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Arab Christians
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The majority of Arab Christians (Arabic ??????? ??? ) and Arabic-speaking Christians (Arabic ??????? ?????? ???????? ) live in the Middle East and North Africa where significant religious minorities exist in a number of countries. People who speak Arabic as their first language may not necessarily identify as Arabs, but no statistics exist that show how many or which Arabic-speaking Christians identify as Arabs.
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The majority of Arab Christians (Arabic ??????? ??? ) and Arabic-speaking Christians (Arabic ??????? ?????? ???????? ) live in the Middle East and North Africa where significant religious minorities exist in a number of countries. People who speak Arabic as their first language may not necessarily identify as Arabs, but no statistics exist that show how many or which Arabic-speaking Christians identify as Arabs. The largest numbers of Arabic-speaking Christians are found in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Israel (as well as the Palestinian territories) and Jordan. Emigrant Arab communities throughout the Americas, especially among the Arab populations of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and the United States, are overwhelmingly Christian.
Identity
Not all Arabic-speaking Christians in the Middle East and North Africa consider themselves to be Arabs. They may, however, admit the word Arab differently, depending on which aspect of their identity they wish to emphasize (political, linguistic, ethnic, or genealogical). Egyptian Christians, also known as Copts, as well as many Muslim Egyptians do not self-identify as Arabs, although Copts who live in Egypt and other Arabic-speaking countries do speak Arabic. Some Lebanese (mainly Maronite) claim to be of Phoenician, Aramean, Mardaite and Crusader descent, as distinct from their Muslim neighbors.
Some of the most influential (secular) Arab nationalists were Levantine Greek Orthodox Christians like Michel Aflaq, founder of the Baath Party, George Habash, founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Constantin Zureiq.
Historically, a number of minority Christian sects that were persecuted as heretical under Byzantine rule (such as Non-Chalcedonians) actually began to enjoy more religious freedom under initial Arab Muslim occupation than they had under Byzantine (Eastern Orthodox Christian) rule.
History
Throughout many eras of history, Arabic-speaking Christians have co-existed fairly peacefully with followers of the other religions of the Arab world (principally Islam and Judaism). Even after the rapid expansion of Islam from the 7th century AD onwards through the Islamic conquests (or Ghazwa), many Christians chose not to convert to Islam and instead maintain their pre-existing beliefs. As "People of the Book", Christians in the region are accorded certain rights by theoretical Islamic law (Shari'ah) to practice their religion free from interference or persecution; that was, however, strictly conditioned with first paying a special amount of money (tribute) obliged from non-Muslims called 'Jizyah' (pronounced Jiz-ya), in form of either cash or goods, usually a wealth of animals, in exchange for their safety and freedom of worship. The tax was not levied on slaves, women, children, monks, the old, the sick, hermits, or the poor.
Arabic-speaking Christians predate Arabic-speaking Muslims, as there were many Arab tribes which adhered to Christianity since the first century, including the Nabateans and the Ghassanids (who were of Qahtani origin and spoke Yemeni-Arabic as well as Greek), who protected the south-eastern frontiers of the Roman and Byzantine Empires in north Arabia. The tribes of Tayy, Abd Al-Qais, and Taghlib were also known to have included a large number of Christians prior to Islam. The Yemeni city of Najran was also a center of Arabic-speaking Christianity, and were made famous by virtue of their persecution by one of the kings of Yemen , Dhu Nawas, himself an enthusiastic convert to Judaism. The leader of the Arabs of Najran during the period of persection, Al-Harith, was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church as St. Aretas.
Arabic-speaking Christians have made significant contributions to Arab civilization and still do. Some of Arab literature's finest poets were Arabic-speaking Christians, and some Arabic-speaking Christians were physicians, writers, government officials, men of letters, and held equally important cultural and scientific roles as their Muslim counterparts.
Arabic-speaking Christians today
Egypt
Egypt has the largest number of Arabic-speaking Christians, also known as Copts. Copts, just like Muslim Egyptians, speak a dialect of Arabic known as Egyptian Arabic or Masri, which is heavily influenced by the indigenous Copto-Egyptian language of pre-Islamic Egypt, and later by other languages such as Turkish, French and English.
The See of the Church of Alexandria is one of the four original Sees of Christianity, along with Rome, Antioch and Constantinople. The foundation of the Egyptian Church (later called the Coptic Church by the Arabs) dates back to Saint Mark the Apostle in 42 A.D. Today, 95% Copts belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, an Orinetal Orthodox Church. The remainder 5% belong to the Coptic Catholic Church, a uniate church, and to various Protestant churches. It is noteworthy to state that most Copts do not self-identify as Arabs and that Copts in the diaspora, numbering about 2 millions, do not speak Arabic. There are also a small number of Protestants because of British rule and a tiny number of Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholics, most of them are Greek Egyptians and Italian Egyptians.
Lebanon
Lebanon was re-established by France in 1920 according to the Maronite Christian ambitions who sent many delegates to France following WWI requesting the re-establisment of the entity of the Principality of Lebanon (1515AD-1840AD), in which they prospered and co-existed in harmony with their fellow druze for hundreds of years. Maronite Christians who mainly are descendants of the Arameic-Phoenician civilization of the Levant formed the majority of the Lebanese population at that time, estimated at around 80% of the total population, thus making Lebanon the only Levantine nation to be dominated by Christians and not Muslims. Their main language was Syriac, a western dialect of Aramaic (the language of Christ), but they gradually replaced it after the 15th century with Arabic, though maintaining the use of the former in Maronite liturgy. Lebanon contains the largest number of Christians in proportion to its total population. It is known that they made up around 55% of Lebanon's population before the Lebanese Civil War, but their percentage today may be as low as 40% now (1,800,000), however of the estimated 16,000,000 strong diaspora, they form a crushing majority. Lebanese Christians belong largely to the Maronite Church, with a sizable minority belonging to the Greek Orthodox, Melkite Greek Catholic, among others. There are many Roman Catholics in the country due to French rule, and most of them are of French descent. There is, however, uncertainty about the exact numbers because no official census has been made in Lebanon since 1932.
It is important to note that Lebanon was never officially an Arab country although it was part of the Arab league. Up until 1989, it was written in the Lebanese Constitution that Lebanon has an "Arabic Face" (direct translation), to please the Muslim population), simply because Lebanese Christians in general never viewed themselves as Arabs and always held on to their Levantine identity and French Lebanese Christians view themselves French. However after the 1989 Taef Accord the country's constitution was changed to please Lebanese Muslims, thus making Lebanon an Arab country.
Genetically speaking and following the Genographics program which was funded by the National Geographic channel and implemented by Dr. Pierre Zalloua, the Lebanese Christian were found to have what is scientifically known as the Phoenician gene (J2). According to the study about 29.5% have J2, about 25% have the Western European R1b1 and I genes (directly related to the Crusades and Mainly French and German, excluding Italians and Greeks), and about 12% have J* which is known as the Arabian gene.
Lebanon's president is, not by constitution but by a verbal agreement of Lebanon's different denominations, always a Maronite Catholic Christian.
Syria
In Syria, Christians formed just under 15% of the population (about 1.2 million people) under the 1960 census, but no newer census has been taken. Current estimates put them at about 10% of the population (2,000,000), due to lower rates of birth and higher rates of emigration than their Muslim compatriots. Most Christians are Syriac Christians, with some Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholics. The latter is caused by French rule and are mostly French.
Jordan
In Jordan, Christians constitute about 7% of the population (about 400,000 people), though the percentage dropped sharply from 18% in the early beginning of the twentieth century. This drop is largely due to influx of Muslim Arabs from Hijaz after the First World War, the low birth rates in comparison with Muslims and the large numbers of Palestians (85-90% Muslim) who fled to Jordan after 1948. Nearly 70-75% of Jordanian Christians belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church, while the rest adhere to Catholicism with a small minority adhering to Protestantism. Christians are well integrated in the Jordanian society and have a high level of freedom. Nearly all Christians belong to the middle or upper classes. Moreover, Christians enjoy more economic and social opportunity in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan than elsewhere in Southwest Asia . Although they constitute less then ten per cent of the total population, they have disproportionately large representation in the Jordanian parliament (10% of the Parliament) and hold important government portfolios, ambassadorial appointments abroad, and positions of high military rank.
Jordanian Christians are allowed by the public and private sectors to leave their work to attend Divine Liturgy or Mass on Sundays. All Christian religious ceremonies are publicly celebrated in Jordan. Christians have established good relations with the royal family and the various Jordanian government officials and they have their own ecclesiastic courts for matters of personal status.
Palestinian territories and Israel
About 90,000 Palestinian Christians live in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with about 190,000 Arab Christians living in Israel and an estimated 400,000 Palestinian Christians living in the Palestinian diaspora. Both the founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, George Habash, and the founder if its offshoot, the DFLP, Nayif Hawatmeh, were Christians, as is prominent Palestinian activist and former Palestinian Authority minister Hanan Ashrawi.
North Africa
There are tiny communities of Roman Catholics in Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, and Morocco because of French rule for Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, Spanish rule for Morocco, and Italian rule for Libya. Most of the members in North Africa, however, are foreign missionaries or immigrant workers and people of French, Spanish, and Italian colonial descent, while only a minority among them are converted Arabs (or their descendants) or descendants of converted Berbers, often brought to Christian (Catholic) belief during the modern era or under French colonialism. Charles de Foucauld was renowned for his missions in North Africa among Muslims, including African Arabs.
Many millions of Arabic-speaking Christians also live in a diaspora elsewhere in the world. These include such countries as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia,Venezuela, Cuba, Dominican Republic and the United States. The majority of self-identifying Arab Americans are Eastern Rite Catholic or Orthodox, according to the Arab American Institute. On the other hand, most American Muslims are black or of South Asian (Indian or Pakistani) origin. There are also many Arabic-speaking Christians in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom,France (due to its historical connections with Lebanon), and Spain (due to its historical connections with north Morocco), and to a lesser extent, Ireland, Germany, and Greece.
Doctrine
Like Arab Muslims and Arab Jews, Arabic-speaking Christians refer to God as Allah, since this is the word in Arabic for "God". The use of the term Allah in Arabic-speaking Christian churches predates Islam by several centuries. In more recent times (especially since the mid 1800s), some Arabs from the Levant region have been converted from these native, traditional churches to more recent Protestant ones, most notably Baptist and Methodist churches. This is mostly due to an influx of Western, predominantly American Evangelical, missionaries.
Prominent Arab Christians and Arabic-speaking Christians
- Abdalá Jaime Bucaram Ortiz, president of Ecuador from 1996 to 1997(Lebanese, Roman Catholic Christian)
- Jamil Mahuad, President on Ecuador from 1998 to 2000 (Lebanese, German Catholic Christian).
- Suleiman Mousa, author of "Major Biography of T.E. Lawrence: An Arab View" (Jordanian, Catholic Christian).
- Gibran Khalil Gibran, prominent poet and writer (Lebanese, Maronite Christian), was very proud of his heritage and a lot of his writings reflected this.
- George Wassouf, Syrian singer, (Syrian Christian).
- Edward Said, prominent intellectual and writer (Palestinian, Protestant Christian).
- Michel Aflaq, co-founder of Baath Party, (Syrian, Greek Orthodox Christian).
- Constantin Zureiq, prominent intellectual and academic, (Syrian, Greek Orthodox Christian).
- Onsi Sawiris, founder of Orascom Group, (Egyptian, Coptic Christian).
- George Habash, founder of PFLP, (Palestinian, Greek Orthodox Christian).
- Nayef Hawatmeh, founder of DFLP, (Palestinian, Greek Orthodox Christian).
- Afif Safieh, Palestinian ambassador to the United States (no diplomatic status), (Palestinian, Greek Catholic Christian).
- Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Egypt FM and Secretary-General of the United Nations, (Egyptian, Coptic Christian).
- Youssef Boutros Ghali, Egyptian Finance Minister, (Egyptian Coptic Christian).
- Amin al-Rihani, writer and intellectual, (Lebanese, Maronite Christian).
- Michel Pharaon, prominent Businessman and Politician, (Lebanese, Greek Catholic Christian).
- Issam Fares, prominent Businessman and Politician, (Lebanese, Greek Orthodox Christian).
- Said Khoury, entrepreneur, co-founder of the Consolidated Contractors International Company, (Palestinian,Greek Orthodox Christian).
- Yousef Beidas, prominent Financier, (Palestinian, Greek Orthodox Christian).
- Elias Farah, Iraqi philosopher, (Syrian, Greek Orthodox Christian).
- John Sununu, US political leader, (Palestinian-Lebanese, Greek Catholic Christian).
- Émile Lahoud, President of Lebanon, (Lebanese, Maronite Christian).
- Carlos Ghosn, French-Brazilian industrialist, CEO of Nissan and Renault, (Lebanese, Maronite Christian).
- Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian scholar and politic activist, (Palestinian, Anglican Christian).
- Shakira Mebarak, Colombian pop singer, (Lebanese, Catholic Christian).
- Steve Bracks Australian State MP, Premier of Victoria, Australia, (Lebanese, Catholic Christian).
- Salma Hayek, Mexican actress, (Lebanese, Maronite Christian).
- Fairuz, Lebanese classical singer, (Lebanese, Syriac Orthodox Christian).
- Najwa Karam, Lebanese singer, (Lebanese, Maronite Christian).
- Sir Magdi Yacoub, eminent heart surgeon, (Egyptian, Coptic Christian).
- Paul Anka, Lebanese-Canadian singer, (Lebanese, Syriac Orthodox Christian).
- René Angélil, Canadian producer and husband of Céline Dion, (Syrian, Greek Catholic Christian).
- Carlos Menem, president of Argentina from 1988 to 1999, (Syrian, converted to Roman Catholic from Islam).
- Salma Hayek, Mexican actress (Lebanese, Roman Catholic)
- Hany Ramzy,Egyptian Coach, (Egyptian, Coptic Christian).
- Farid Stino, President and CEO of Ismailia-Misr Poultry Company, one of the largest poultry companies in the Middle East, (Egyptian, Coptic Christian).
- Sandra Nashaat, Movie director, (Egyptian, Coptic Christian).
- Akmal Saleh, Egyptian-born Australian comedian, (Egyptian, Coptic Christian).
- Georgina Rizk, Miss Universe 1972, (Lebanese, Maronite Christian).
- Christina Sawaya, Miss International 2002, (Lebanese, Greek Orthodox Christian).
- René Chamussy, Rector of Université Saint-Joseph en Beirut, (Lebanese, Maronite Christian).
- Sarbel, Cypriot singer, (Lebanese, Maronite Christian)
- Emile Habibi, Palestinian Citizen of Israel writer, (Palestinian Citizen of Israel, Protestant Christian)
- Azmi Bishara, Palestinian Citizen of Israel member of the Knesset, (Palestinian Citizen of Israel, Greek Orthodox Christian)
- Azmi Nassar, manager of the Palestinian national football team, (Palestinian Citizen of Israel, Greek Orthodox Christian)
- Salim Tuama, Hapoel Tel Aviv middlefielder, (Palestinian Citizen of Israel, Greek Orthodox Christian)
- Simon Shaheen Israeli-born U.S. Oud and violin virtuoso and composer, (Palestinian Citizen of Israel, Greek Catholic Christian)
- Salim Jubran, member of the Israeli Supreme Court, Palestinian Citizen of Israel, Maronite Christian)
- Shakira, international superstar daughter of Lebanese father from Zahle and Colombian mother.
- Bruno Bichir and Demián Bichir, Mexican actors, (Lebanese Maronite Christians)
- Carlos Slim Helú, Mexican billionaire, (Lebanese Maronite Christian)
- Jaime Camil, Mexican actor, (Egyptian Roman Catholic Christian)
- Julio César Turbay, president of Colombia from 1978 to 1982, (Lebanese Maronite Christian)
- Walid Shoebat, former Palestinian terrorist, (converted to Christianity from Islam)
- Ralph Nader, US Presidential candidate and consumers' rights activist (son of Lebanese Christian immigrants, but declines to comment on personal religion)
- Tony Shalhoub, three-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe-winning American television and film actor. (Lebanese, Maronite Christian)
See also
External links
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