Arab

The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ʻarab) are an originally Arabian ethnicity widespread in the Middle East and North Africa.

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The definition of who an Arab is has three main aspects:

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• Political: whether they live in a country which is a member of the Arab League (or, more vaguely, the Arab world); this definition covers more than 300 million people. Somalia and the Comoros are sometimes excepted from this definition. The aforementioned definition, however, is problematic and somewhat arbitrary, particularly as most national borders in the region were determined by post-colonial partitioning and do not necessarily reflect native cultural affiliations. Certain native populations in Eastern Chad and Southern Turkey, for instance, are virtually indistinguishable from those in Western Sudan and Northern Syria, respectively. Sizable communities in Chad, Turkey, Israel, Tanzania, Eritrea, and Ethiopia, in addition to the Arab League, have spoken Arabic for generations, and many consider themselves Arab.
• Linguistic: whether their first language is Arabic; this definition covers more than 200 million people.
• Genealogical: whether they can trace their ancestry back to the original inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula.

The relative importance of these factors is estimated differently by different groups. Most people who consider themselves Arabs do so on the basis of the overlap of the political and linguistic definitions. However, some members of groups which fulfill both criteria reject the identity on the basis of the genealogical definition; Lebanese Maronites, for example, may reject the Arab label in favor of a narrower Lebanese nationalism. Groups which use a non-Arabic liturgical language - such as Copts in Egypt and Assyrians in Iraq - are especially likely to be considered non-Arab. Not many people consider themselves Arab on the basis of the political definition without the linguistic one—thus, Kurds or Berbers do not usually identify themselves as Arab—but some do (for instance, some Berbers do consider themselves Arabs and Arab nationalists saw the Kurds as Arabs).

Arab: Who is an Arab? ►



 

Arabic: redirect Arabic language...

Arabia: REDIRECT Arabian Peninsula...

Ethnicity: REDIRECT Ethnic group...




Arab related Images and Photos (experimental)

Arab Horsemen	Praying Arab	Arab Traders Cairo	Arab Children Playing
Arab Oasis 1853	Arab Street Scene 1872	An Arab Street Scene Cairo	A Seated Arab Boy
Arab Encampment 1872	An Arab with Two Horses	Burj Al Arab Hotel at Night Dubai United Arab Emirates	Arab Lady About to be Beheaded