Arab American
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Arab Americans 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. Although a highly diverse ethnic group, Arab-Americans descend from a heritage that represents common linguistic, cultural, and political traditions.
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, and New York. The city that has the largest percentage of Arab Americans in its population is the city of Dearborn, Michigan.
In contrast to the religious composition of Arabs in Arab countries, the overwhelming majority of Arab-Americans are Christian, not Muslim. Christians account for 77% of the Arab-American population, while Muslims account for the remaining 23%. The largest Arab-American religious tradition is comprised by Maronites (Eastern Rite Roman Catholics) 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.
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.
While many Arabs are indeed Caucasoid in a racial understanding (though many are not as "Arab" is not a fixed race and there are Arabs that range from the very light to the very dark, "mixed" raced peoples and the like, particularly in the Gulf region and certain newly Arab nations such as Sudan or Mauritania), the former social understanding of "White" as used in America is seldom applied for most Arab-Americans. Many are often excluded from the general structural concepts of white-American society. It is for this reason many Arab Americans are not completely comfortable with this label. It is viewed by some as a means to assimilate and drown out their ethnicity.
See also Arab diaspora
Famous Arab Americans
- Paula Abdul
- John Abizaid
- James Abourezk
- Spencer Abraham
- David Adamany
- Paul Anka Canadian-born singer-songwriter.
- Don Bustany
- Richard Caleal created the "revolutionary" 1949 Ford car design.
- Dr. Elias Corey The 1990 winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- Dick Dale
- Mitchell Daniels
- Rosalind Elias
- Shannon Elizabeth
- Emilio Estefan Cuban-born, manager and producer of wife Gloria Estefan
- Roger Farah president and chief operating officer of Polo Ralph Lauren.
- Jamie Farr
- Doug Flutie
- Samir G. Gibara chairman of the board of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.
- Tammy Haddad the creator of "Larry King Live," is Executive Producer of "Buchanan & Press."
- Lisa Halaby, married King Hussein of Jordan and became the only Arab American to be queen of a foreign country, Queen Noor
- Najeeb Halaby former head of the Federal Aviation Administration, was CEO of Pan-American Airlines.
- Dr. Joseph Jacobs
- Steve Jobs
- Mike Joseph
- Casey Kasem
- Sam Khalifa
- Joe Lahoud
- Sam Maloof
- Edward Masry
- Sam Moore The founder and president of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest world-wide distributor of the Bible.
- Ralph Nader
- Jacques Nasser former president and CEO of Ford Motor Company.
- George Noory
- Michael Nouri
- Diane Rehm
- Edward Said
- Elie Samaha chairman and owner of Franchise Pictures.
- Ronald Schwary
- Jack Shaheen
- Donna Shalala
- Tony Shalhoub
- James Stacy
- John H. Sununu Former Governor of New Hampshire
- Danny Thomas
- Tony Thomas
- Amy Yasbeck
- David Yazbek
- Frank Zappa
- Dr. Ahmed H. Zewail a professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology (CIT), and the 1999 winnner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- John Zogby One of America’s preeminent pollsters, keeping tabs on public opinion and other statistics, is Zogby International.
External links
- A full definition of Arab-Americans (http://www.aaiusa.org/definition.htm)
- Arab-American Demographics (http://www.aaiusa.org/demographics.htm)
- A collection of readings and A/V materials on Arab-Americans (http://arabworld.nitle.org/introduction.php?module_id=9)
Arab-American Organizations
- American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (http://www.adc.org/)
- Arab-American Institute (http://www.aaiuse.org/)