Exploring the Term "Arab": The Facts and Myths of This Often Misused Word

Crazy McCain lady. Crazy Arab-bashing lady. Whatever you want to call her, she's the recently Saturday Night Live parodied woman who memorably called Barack Obama an Arab in a derogatory fashion to John McCain's immediate dismay.

There has been a lot of buzz about the term "Arab" in this election. Many of his bashers call Barack Obama an Arab. Is he? The answer is no, but that has still not rid our current landscape of confusion pertaining to the phrase "Arab". As in, is an Arab automatically a Muslim? Is a Muslim automatically an Arab? Are some Africans or Europeans Arabs?

Here are some facts and some myths about the term Arab.

Fact: An Arab is defined by his/her genealogical, linguistic, and political characteristics.

There are three key aspects to an Arabic person. First is their genealogical affiliation - as in, can they attribute their heritage to the tribes of Arabia. The tribes of Arabia were the nomadic Arabic people who originated in the Arabian peninsula and Syrian desert, as far back as the year 7 AD. Linguistics play a role in defining an Arab as well. As in, is their first language Arabic? The third characteristic is political affiliation. Not political as in Republican or Democrat, but as in a person who lives in or originates from an Arabic country. The key take-away from this is that when defining an Arabic person, religion is quite irrelevant.

Myth: All Arabs are Muslim, and All Muslims are Arabs.

This is an unfortunate misconception about Arabs and Muslims alike, as it excludes two very significant groups of people - Arabs who practice Christianity, Judaism, or other religions, and Muslims of African, European, or other descents. Many people of Arabic decent are from non-Muslim families. These people aren't just Muslims who've converted, but non-Muslim Arabs whose families have practiced their religion as far back as their ancestry. Furthermore, many Muslims have absolutely no Arabic blood. Many may consider themselves Arabic due to their political affiliation to an Arabic nation, but remember that there are also plenty who do no.

Myth: Not all Muslims are Arabic, but only Arabic Muslims are terrorists.

It is key to remember that while many convicted Islamic terrorists in the past twenty years were Arabic Muslims, many were also of African, Russian, Spanish, and even European-American descent, to name only a few. Bear in mind that Islam is a religion like any other - anyone of any nationality can convert. It is also crucial to remember that Arabic or not, almost all of the world's Islamic population are peaceful and law abiding citizens. It is unfortunate that the mistakes of few have shifted the world's perception of many.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab, http://www.adc.org/index.php?id=1172, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Jews