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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.
Population
The majority of Arab Americans, around 62%, originate from the region of the Levant, comprising Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan. The remainder are made up of those from Iraq, Morocco and other Arab nations, which, although small in numbers, are present nonetheless. There are more than 3.5 million Arab-Americans in the United States according to The Arab American Institute. 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, Jacksonville, Florida 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 63% of the Arab American population , while Muslims account for 24%SOURCE. The largest Arab American religious community is comprised of Catholics Catholics, Eastern Rite Catholics - Maronites and Melkites who are 35%, followed by Orthodox Christians who are 18%, and Muslims (Sunni, Shi'a) and followers of the Druze faith, who collectively comprise 24% of the Arab American population. Protestant Christians are 10% of all Arab Americans and other religious groups and those of no religious affiliation account for 13% of Arab Americans, according to the Arab American Institute.
Racial status
Arab Americans in the United States had been categorized as "Caucasian," a racial category defined by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, by all government agencies and for statistical compiling by the United States census, until their official racial category changed to "White." 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 defined by the anthropologist Carleton S. Coon for the peoples original to Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa and their descendants. However, the Middle Eastern and Arab regions, from the standpoint of genetics and anthropological history, consist of ethnically varied populations. Both Caucasoid and Caucasian are historical racial definitions and have been replaced by the term White American or European American.
See also
External links
- A full definition of Arab Americans
- Arab American Demographics
- A collection of readings and A/V materials on Arab Americans
- ArabAmerican.Net
Arab American Organizations
"Arab American"