Society and Culture: What Does Arab Mean?

QUESTION:  Besides being in the entertainment business, what do Danny Thomas, Casey Kasem, Paula Abdul, and Paul Anka, all have in common?

ANSWER:  
They are all famous Arab-Americans.


Michael Franks is a smooth jazz crooner and he sings a love song about his tumultuous relationship with his lover. He describes their interactions with these lyrics: “Every night we fuss and fight like Arabs and the Jews.” Whoa! There's a lot of history wrapped up in just one line from a song.  The Jews I know but exactly who is an Arab?  Karla Scott, M.B.A. wrote an excellent blog post that answers this question.  An excerpt and the link are below. 

"What does Arab mean?

a. A nationality
b. A religion
c. A race
d. A geographical area

The answer is none of the above, really.

Arab is a culture. The three unifying features of the Arab world are language (Arabic), religion/law (Islam, Koran in Arabic)* and geography(24 countries in Middle East and Africa). The term Arab refers to a culture that originated in Arabia and in the 7th century, expanded to include most of the Middle East and Northern Africa. ..."


Continue reading ...

What Does Arab Mean? | Go Overseas With Ease

* NOTE:  There are some who disagree with Ms. Scott's second identification mark.  They maintain that an Arab can be an Arab and not be Muslim.  In fact, they assert that Arabs were Arabs long before Islam was even a religion.  They back up their claims either by pointing to secular historical records that pre-date Islam; referencing Jewish/Old Testament scriptures which refer to the descendants of Ishmael as Arabs (Ishmael was Abraham's son by his wife's handmaid, Hagar); or referring to both the records and the biblical accounts.  It is said that Mohammed proposed that the entire Arab (which was very divided) could be united if they all embraced the religion of Islam as it would make them a brotherhood.  Some Arabs, not ALL, embraced the religion.

America is clearly a diversified country.  But since American history textbooks don't truly reflect this diversity, certain months are set aside in the USA to pay respect and honor to Americans of various heritages and backgrounds who made significant and positive contributions to the building of America.  April is the month designated to celebrate Arab-American Heritage.  I could have published this post in April.  But why? ☺  Any day is a good day to share enlightening facts gleaned from American history or world history.

“There are two types of people in this world, the Givers and the Takers. The Takers sometimes eat better, but the Givers always sleep better.” - Danny Thomas, Birthday remembrance pic.twitter.com/508as7mheZ

— Aurora (@CitizenScreen) January 6, 2018

Omar Sharif (April 10, 1932 – July 10, 2015) pic.twitter.com/g58KHB1GDz

— Aurora (@CitizenScreen) July 10, 2017