. The Book of [[Jubilees]] claims that the The sons of [[Ishmael]] intermingled with the 6 sons of [[Keturah]] from [[Abraham]] And was called [[Arabs]] and [[Ishmaelites]]: |
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<blockquote>Book of [[Jubilees]] 20:13 ''And Ishmael and his sons, and the sons of [[Keturah]] and their sons, went together and dwelt from [[Desert of Paran|Paran]] to the entering in of [[Babylon]] in all the land which is towards the East facing the desert. And these mingled with each other, and their name was called [[Arabs]], and [[Ishmaelites]].''</blockquote> |
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==Religions== |
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{{Unreferenced|date=April 2008}} |
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Arab Muslims are generally [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]], [[Shia Islam|Shia]], Ismaili and [[Druze]]. The self-identified [[Arab Christians]] generally follow [[Eastern Churches]] such as the [[Greek Orthodox]] and [[Greek Catholic]] churches and the [[Maronite]] church. The Greek Catholic churches and Maronite church are under the [[Pope]] of Rome, and a part of the larger worldwide [[Catholic Church]]. |
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[[Image:Saint Abo of Tiflis.jpg|thumb|left|Christian martyr [[Abo of Tiflis|Saint Abo]], the patron saint of [[Tbilisi]].]] |
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Before the coming of [[Islam]], most Arabs followed a religion with a number of deities, including [[Hubal]], [[Wadd]], [[Allāt]], [[Manat]], and [[Uzza]]. Some tribes had converted to Christianity or Judaism. A few individuals, the ''[[hanif]]s'', had apparently rejected [[polytheism]] in favor of [[monotheism]] unaffiliated with any particular religion. The most prominent Arab Christian kingdoms were the [[Ghassanid]] and [[Lakhmid]] kingdoms. When [[Himyarite]] kings converted to [[Judaism]] in the late 4th century, the elites of the other prominent Arab kingdom, the [[Kindites]], being Himyirite vassals, apparently also converted (at least partly). With the expansion of Islam, polytheistic Arabs were rapidly [[Islamization|Islamized]], and polytheistic traditions gradually disappeared. |
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[[Image:Muhammad Abduh.jpg|thumb|[[Imam]] [[Muhammad Abduh]].]] |
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Today, Sunni Islam dominates in most areas, overwhelmingly so in North Africa. Shia Islam is dominant in southern [[Iraq]] and southern [[Lebanon]]. Shia Muslims are also believed to be in the majority in [[Bahrain]], and substantial Shi'a populations exist in [[Kuwait]], eastern [[Saudi Arabia]], northern [[Syria]], the al-Batinah region in [[Oman]], and in northern [[Yemen]]. The Druze community, concentrated in the [[Levant]], follow a faith that was originally an offshoot of [[Ismaili]] Shia Islam, and are also Arab. |
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Christians make up 5.5% of the population of the Near East.<ref>{{cite book |last= |first= |authorlink=Philippe Fargues |title=''Christian Communities in the Middle East'' |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1998 |doi= |isbn=0-19-829388-7 |author= ed. by Andrea Pacini}}</ref> |
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In Lebanon they number about 45% of the population,<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/le.html#People CIA - The World Factbook - Lebanon<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> in Syria 12%.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sy.html CIA - The World Factbook - Syria<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In [[Palestine]] before the creation of [[Israel]] estimates ranged as high as 25%, but is now 3.8% due largely to the [[1948 Palestinian exodus]]. In Israel Arab Christians constitute 2.1% (roughly 10% of the [[Palestinian]] Arab population). In [[Jordan]] they around 7%. Most [[North America|North]] and [[South America]]n Arabs are Christian, as are about half of Arabs in [[Australia]] who come particularly from Lebanon, Syria, and the [[Palestinian territories]]. |
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[[Jew]]s from Arab countries – mainly [[Mizrahi Jews]] and [[Yemenite Jews]] – are today usually not categorised as Arab. Sociologist Philip Mendes asserts that before the anti-Jewish actions of the 1930s and 1940s, overall [[Iraqi Jews]] "viewed themselves as Arabs of the Jewish faith, rather than as a separate race or nationality".<ref>[http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~ajds/mendes_refugees.htm THE FORGOTTEN REFUGEES: the causes of the post-1948 Jewish Exodus from Arab Countries<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Prior to the emergence of the term ''Mizrahi'', the term "[[Arab Jews]]" (''Yehudim ‘Áravim'', יהודים ערבים) was sometimes used to describe Jews of the [[Arab world]]. The term is rarely used today. The few remaining Jews in the Arab countries reside mostly in [[Morocco]] and [[Tunisia]]. From the late 1940s to the early 1960s, following the creation of the state of Israel, most of these Jews left or were expelled from their countries of birth and are now mostly concentrated in Israel. Some immigrated to [[France]], where they form the largest Jewish community, outnumbering [[Ashkenazi Jews|European Jews]], but relatively few to the [[United States]]. See [[Jewish exodus from Arab lands]]. |
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''' |
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==Photo Gallery== |
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<Gallery> |
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Image:Saudi-palestine.gif |Arabic dresses. |
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Image:Ghassanide_horse_mosaic_beit_jibrin.jpg|a [[Gassanid]]s horse Mosaic 700 AD. |
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Image:Bedoin_woman_pal.jpg|Bedoin woman |
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Image:Bedoin_warrier.jpg|Bedoin warrior |
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Image:Bedoin_costume_palestine.jpg|Bedoin costume and Arabic horse. |
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Image:Living room 1880 palest.jpg|traditional living room quarter in Arabic village. |
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Image:Bedoin_couple.jpg|Newly Married Arabian Bedoin couple 1900 |
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Image:ALA-Qawuqji3rdright.jpg|Arab mountain militia fighting against the British in 1936. |
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Image:Bedouin-Sheikh.jpg|Bedouin Sheikh. |
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Image:Arabischer Maler um 690 001.jpg|Arabisque from [[Byzantian]] times, [[Ghassanid]]s. |
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Image:Detail felsendom.jpg|[[Arabic calligraphy]] Mosaic art (Arabisque) in Jerusalem. |
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Image:Palest_against_british.gif|Arabs against the British 1936. |
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</Gallery> |
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==See also== |
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{{col-begin}} |
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{{col-break}} |
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; General |
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*[[Arabia]] |
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*[[Umayyad]] |
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*[[Abbasid]] |
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*[[Lakhmids]] |
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*[[Tanukhids]] |
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*[[Arab Nationalism]] |
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*[[Arab world]] |
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*[[Arab Jews]] |
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*[[Arab Empire]] |
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*[[Arab League]] |
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*[[Arab Unification]] |
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*[[Anti-Arabism]] |
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*[[Pan-Arabism]] |
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**[[Pan-Arab colors]] |
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*[[Rashidun]] |
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*[[Women in Arab societies]] |
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{{col-break}} |
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; Origins |
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*[[Arabian mythology]] |
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*[[Adnani Arabs]] |
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*[[Qahtanite|Qahtani Arabs]] |
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*[[Nabataeans]] |
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*[[Bedouin]] |
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*[[Semitic]] |
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*[[Ishmaelites]] |
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*[[Saracens]] |
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*[[Ancient Arabs]] |
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*[[Midianites]] |
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{{col-break}} |
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; Language and culture |
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*[[Arabic alphabet]] |
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*[[Arabic culture]] |
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*[[Arabic language]] |
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*[[Arabic literature]] |
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*[[Arabic music]] |
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*[[Arabic poetry]] |
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*[[Arab cinema]] |
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*[[Arab cuisine]] |
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*[[Varieties of Arabic]] |
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*[[History of the Arabs (book)|History of the Arabs]] |
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{{col-break}} |
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; Diaspora |
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*[[Arab diaspora]] |
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*[[Middle East]] |
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*[[North Africa]] |
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*[[Philip the Arab]] |
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*[[Arab Christians]] |
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*[[Arab American]] |
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*[[Chaush]] ([[Yemenis]] in [[South India]]) |
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*[[Arab Brazilian]] |
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*[[Arab British]] |
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*[[Arab Mexican]] |
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*[[Arab Singaporean]] |
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*[[Arabs in Turkey]] |
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*[[Arab citizens of Israel]] |
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*[[Iranian Arabs]] |
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*[[Negev bedouins]] |
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{{col-break}} |
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{{col-end}} |
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==Sources== |
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* Touma, Habib Hassan. ''The Music of the Arabs''. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus P, 1996. ISBN 0-931340-88-8. |
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* Lipinski, Edward. ''Semitic Languages: Outlines of a Comparative Grammar'', 2nd ed., Orientalia Lovanensia Analecta: Leuven 2001 |
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* Kees Versteegh, ''The Arabic Language'', Edinburgh University Press (1997)<ref name="autogenerated1">[http://arabworld.nitle.org/texts.php?module_id=1&reading_id=36 Nitle / Nitle - Nitle<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01663a.htm The Catholic Encyclopedia, Robert Appleton Company, 1907, Online Edition, K. Night 2003: article Arabia] |
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* https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/le.html#People |
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* History of Arabic language, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.<ref>[http://www.paklinks.com/gs/archive/index.php/t-4130.html History Of Arabic Language(1894) - GupShup Forums<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. Retrieved Feb.17, 2006 |
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* The Arabic language, National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education web page (2006)<ref name="autogenerated1" />. Retrieved June 14, 2006. |
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*{{cite book|last= Ankerl |first= Guy |title= Global communication without universal civilization |origyear= 2000 |series= INU societal research |volume= Vol.1: Coexisting contemporary civilizations : Arabo-Muslim, Bharati, Chinese, and Western |publisher= INU Press |location= Geneva |isbn= 2-88155-004-5 |pages=|year= 2000 }} |
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* Hooker, Richard. "Pre-Islamic Arabic Culture." WSU Web Site. 6 June 1999. Washington State University. |
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* Owen, Roger. "State Power and Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East 3rd Ed" Page 57 ISBN 0-415-29714-1 |
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==References and notes== |
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{{Reflist|2}} |
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[[Category:Arab]] |
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[[Category:Ethnic groups in the Arab League]] |
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[[af:Arabier]] |
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[[als:Araber]] |
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[[ar:عرب]] |
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[[bs:Arapi]] |
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[[bg:Араби]] |
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[[cs:Arabové]] |
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[[cy:Arabiaid]] |
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[[da:Araber]] |
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[[de:Araber]] |
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[[et:Araablased]] |
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[[es:Pueblo árabe]] |
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[[eo:Araboj]] |
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[[fa:عرب]] |
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[[fr:Arabes]] |
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[[ko:아랍인]] |
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[[hr:Arapi]] |
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[[id:Bangsa Arab]] |
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[[it:Arabo]] |
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[[he:ערבים]] |
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[[ka:არაბები]] |
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[[sw:Waarabu]] |
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[[la:Arabes]] |
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[[lt:Arabai]] |
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[[lij:Popolo arabb-o]] |
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[[hu:Arabok]] |
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[[ms:Arab]] |
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[[nl:Arabieren]] |
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[[ja:アラブ人]] |
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[[no:Arabere]] |
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[[nn:Arabarar]] |
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[[pl:Arabowie]] |
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[[pt:Árabes]] |
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[[ro:Arab]] |
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[[ru:Арабы]] |
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[[sq:Arabët]] |
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[[simple:Arab people]] |
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[[sk:Arabi]] |
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[[sl:Arabci]] |
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[[sr:Арапи]] |
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[[sh:Arapi]] |
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[[fi:Arabit]] |
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[[sv:Araber]] |
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[[tt:Ğäräp xalqı]] |
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[[tr:Araplar (halk)]] |
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[[uk:Араби]] |
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[[ur:عرب]] |
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[[wo:Araab]] |
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[[yi:אראבער]] |
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[[zh:阿拉伯人]] |
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Revision as of 22:29, 19 January 2009
No more racism!