Arab Americans
Arab Americans (Arabic: عَرَبٌ أَمْرِيكِا or الأمريكيون العرب) are Americans of Arab ancestry. Arab Americans trace ancestry to any of the various waves of immigrants of the countries comprising the Arab World.
"American Arab" redirects here. For the 2013 film, see American Arab (film).
According to the 2010 U.S. census, there are 1,698,570 Arab Americans in the United States.[3] 290,893 persons defined themselves as simply Arab, and a further 224,241 as Other Arab. Other groups on the 2010 census are listed by nation of origin, and some may or may not be Arabs, or regard themselves as Arabs. The largest subgroup is by far the Lebanese Americans, with 501,907,[4] followed by; Egyptian Americans with 190,078, Syrian Americans with 187,331,[5] Iraqi Americans with 105,981, Moroccan Americans with 101,211, Palestinian Americans with 85,186, and Jordanian Americans with 61,664. Approximately 1/4 of all Arab Americans claimed two ancestries. A number of these ancestries are considered undercounted, given the nature of Ottoman immigration to the US during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
A number of indigenous non-Arab ethnic groups in Western Asia and North Africa that may have lived in regions of Arab countries and are now resident in the United States are not always classified as Arabs but some may claim an Arab identity or a dual Arab/non-Arab identity; they include Assyrians, Arameans, Jews (in particular Mizrahi Jews, some Sephardi Jews), Copts, Kurds, Iraqi Turkmens, Mandeans, Circassians, Shabaki, Armenians, Greeks, Italians, Yazidis, Persians, Kawliya/Romani, Syrian Turkmens, Berbers (especially Arab-Berbers), and Nubians.[6]
According to the Arab American Institute based on the Zogby International Survey in 2002, the breakdown of religious affiliation among persons originating from Arab countries is as follows:
The percentage of Arab Americans who are Muslim has increased in recent years because most new Arab immigrants tend to be Muslim. In the past 10 years, most Arab immigrants were Muslim as compared to 15 to 30 years when they were mostly Christian. This stands in contrast to the first wave of Arab immigration to the United States between the late 19th and early 20th centuries when almost all immigrants were Christians. Those Palestinians often Eastern Orthodox, otherwise Roman Catholic and a few Episcopalians. A small number are Protestant adherents, either having joined a Protestant denomination after immigrating to the U.S. or being from a family that converted to Protestantism while still living in the Eastern Mediterranean (European and American Protestant missionaries were fairly commonplace in the Levant in the late 19th and early 20th centuries).
Arab Christians, especially from Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt, continue to immigrate into the U.S. in the 2000s and continue to form new enclaves and communities across the country.[66]
The United States is the second largest home of Druze communities outside the Middle East after Venezuela (60,000).[6] According to some estimates there are about 30,000[67] to 50,000[6] Druzes in the United States, with the largest concentration in Southern California.[67] Most Druze immigrated to the U.S. from Lebanon and Syria.[67]
Politics[edit]
In a 2007 Zogby poll, 62% of Arab Americans vote Democratic, while only 25% vote Republican.[79] The percentage of Arabs voting Democratic increased sharply during the Iraq War. However, a number of prominent Arab American politicians are Republicans, including former Oregon Governor Victor Atiyeh, former New Hampshire Senator John E. Sununu, and California Congressman Darrell Issa, who was the driving force behind the state's 2003 recall election that removed Democratic Governor Gray Davis from office. The first woman Supreme Court Chief Justice in Florida, Rosemary Barkett, who is of Syrian descent, is known for her dedication to progressive values.
Arab Americans gave George W. Bush a majority of their votes in 2000. However, they backed John Kerry in 2004 and Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012. They also backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.
According to a 2000 Zogby poll, 52% of Arab Americans are anti-abortion, 74% support the death penalty, 76% are in favor of stricter gun control, and 86% want to see an independent Palestinian state.[80]
In a study, first-generation Arab Americans living in Detroit were found to have values more similar to that of the Arab world than those of the general population living in Detroit, on average, being more closely aligned to the strong traditional values and survival values. This was less the case when participants were secular or belonged to second and subsequent generations.[81]
Non-Arab Americans from Arab countries[edit]
There are many U.S. immigrants from the Arab world who are not always classified as Arabs because through much of the Arabized world, Arabs were considered a colonizing force and many ethnic groups maintained their ethnic cultural and religious heritage, oftentimes through syncretism. Among these are Armenian Americans, Assyrian Americans, Kurdish Americans, and Jewish Americans of Mizrahi origin and Maronites. Some of these groups, such as Assyrian or Syriac ones, are Semitic language speakers, while the vast majority of the rest are not Semitic language speakers. It is very difficult to estimate the size of these communities. For example, some Armenians immigrated to the U.S. from Lebanon, Syria, or Iraq. Estimates place these communities at least in the tens of thousands.[82][83][84] Other smaller communities include Assyrians, Amazigh/Berber, Turks, Mandeans, Circassians, Shabaks, Mhallami, Georgians, Yazidis, Balochs, Iranians, Azerbaijanis, and Kawliya/Roma.
Most of these ethnic groups speak their own native languages (usually another Semitic language related to Arabic) and have their own customs, along with the Arabic dialect from the Arab country they originate from.
Arab American Heritage Month[edit]
also see: National Arab American Heritage Month
In 2014, Montgomery County, Maryland, designated April as Arab American Heritage Month in recognition of the contributions that Arab Americans have made to the nation.[85] Arab America and the Arab America Foundation launched the National Arab American Heritage Month initiative in 2017, with just a handful of states recognizing the initiative. Each year, the Arab America Foundation activates a grass-roots network of over 250 Arab American volunteers in 26 states. It gathers hundreds of proclamations from state governments, counties, municipalities, and local school districts. The first documentary on Arab Americans premiered on PBS in August 2017, "The Arab Americans" features the Arab American immigrant story as told through the lens of American History and the stories of prominent Arab Americans such as actor Jamie Farr, Ralph Nader, Senator George Mitchell, White House Reporter Helen Thomas, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anthony Shadid, Danny Thomas actor and Founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, pollster and author John Zogby, Congressman Nick Rahall, racing legend Bobby Rahal. The documentary is produced and directed by Abe Kasbo.
The United States Department of State has recognized April as the National Arab American Heritage Month, making it the highest level of federal recognition, yet. Stating in a public announcement on April 1, 2021, through their official social media channels: "Americans of Arab heritage are very much a part of the fabric of this nation, and Arab Americans have contributed in every field and profession."[86]
The recognition of the month of April as the National Arab American Heritage Month by the United States Department of State was mainly influenced by independent advocate efforts across the United States calling for inclusivity. Most notably the petition and social change campaign by Pierre Subeh, who is a Middle-Eastern American business expert, executive producer, and author. He orchestrated a self-funded social awareness campaign with over 250 billboards across the country asking the Federal government to recognize the month of April as the National Arab American Heritage Month and issue an official proclamation. His social change campaign called the recognition to be critical as it celebrates Middle Eastern heritage in combatting post-9/11 anti-Arab sentiments and recognizing the social difficulties that Arab Americans face every day in their communities.[87][88][89]
In 2023, President Joe Biden issued an official proclamation on the Arab American Heritage Month.[90]