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Arab Christians

Arab Christians (Arabic: ﺍﻟْﻤَﺴِﻴﺤِﻴُّﻮﻥ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺮَﺏ, romanized: al-Masīḥiyyūn al-ʿArab) are ethnic Arabs, Arab nationals, or Arabic speakers who follow Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who live in the Middle East was estimated in 2012 to be between 10 and 15 million.[1] Arab Christian communities can be found throughout the Arab world, but are concentrated in the Eastern Mediterranean region of the Levant and Egypt, with smaller communities present throughout the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa.

This article is about Arabs of the Christian faith. For Christian communities and sects (including non-Arab Christians), see Christianity in the Middle East.

ﺍﻟْﻤَﺴِﻴﺤِﻴُّﻮﻥ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺮَﺏ

1,200,000[2]

1,150,000–1,200,000[3][4]

250,000–400,000[5]

133,130[6]

100,000
excluding 500,000 Copts[7]

50,000[4]
excluding 1,500,000 Assyrians[8]

50,000[9]
excluding disputed territories

45,000–380,000[10]

40,000[11]–150,000[12]

23,500[13]

18,000[14]

10,000[15]–350,000[4]
excluding 6–10 million Copts[16][17]

1,500[18]

1,000[19]

400[20]

259–400[21]

The history of Arab Christians coincides with the history of Eastern Christianity and the history of the Arabic language; Arab Christian communities either result from pre-existing Christian communities adopting the Arabic language, or from pre-existing Arabic-speaking communities adopting Christianity. The jurisdictions of three of the five patriarchates of the Pentarchy primarily became Arabic-speaking after the early Muslim conquests – the Church of Alexandria, the Church of Antioch and the Church of Jerusalem – and over time many of their adherents adopted the Arabic language and culture.[24] Separately, a number of early Arab kingdoms and tribes adopted Christianity, including the Nabataeans, Lakhmids, Salihids, Tanukhids, ʿIbādī of al-Hira, and the Ghassanids.


In modern times, Arab Christians have played important roles in the Nahda movement, and they have significantly influenced and contributed to the fields of literature, politics,[25] business,[25] philosophy,[26] music, theatre and cinema,[27] medicine,[28] and science.[29] Today Arab Christians still play important roles in the Arab world, and are relatively wealthy, well educated, and politically moderate.[30] Emigrants from Arab Christian communities also make up a significant proportion of the Middle Eastern diaspora, with sizable population concentrations across the Americas, most notably in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and the US. However those emigrants to the Americas, especially from the first wave of emigration, have often not passed the Arabic language to their descendants.[31]


The concept of an Arab Christian identity remains contentious, with some Arabic-speaking Christian groups in the Middle East, such as Assyrians, Armenians, Greeks and others, rejecting an Arab identity. Individuals from Egypt's Coptic community and Lebanon's Maronite community sometimes assume a non-Arab identity.[32][33]

Notable Arab Christians of al-Nahda

Nasif al-Yaziji
(1800–1871)
was a Lebanese author, poet and key figure of the Nahda

Nasif al-Yaziji (1800–1871) was a Lebanese author, poet and key figure of the Nahda

Mary Ajami
(1888–1965)
was a Syrian writer who launched the first women's newspaper in the Middle East[120]

Mary Ajami (1888–1965) was a Syrian writer who launched the first women's newspaper in the Middle East[120]

May Ziadeh
(1886–1941)
was a Lebanese-Palestinian poet and pioneer of Oriental feminism

May Ziadeh (1886–1941) was a Lebanese-Palestinian poet and pioneer of Oriental feminism

Khalil Beidas
(1874–1949)
was a Palestinian scholar, translator, educator and novelist

Khalil Beidas (1874–1949) was a Palestinian scholar, translator, educator and novelist

Qustaki al-Himsi
(1858–1941)
was a Syrian intellectual who was the founder of modern Arabic literary criticism

Qustaki al-Himsi (1858–1941) was a Syrian intellectual who was the founder of modern Arabic literary criticism

Maryana Marrash
(1849–1919)
was a writer, poet and the first Syrian woman to publish a collection of poetry

Maryana Marrash (1849–1919) was a writer, poet and the first Syrian woman to publish a collection of poetry

Christianity and Islam

Christianity in the Middle East

Christian influences on the Islamic world

List of Christian terms in Arabic

Bible translations (Arabic)

Arab Orthodox Society

Arab Orthodox Movement

John of Damascus

Arabic Christians community

Arabic Christians magazine

Sample of Melkite Chant in Arabic, English, and Greek

Qantara.de

Christian Minorities in the Islamic World: No Arab Spring for Christians