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Arab Christians
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Arab Christians |
|---|
| Total population |
|
20 - 30 million |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Egypt: 15,000,000 (estimated)*[1] Brazil: |
| Languages |
| mostly Arabic |
| Religions |
| Christianity |
Arab Christians are people who are ethnically Arab or culturally and linguistically Arabized and who follow the religion of Christianity.
The majority of Christian Arabs live in the Middle East where, although Islam is undoubtedly the preponderant religion, significant religious minorities exist in a number of countries. The largest number of Arab Christians, whether in real numbers or in proportion to a country's population, are to be found in Egypt, Israel (as well as the Palestinian territories), Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Emigrant Arab communities throughout the Americas, especially among the Arab populations of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and the United States, are overwhelmingly Christian. In Brazil alone, Arabs number over 12 million and are mostly Christian.
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Throughout many eras of history, Arab Christians have co-existed fairly peacefully with followers of the other religions of the Middle East (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.
Arab Christians predate Arab 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 southern Arabian city of Najran was also a center of Arab Christianity, and were made famous by virtue of their persecution by the king of neighboring, Yemen, himself an enthusiastic convert 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.
Arab Christians have made significant contributions to Arab civilization and still do. Many of Arab literature's finest poets were Arab Christians, and many Arab Christians were physicians, writers, government officials, and men of letters.
The largest population of Arabic-speaking Christians is found in Egypt, where, according to government estimates, they number over 4 million people, or 6% of the population. Many Egyptian Christians, however, believe this number to be an underestimation, and claim to actually number between 10 and 20% of the population. The vast majority of Christians in Egypt are followers of the Coptic Orthodox Church, a rite that is in itself mainly confined to Egypt and the Horn of Africa. Few Copts identify themselves as Arabs. Instead, most Coptic Egyptians identify themselves merely as "Arabic speaking", thus using the term Arab in its cultural rather than ethnic sense. Copts identify their ethnic background as Egyptian, with which the term Copt is virtually synonymous. They have their own language (which died out as a vernacular some 300 years ago but is currently experiencing a slow renaissance), and have their own Oriental Orthodox rite of Christianity. The Coptic Orthodox Church has historically been seen by Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches as heretical and has been accused of adhering to a Monophysite Christology. The Coptic Orthodox themselves insist that they are in fact Miaphysites in their christology. In recent years, large strides have been made towards reconciliation between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox communions, including reaching a common understanding on the nature of Jesus. A small fraction of Copts belong to the Coptic Catholic Church or various Protestant churches.
Lebanon contains the largest number of Christians in proportion to its total population. It is believed that they made up around 45% of Lebanon's population before the Lebanese civil war, but their percentage may be as low as 35% now (1,300,000). They belong largely to the Maronite Church, with a sizable minority belonging to the Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Syriac Orthodox, and Syrian Catholic churches among others. There is, however, uncertainty about the exact numbers because an official census has not been taken in Lebanon since 1932.
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.
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 largly due to low birth rates in comparison with Muslims. Nearly 70 - 75% of Jordanian Christians belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church, the other part adheres to Catholicism with small minority to Protestant churches. 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 on the Middle East. 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 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.
About 1.6% or 100,000 of Palestinians residing in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip are Christian [12], while four times as many Palestinian Christians, 400,000, now live in the diaspora, due to the harsh economic and humanitarian conditions resulting from the Israeli occupation, not to mention those who were made refugees as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War that led to the establishment of Israel. The rise of Islamic parties has only served to exacerbate their situation. Estimates put the pre-1948 percentage of Christians among the Arab population of Palestine at up to 20%, though they now make up perhaps 3-5% if not lower. It should be noted that Palestinian Christians have figured prominently in the Palestinian national movement. 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.
There are tiny communities of Roman Catholics in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Most of the members in North Africa, however, are foreign missionaries or immigrant workers, 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 Arab Christians also live in a diaspora elsewhere in the world. These include such countries as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile and the United States. Despite the common belief in the United States that "Arab" equals "Muslim", the majority of self-identifying Arabs in the United States 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 Arab Christians in Europe, especially in France (due to its historical connections with Lebanon).
The traditionally Roman Catholic inhabitants of Malta speak Maltese, which is derived from a variation of Arabic. However, they are not considered Arab Christians due to strong European influences over the centuries. For example, the Maltese language is written in Latin, not Arabic, script and is heavily influenced by Italian.
Historically, a number of minority Christian sects that were persecuted as heretical under Byzantine rule (such as Monophysites) actually began to enjoy more religious freedom under initial Arab Muslim occupation than they had under Byzantine (Orthodox Christian) rule. This tolerance however waxed and waned, not lasting for very long. For instance, Egyptian Christians suffered greatly under certain periods of the Arab Muslim rule of Egypt.
Not all Christians in the Middle East consider themselves to be ethnic Arabs, however, although they may admit the word Arab differently, depending on which aspect of their identity they wish to emphasize (political, linguistic, or ethnic). For example, most Copts, like Egyptians in general, perceive themselves as Egyptians only, with roots going back to Ancient Egypt. They reserve the term Arab for the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula, and still regard the Arabs as invaders. Similarly, some Lebanese Maronites go so far as to emphasize Lebanon's link to the ancient Phoenicians or Mardaites and to limit the label Arab to people living in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, and some groups descending from them, which spread over the Middle East. In reality Maronites have a complex ancestry of Greek, Roman, Hebrew, Assyrian and Arab descent. Some of the most influential (secular) Arab nationalists were Eastern 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.
Like Arab Muslims and Arab Jews, Arab Christians refer to God as Allah, since this is the word in Arabic for "God". The use of the term Allah in Arab 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.
- Gibran Khalil Gibran, prominent poet and writer (Lebanese, Maronite Christian).
- 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 H. 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, (Lebanese, Greek Catholic Christian).
- Carlos Menem, president of Argentina from 1988 to 1999, (Syrian, converted to Roman Catholic from Islam).
- Hany Ramzy, Coach of Egyptian soccer league champion ENPPI, (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 Universe1972, (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, Arab-Israeli writer, (Israeli Arab, Protestant Christian)
- Azmi Bishara, Arab-Israeli member of the Knesset, (Israeli Arab, Greek Orthodox Christian)
- Azmi Nassar, manager of the Palestinian national football team, (Israeli Arab, Greek Orthodox Christian)
- Salim Tuama, Hapoel Tel Aviv middlefielder, (Israeli Arab, Greek Orthodox Christian)
- Simon Shaheen Israeli-born U.S. Oud and violin virtuoso and composer, (Israeli Arab, Greek Catholic Christian)
- Salim Jubran, member of the Israeli Supreme Court, Israeli Arab, Maronite Christian)
- Bruno Bichir and Demián Bichir, Mexican actors, (Lebanese Maronite Christians)
- Carlos Slim Helú, Mexican billionaire, (Lebanese Maronite Christian)
- Jaime Camil, Mexican actor, (Lebanese Maronite 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)
- Bassel Fleihan (Lebanese, Protestant), Lebanese politician assassinated alongside Rafiq Hariri.
- Najah Wakim (Lebanese, Greek Orthodox), Lebanese politician president of the People's Movement party.
- ^ http://www.copts.com/english/HistoryOfCopts.aspx
- ^ a b Arab diaspora
- ^ Demographics of Lebanon
- ^ Syria#Demographics
- ^ Demographics of Jordan
- ^ The Canadian Arab Federation & Arab Community Centre of Toronto (1999). A Profile of Arabs in Canada. Virtual Library. Toronto Centre of Excellence.
- ^ List of Canadians by ethnicity
- ^ 2001 Census: Ancestry - Detailed paper (PDF). Australian Bureau of Statistics.
- ^ Appendices to Isma. Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's Publications Unit.
- ^ Israel#Religion in Israel
- ^ Republic of Iraq. Operation World.
- ^ Don Wagner. Palestinian Christians: An Historic Community at Risk?. Palestine Center.