Christians in the Arab World, Are they Arab?

Question

NO! Well the assumption is that they are! However Arabs were either non existent in the middle East (outside the arabian peninsula) or were small migrant minorities, until the coming of islam and the arab conquest in 7th Century AD. And from this point there was no real conversions to christianity, therefor christians extant in the mid east today, are pre arab in origin, even if they speak arabic(after all nearly all scots speak english, but theyre still scots). As an Assyrian(descended from Ancient Assyrians & Babylonians, and speaking Aramaic), im tired of being labelled an arab by the media, and i know many Egyptian Copts(descended from ancient egypt), Syriacs from Syria(descended from Arameans) and Maronites(descended from Phoenicians/canaanites) from Lebanon who are also! Why does the western media assume mid eastern christians are arabs??

Actually, the first mention of Arabs in history was by the Assyrian Kink Sennacherib in 7TH Century BC, Assyrians like myself are NOT arabs, we dont even speak arabic, but Aramaic which is a much older language. Arabs wre non existant or immigrant minorities in countries like Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt before the islamic conquest. Also the Term Palestine comes from Philistine, which in turn comes from Peleset, the Peleset wre originally from the Agean geek isles and settled "palestine" in 1000BC, long before arabs were even mentioned in history!

Answer 1

Many Christians in the Middle East feel as you do and wish to establish an alternative identity. As Levantines in the case of the Lebanese or as native pre-Islamic groups such as the Syriacs, Assyrians and Copts. This is in the face of Baa'thist and Arab Nationalist pressure to conform as "good Arabs"

The fact is that most of the middle Eastern populations even those who converted to Islam are not ethnic Arabs even if Arabic is their native tongue.

It is also true that in the occupied territories the Israelis(no doubt for their own reasons) do not differentiate between Christian and Muslim Palestinians, nor indeed between different types of Israeli Arab. Perhaps this is where the idea of Happy Christian Arabs originates.

Unfortunately I think that you will have a hard time getting the wider world to acknowledge the "true identities" of the regions Christian minorities. The ethnic/religious map is far too complex already and to confirm you real identity would be to beg the question over Druze, Samaritans, Yazidi, Baha'i etc. etc.

Answer 2

Obviously not all Christians in the Arab world are Arabs, but most are. I've met Arab Christians from Syria, Iraq, the Lebanon and Palestine. The word Arab denotes ethnicity; the word Christian denotes religion.
Aramaic, which is presumed to be the language Jesus spoke, is now only spoken in the triangle of southern Turkey, Syria and Iraq and your ethnicity may not be Arab but this does not mean that there are no Christian Arabs.
I met a Syrian Christian, from northern Syria, who was proud to call himself an Arab, but from his appearance I was convinced he was an ethnic Kurd.

Answer 3

That's actually a good question!! There are Arab Christians in the Arab world, especially in areas like Israel, Palestine and Lebanon! My friend's father is an Arab Christian from Israel and brings his children to the Church of Ireland here in N.Ireland. Also a few Christian communities in the U.A.E. I see them as Arabs, thats if they are from an Arab country. Some Israelis view themselves as Arab Christians while other Arab countries do not view Israel as a real country and certainly not an Arab country, so its all swings and roundabouts!!! Very volatile situation and the West ain't helping things!x

Answer 4

Smart Assyrian guy, what about the Ghassanids? They were Arabs and they controlled much of Syria Lebanon and Palestine in the year 250 AD. Most of them were Christians.

Answer 5

I see Pak Wak has missed your point completely which is surprising given her usual ramblings. Your post is fascinting however how can you be certain that you are descended from these ancient people? Lots of people in the UK think they are 100% English but in a recent television programme many of those tested were found to have DNA from all over the world. Also, I didn't know Arameic was still spoken by anyone.

Answer 6

America is a free nation and we can build anything we want as long as we get the permits and it's up to the building codes Arab is not a free country

Answer 7

lol yes

Before Islam there were Jew, Christian, various Abrahamic religions, and Idol worshipers

And guess what they were and still are Arabs

Edit: MNL yes they are in the bible. Arabs are the Philistines or in modern times the Palestinians

Edit: OK then My husband an Arab is a decedent of Noah though Abraham though his son Ishmael, though to Ali (pbuh) and Fatimah the daughter of Muhammad (pbuh) by their grand son Ali.

I know you will say that Abraham was not an Arab but a Jew, and that my husband is an Arab because of years of marrying and having children with Arab people. But how do you account for all being Semitic people

In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages. This family includes the ancient and modern forms of Amharic, Arabic, Aramaic, Akkadian, Ge'ez, Hebrew, Maltese, Tigre and Tigrinya among others.

The word "Semitic" is an adjective derived from Shem, one of the three sons of Noah in the Bible (Genesis 5.32, 6.10, 10.21), or more precisely from the Greek derivative of that name, namely Σημ (Sēm); the noun form referring to a person is Semite

Answer 8

You are of course entitled to an opinion but I guess you do not know everything about the 'Arab' race. I have several Arab friends who are Christian and they know many others who are.
Christianity is a worldwide belief and there are millions of us in many and varied countries...and in Latin countries our numbers are growing wildly at present because they have become aware of the 'End Times' being upon us as related in the Bible.
Muslims have become Christian as have hindus and many other religions which you would consider devout.
A 'born again' Christian would not and could not deny their Faith as once you know God/Jesus/Holy Spirit personally...you could never turn your back.
Jesus/God/Holy Spirit loves you too.
Best wishes, Mike.

Answer 9

That might be like saying that Old Californians who can trace their ancestry to pre-USA Mexico, when California was under Mexican or Spanish control, are tired of being thought of as U.S. Americans.

Maybe you have a valid point. However, I'm sure there are Christians in the Middle East who are happy, even proud, to call themselves Arabs. I guess you're not one of them.

BTW, Arabs are mentioned in the Bible.

http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=arabs&x=16&y=13
http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=arabian&x=11&y=12
http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=arab&x=11&y=12

The Acts 2 passage implies that there were Arab Christians on the day of Pentecost!

Answer 10

Oh! my dear if you go so much at the ancestral trees you will find yourself a far far far far far far far cousin of some monarch-but will he or she recognise you? Who are the Arabs at origin?Forget the land called Arabia go to their genes (the DNA science.All this might lead you to some clue to your question.A tiresome job ( to become mad) No go the inquistive and critical Q&A way for some minutes daily and see how it opens your mind at new knowledge and behavior.