Posted on 12/04/2005 10:24:15 AM PST by Dont_Tread_On_Me_888
Add to that tabouli, or as my ex roommate's mother used to call it-Lebanese Ice Cream. To die for. You can't stop eating it.
Lebanese Christians are not ethnically Arabs even though they speak Arabic.
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I would appreciate clarification on that :>) Acccording to the CIA website:
Ethnic groups:
Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%
Thx for the comment!
And re "educating" . . .
The way the MSM is in this nation and due to such a defunct, broken and useless education system in the public schools, we have reached a point where nearly every assumption or belief is wrong and totally opposite to what most think. How those perceive Arab-Americans is no different.
Yes, it is very true that Arab-Americans are conservative, Christian, highly educated, with a higher average income than average, and about as gung-ho pro-American as you can get, yet most Americans assume that is not the case. People do not research or study topics of interest. As much as Arabs and the Middle East have been in the news, most Americans know practically nothing about the Arabs in this country. The MSM certainly never educates us, just brainwashes us.
Heck, look at the last few posts with good looking Arab women and talking about how "hot" they are. Never thought Arabs would do that, right? The fact is most Arabs in America are not much different than the typical American (except, of course, unless they are radical Muslims, who would rather behead a woman than treat her like a princess).
ethnicity: n : an ethnic quality or affiliation resulting from racial or cultural ties
Example: My wife's father was born in Italy, my wife's mother was born in Northern Spain. She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and lived as a teenager Nicaragua. She is an American citizen now. Is she European? Technically, she is from an ancestry angle. Culture? No. She is South American. Her native language is Spanish with an Argentine accent. Her culture was Latin/South American. This example this member used about Lebanese Christians "not being Arab" and stating facts from hundreds of years ago or even more ancient history just is not practical.
My wife is in fact South American, Argentinian, even though here ancestors are European. Racially, she is European. Culturally, she is South American/Central American.
The short of it is this--with Syria dominating the lives of Lebanese for so many years, their culture and racial makeup is as Arab as you can get. The Parliament of Lebanon has the following "identities" based on religious and ethnic "identities":
Maronite ..........34
Greek Orthodox.....14
Greek Catholic.....8
Armenian Orthodox..5
Armenian Catholic..1
Protestant.........1
Other Christians...1
Total Christians...64
Sunni..............27
Shi'a..............27
Druze..............8
Alawite............2
Total Muslims......64
Now, are Lebanese who identify their religion as Greek Orthodox considered Greek? Of course not.
Lebanese are Arabs, regardless of their ancient family history or religious affiliation (assuming they are third generation or more Lebanese and been in Lebanon all these years).
I do appercciate your response really. But you haven't convinced me why Lebanese are or should be classifed as Arab. In fact most Lebanese - not the Iraqis and Syrians who have immigrated into Lebanon over the years...are far from being "Arab" - they are not descended from that part of Arabia that qualifies them as such.
But I am a novice in the question of Lebanon. I have known Lebanese-Americans over the years who called themselves Lebanese but never Arabs. Even a student I have this semester born and raised in Lebanon but of Iraqi ancestry (shia) refuses to call herself Arab. She adamanatly says she is Lebanese. Go figure!
She probably does not want to be called Arab (being her ancestry is Iraqi) because of the current state of affairs. Hell, even some Democrats did not want to be called Democrats after Bill Clinton.
It is just a name thing. Academia refers to the situations we have discussed as Arab.
Lebanon is in the League of Arab Nations. Would you suggest they are not Arab enough to be in the League?
Wikipedia lists Lebanon as an Arab nation? Is that an error?
All of these states have some "issues" regarding language and ancient geography. Check this out from Wikipedia's definition of "Arab World":
The Arabic language forms a unifying feature of the Arab world: though different areas use local dialects of Arabic, all share in the use of the standard classical language. This contrasts with the situation in the wider Islamic world, where Arabic retains its cultural prestige primarily as the language of religion and of theological scholarship, but the populace generally speak non-Arabic languages. The linguistic denotation inherent in the term Arab is generally dominant over genealogical considerations; thus, individuals with little or no Arabian ancestry (e.g., black Africans, Berbers) could be considered Arabs and self-identify as such by virtue of their mother tongue (see Who is an Arab?).
Ethnic identity: someone who considers himself to be an Arab (regardless of racial or ethnic origin) and is recognized as such by others.
Linguistic: someone whose first language is Arabic (including any of its varieties); this definition covers more than 200 million people.
Genealogical: someone who can trace his or her ancestry back to the original inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula.
Political: someone who is a resident or citizen of a country where Arabic is an official or national language, or is a member of the Arab League or is part of the wider Arab world; this definition would cover more than 300 million people, but it is rather simplistic and rigid in that it excludes the entire Diaspora but includes indigenous or migrant minorities.
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab#Who_is_an_Arab.3F
This website appears to argue against the unifying/identifying aspect between the Arabic language and Arabic ethnic identity.
http://www.lgic.org/english/eng-mainfaq-m.htm#1
"thus, individuals with little or no Arabian ancestry (e.g., black Africans, Berbers) could be considered Arabs and self-identify as such by virtue of their mother tongue (see Who is an Arab?). "
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As far as Arab speaking Black Africans - no. They do not identify themselves as Arab unless they are Muslims as well. The Sudanese Africans I know identify themselves as Arab only if they are Muslim...those that are Chrsitn do not! And now with Darfur - therer's another twist: Muslim and Arabic speaking but not Arab! As well, this is not the case at all in Mauritania where for years Black African Mauritanians who are Muslim as well have been struggling against being called Arabs.
Berbers do not identify themselves as Arab. I know that for a fact having been in the region.
Therefore, the question of Lebanese being Arabs is certainly an open one IMO no matter what academia may say.
Wow, who knew gas stations were so profitable....
Immigrants who came to this country, found a business they could be successful in and became successes. Thats what America is all about!
Thanks for the link...
I may be alone in my thinking, but I have always associated the Phoenicians and Israelis together.
The great seafaring and merchant peoples who together established cities throughout the Mediterrean and colonized southern Spain...
"Sponsorship" was a product of the laws past in the 1920s.
All I can say is that the second and third generation Mexicans I have encountered are as American as you and I. The first generation NEVER assimilates.
The problem is not with Arabs, it is with MUSLIMS. I lived in a nabe with a large Arab Muslim population, and they were not the type of folks we want to have in this country.
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Population statistics are always hard to find, usually compiled by sources with some interest in the result. Some groups, CAIR comes to mind, art thought to routinely include in their estimates of America's Muslim populations all Arabs.
It would be interesting to note whether the Arabs who immigrated converted to Christianity before or after they arrived in the U.S (or came from families that always were Christian).
Our family was Catholic before coming to America. I do not think very many at all converted religions after coming here.
At one time in Lebanon (e.g.), Christians had a high percentage (higher than today's 39%) of the popualtion, but the radical thug Islamics are eradicating others who are of another religion. Even today, the Parliament in Lebanon is evenly split between Christians and Muslims. Population wise, still about 40% are Christian--Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, Protestant.
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