NOT ALL ARABS ARE MUSLIMs!!?

Question

i am arab and christian ,,but i dont understand why people everywere think that when you're arab,you're immediatly muslim!! thats nOT TRUEEE! i am sryrian and i am catholic!! who here made that mistake?? be honest!

Answer 1

VERY VERY TRUE!

I correct people on this all the time.

There is nothing wrong with arabs or any race. Islam is the problem. Non-Muslim Arabs may be the most important people in the world today, they are the people who can give the world life-saving intelligence.

PEACE AND LOVE.

Answer 2

That perception most likely came about because of the common belief that Arabs who leave the Muslim faith are likely to be shunned or even murdered. At the very least they would be looked down upon by the Muslim Arabs.

So that makes Christian Arabs a very small minority.

It is good to know there are some Arabs who embrace Christianity, the Muslims treat women so badly it is a wonder the Arab women don't stage a revolt of their own. United they would have a great influence, but sadly the consequences could be severe if all did not go well.

Answer 3

Because people, particularly in America, are fairly clueless about geography. The 3 countries with the largest Muslim population are all outside of the Middle East (Indonesia, India, Pakistan). Also, as you point out, not all Arabs are Muslims, as there are considerable Christian and Jewish Arab communities as well (Lebanon is about 35% Christian). I am originally from the Detroit, Michigan area where there is a large Chaldean population, but outside of that, very few people I meet even know what a Chaldean is. Growing up there certainly helped me to make that distinction at an early age.

Answer 4

Hey-my neighbors are Assaryian and Catholic! A lot of sryians/Iraqi's and even some Iranians and Turks are Christian or Catholic. People sometimes are just too ignorant and they see the darker skin, or if not that, think middle east and think Islam-yet they don't realize that the middle east has Jews and Christians as well! I know lots of Christian/Catholic Syrians in Chicago-lots!

Anyhow-the media paints the picture of the middleas as Jews vs. Muslims. They throw the word Arab around so much that people assume that Arabs are Muslims. The Muslims in the middle east get the most attention today becuase of the high profile terrorism cases brought out by the media. Plus, American citizens views on skin color let them assume that tan=Islam.

It's too bad!

Good luck!

Answer 5

It's like saying everyone in the north american continent are christians. People are just playing by the numbers with assumption and I don't think that's something to feel insulted about.

Honestly, I don't think I've ever made that mistake before. I went to a catholic high school where there were plenty of catholics from Arab nations, India, Pakistan, etc. Hell, before I transferred to a public school, I thought this was quite normal (christian brainwashing).

Answer 6

That's a common mistake of stereotyping. You're right. Muslim is a religion. You are an Arabian because your country of Syria is a n Arabian country. Have you heard about this Syrian lady who's bearing testament to God's. Every yr, she has the stigmata and she's quite popular in the papers. It's very hard for people to grasp that not all Arabs are MUslims and violent. Not all middle easteners are muslims.

Answer 7

If it's so bad to label people, why are folks here labelling Muslims as bad? The terrorists aren't Muslims, because they do submit to the will of God. "Thou shalt not kill," remember? Muslims follow the 10 commandments too. DUHHH. The so-called Muslim terrorists make up their own rules, following their own will, and they do what is haram in Islam, which is murder. In essence, they aren't Muslim at all, but infidels. I WISH VEGAS GUY WOULD FINALLY THIS.

Sorry for the rant, but bigotry pi$$es me off big time.

Deep breathing.... relax.... okay, now I'm fine.

You are 100% correct, not all Arabs are Muslims. Most are, but not all. I dated an Israeli who converted to Islam, and an Egyptian who was Roman Catholic. Someone said it's like assuming all Americans are Christians. Right-o, 'cause most are but not all are. There are 5 million Muslims in America, so "they" have now become "us." Ooooooooo! (hehe!) There are people of other religions, like mine (Baha'i), Buddhist, Hindu, Scientologist, Zoroastrian, etc etc.

Answer 8

Pretty common mistake, I'd say. It's like saying all Americans are Christians. Simply isn't true in either case. The Arab world is predominantly Muslim, and America is predominantly Christian... so it is a natural (but incorrect) assumption.

Answer 9

Its a common misconception. Its like thinking that all Hispanic people speak Spanish. People tend to make assumptions based on past experiences and while not all Arabs are Muslim, the majority of them are. Use it as an oppotunity to educate people.

Answer 10

I'm afraid that you'll find that a fair percentage of Americans believe that all Arabs are Muslims, or that the two terms have the same meaning. Sad, but probably true.

Answer 11

It's an unfortunate mistake that is all too commonly made. People sometimes assume that the "greatest" or "majority" religion applies to everyone. And when a religion is historically tied to ethnicity, the problem is compounded.

It's difficult for some people to understand that one can be ethnically Jewish and not be of the Jewish faith, too.