Arab American
From Freepedia
Arab Americans are Americans of Arab ancestry and constitute an ethnicity made up of several waves of immigrants from 22 Arab countries, stretching from Morocco in the west to Oman in the east. Arab-Americans are also Middle-Eastern and North African Americans i.e. terms that do not equate ethnic heritage with nationality but rather a geographic area. Although a highly diverse ethnic group, Arab-Americans descend from a heritage that represents common linguistic, cultural, and political traditions.
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Population
A majority of Arab-Americans, around 62 per cent, originate from the region of the Levant, comprising Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan. Arab-Americans of Egyptian origin form the next largest contingent and constitute around 11%. The remainder is made up of those from Iraq, Morocco and other Arab nations, which although are small in numbers, are present nonetheless. The largest Arab-American populations are found in California, Michigan, New Jersey, and New York. The city that has the largest percentage of Arab Americans in its population is the city of Dearborn, Michigan. Other major communities include Paterson, New Jersey/Clifton, New Jersey, Brooklyn, New York, and Glendale, California.
Religious Background
While the overwhelming majority of the population of the Middle Eastern region, and, in particular, the countries of the Arab world, are identified as adherents of Islam, the vast majority of Arab-Americans are Christian, not Muslim. Christians account for 77% of the Arab-American population, while Muslims account for 23%. The largest Arab-American religious community is comprised by Maronite Catholics (Eastern Rite) who account for 42%, followed by Orthodox Christians and Muslims, each accounting for 23% of the Arab-American population. Protestant Christians are the smallest religious grouping, accounting for 12% of all Arab-Americans.
Racial Status
Arab Americans in the United States are categorised as white/Caucasian by all government agencies and for statistical compiling by the US census. However, the American understanding of the terms "White" and "Caucasoid" may not always be synonymous, and can change in meaning depending on context. "White" is a somewhat flexible social concept that has had differing meaning throughout history, and has both included and excluded various Caucasoid peoples at one time or another, and acknowledging "honorary whites" at others. "Caucasoid", on the other hand, is a fixed racial category for the peoples original to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa and their descendants. However, the Middle Eastern and Arab regions do, from the standpoint of genetics and anthropological history, consist of highly mixed populations.
See also
External links
- A full definition of Arab-Americans
- Arab-American Demographics
- A collection of readings and A/V materials on Arab-Americans
Arab-American Organizations
