Why does the west assume most Muslims are Arab?

Question

Arabs only make up 20% of the world's Muslim population. the other 80% are non-Arab

the largest Muslim country in the world is even non-arab.which is Indonesia

Answer 1

Because they don't know any better and are not willing to learn.

Answer 2

Mostly because arab muslims seem to think that being a true and proper muslim one must speak, dress, and think like an arab of 1400 years ago(the so called golden age of Islam). If you do not follow that criteria you arent considered a "real" muslim. Because of this converts are pressured into discarding all signs of the old way of life(meaning western) including their own names and taking on the habits and names of arabs. So the media protrays all muslims as arab because thats what arabs prefer and what alot of new muslims feel they must attain to be welcomed into the "family".

Answer 3

unusual isn't it. Many are stressful that the west do some thing....then at the same time as they do ( like Libya) they *****. the nearest many get to doing some thing is to finish violent protests interior the capital cities of their host international locations. They locate it a lot a lot less confusing to sentence non Muslims for atrocities....Israel, the west and somewhat the US....yet are surprisingly silent about Muslim atrocities jointly with Darfur and now syria. they received't do some thing....they choose somebody else to do it. of course the Arabs received't.....the UN Arab/Muslim leaders supported the butcher of Darfur the Sudanese 'chief'....says all of it.

Answer 4

im not a muslim, not a western, so listen from someone from neither sides: some muslims, BUT NOT ALL OF THEM, are made to want to imitate arabs, their language, the way they eat, the way they behave socially, and its islam that forces them be like that otherwise they are not good muslims.
on the other hand westerns do not even know about themselves, their own history, their own governments, and what their governments do to other countries, without the people knowing that, when they do not know such things about themselves, even some well-educated ones, so can u expect them know about arabs and muslims?!
its seems funny but true: when the US started the war in iraq, more than 80 percent of high school students did not know where in the wolrd is located iraq!!!!

Answer 5

We pray facing the same Araibian City, Mecca, where our Msjid is present.. We have one Quran inspired in Arabic to an Arab prophet. May be that's why...

Arab Muslims are about 45 - 50 % of Muslims.

There are many Arab countries that people don't know they are like Chad.

Answer 6

Because the Americans are not very intelligent when it comes to geography or the cultures of other people. There was a study out last year that found that two thirds of Americans cannot locate Iraq on the map of world even though it is in news so much. Amazingly 33% could not find Louisiana on the map of United States even though it received so much coverage after Hurricane Katrina. So if Americans don't know enough about their own country, how could we expect them to know about other people.

Answer 7

Because...I guess Islam spread from Arabia? Also, good Muslims try to learn Arabic. This makes them feel Muslims are Arabic.

Answer 8

i think its because the Arab countries constitute mostly of Muslims..even though their populations may be small, a large pecentage of that population are muslims...Even though countries like India have a larger no.of muslims,hindus are the majority there, so ...Besides, since the Qur'an is in Arabic and Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) was also a native of Makkah, they assume that most muslims are Arabs.

Answer 9

Trying to learn Arabic is a reason.

That Islam has originated from the Middle East is another reason.

Not enough proper high school education is also a reason.

And sitting at home listening to the TV to give you your outlook on life, is the worst ever reason.

Answer 10

Becouse the west know NOTHING about Islam or Arab people
as a matter of fact, they know NOTHING about anything in the world

see that link
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCkYfYa8ePI )

Answer 11

For the same reason we assume that Christians exist only in the west. Africa is full of them so is the middle east. IGNORANCE.