Arab world

The Arab world (Arabic: اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ al-ʿālam al-ʿarabī), formally the Arab homeland (اَلْوَطَنُ الْعَرَبِيُّ al-waṭan al-ʿarabī), also known as the Arab nation (اَلْأُمَّةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ al-ummah al-ʿarabiyyah), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in the Arab world are ethnically Arab, there are also significant populations of other ethnic groups such as Berbers, Kurds, Somalis and Nubians, among other groups. Arabic is used as the lingua franca throughout the Arab world.

The Arab world is at its minimum defined as the 19 states where Arabs form at least a plurality of the population. At its maximum it consists of the 22 members of the Arab League, an international organization, which on top of the 19 plurality Arab states also includes the Bantu-speaking Comoros, and the Cushitic-speaking Djibouti and Somalia. The region stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Indian Ocean in the southeast. The eastern part of the Arab world is known as the Mashriq, and the western part as the Maghreb.

According to the World Bank, the Arab world has a total population of 456 million inhabitants and a gross domestic product of $2.85 trillion, as of 2021. The region is economically quite diverse, and includes some of the wealthiest as well as poorest populations in the world.

In post-classical history, the Arab world was synonymous with the historic Arab empires and caliphates. Arab nationalism arose in the second half of the 19th century along with other nationalist movements within the Ottoman Empire. The Arab League was formed in 1945 to represent the interests of Arab people and especially to pursue the political unification of the Arab countries, a project known as pan-Arabism.

Terminology

A long time ago, an Arab geographer named Al Maqdisi wrote about different lands. He used the term "Arab regions" for places like the Arabian Peninsula, which includes countries such as Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. He also thought that places like Iraq, Upper Mesopotamia (which includes Iraq, Syria, and Turkey), Ash-Sham (which includes Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey), Egypt, and the Maghreb (which includes Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Western Sahara) were part of these Arab regions.

Some countries, like Malta, have a language that comes from Arabic, but they are not part of the Arab regions. Other countries, such as Chad, Eritrea, and Israel, use Arabic as an official language but are not included because they are not members of the Arab League.

Definition

The word "Arab" mainly refers to people who speak Arabic and live in certain countries, rather than just family ties. In these countries, the government uses Standard Arabic, but people often speak their own local versions, called Darija in some places and Aammiyya in others. These local languages share many words with Standard Arabic but also borrow from other languages like Berber, French, Spanish, and Italian.

All countries that are members of the Arab League are usually considered part of the Arab world. The Arab League is a group of countries that work together on shared interests. It defines an Arab as someone who speaks Arabic, lives in an Arab country, and supports the goals of the Arab people. Some people feel this definition isn't perfect and suggest looking at language and culture too.

The Arab world can also include places where Arabic is widely spoken, even if they aren't Arab League members. For example, Somalia has Arabic as an official language, and Djibouti and the Comoros also use Arabic. Some other countries, like Chad and Eritrea, recognize Arabic but aren't Arab League members. Israel isn't part of the Arab world, though some of its citizens might be considered part of it.

History

Main article: History of the Arabs

See also: History of the Middle East

Early history

Further information: Pre-Islamic Arabia and Arabization

The Arabs originally came from a group of people in the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula, the Southern Levant, and the Syrian Desert. Arab tribes included groups like the Nabataeans, Tanukhids, Salihids, and Ghassanids.

Arab expansion happened because of the early Muslim conquests in the 7th and 8th centuries. Iraq was taken over in 633, the Levant (modern Syria, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon) between 636 and 640 CE, and Egypt in 639. The Maghreb was also taken over in the 7th century. Islam reached Sudan from Egypt between the 8th and 11th centuries.

Ottoman and colonial rule

The Arab Abbasid Caliphate fell to the Mongol invasions in the 13th century. Egypt, the Levant, and Hejaz came under the rule of the Turkish Mamluk Sultanate.

By 1570, the Turkish Ottoman Empire controlled most of the Arab world. However, Morocco was ruled by the Zenata Wattasid dynasty, later succeeded by the Saadi dynasty. The Ajuran Sultanate also ruled part of the Horn of Africa.

When the Ottoman Empire ended after World War I, much of the Arab world was controlled by European powers: Mandatory Palestine, Mandatory Iraq, British protectorate of Egypt, French protectorate of Morocco, Italian Libya, French Tunisia, French Algeria, Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, and the Trucial States.

These Arab states gained independence after World War II: Lebanon in 1943, Syria and Jordan in 1946, Libya in 1951, Egypt in 1952, Morocco and Tunisia in 1956, Iraq in 1958, Somalia in 1960, Algeria in 1962, and the United Arab Emirates in 1971. Saudi Arabia was unified under Ibn Saud by 1932. Yemen became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1918. Oman has been self-governing since the 8th century.

Rise of Arab nationalism

Further information: Islam and modernity and Arab Cold War

The Arab League was formed in 1945 to represent Arab interests and work toward political unity, called Pan-Arabism. There were some attempts at unity in the mid-20th century, like the United Arab Republic from 1958 to 1961. The Arab League’s main office is in Cairo, though it moved to Tunis in the 1980s after Egypt signed the Camp David Accords.

Modern conflicts

Main article: List of modern conflicts in the Middle East

Unification of Saudi Arabia

The unification of Saudi Arabia was a long process where different tribes, sheikhdoms, and emirates were brought together under the leadership of Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud between 1902 and 1932. This created the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Arab–Israeli conflict

Further information: Arab–Israeli conflict

The creation of the State of Israel in 1948 led to ongoing conflicts between Arab states and Israel. Wars include the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the 1956 Suez Crisis, the 1967 Six-Day War, and the 1973 Yom Kippur War. A peace treaty between Egypt and Israel was signed in 1979.

Iran–Iraq War

Main article: Iran–Iraq War

The Iran–Iraq War lasted from 1980 to 1988. It began when Iraq invaded Iran, but Iran pushed back and regained lost territory by 1982. The war continued for six more years with Iran on the offensive.

Lebanese Civil War

Main article: Lebanese Civil War

The Lebanese Civil War lasted from 1975 to 1990. It caused many casualties and displacement, with many people leaving Lebanon.

Western Sahara conflict

Main article: Western Sahara conflict

The Western Sahara War was a struggle between the Sahrawi Polisario Front and Morocco from 1975 to 1991. It started after Spain left the area, and Morocco tried to control it. A peace agreement was reached in 1991.

North Yemen Civil War

Main article: North Yemen Civil War

The North Yemen Civil War was fought between royalists and republicans from 1962 to 1970. It began when a republican leader took over and declared Yemen a republic.

Somali Civil War

Main article: Somali Civil War

The Somali Civil War began in 1991 after the government fell. Different groups fought for control, and there were attempts at peacekeeping. The conflict continues with various factions, including some groups seeking to control parts of the country.

Arab Spring

Main articles: Arab Spring, Libyan Civil War, and Syrian civil war

Protests began in late 2010 across the Arab world against leaders and corruption, asking for more democratic rights. This led to conflicts in Libya and Syria.

Petroleum

The discovery of large oil deposits in the 1930s changed the Arab world’s economy. The Persian Gulf has many oil-rich countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar. In Africa, Algeria and Libya are also important oil and gas exporters. These resources have affected politics and created differences between oil-rich and oil-poor nations.

Recent history

Today, many Arab states have leaders who hold power without much democratic control. After the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, changes began to happen. New groups of young people started calling for reforms in their countries. Some movements tried to bring change, like the Damascus Spring in Syria and the Egyptian Movement for Change.

Geography

Main article: Geography of the Arab world

The Arab World covers more than 13,000,000 square kilometres and includes parts of North Africa and parts of North-East Africa and South-West Asia. The eastern part is called the Mashriq. The areas of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania are known as the Maghreb.

The term "Arab" often makes people think of the Arabian Peninsula, but the larger part of the Arab World is North Africa. This area includes two of Africa's biggest countries, Algeria and Sudan. Algeria is very large, about three-quarters the size of India. The biggest country in Arab West Asia is Saudi Arabia.

The smallest mainland Arab country is Lebanon, and the smallest island country is Bahrain. Most Arab countries have coastlines along the sea or ocean, except for northern Chad, which has no coast at all.

The Arab world is spread across two continents, Africa and Asia, and is mainly stretched from east to west. The West Asian part includes the Arabian Peninsula, most of the Levant, and parts of Mesopotamia. Arab North Africa is the northern part of the continent, surrounded by water on three sides and desert on the fourth.

In the west, the Arab North Africa area borders the Atlantic Ocean. Countries along this coast include Morocco, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. The northern border of Arab North Africa is the Mediterranean Sea, which separates it from Europe. Countries along this coast include Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt.

The Red Sea separates Arab Africa from Arab West Asia. It stretches from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula to the Bab-el-Mandeb strait between Djibouti and Yemen. The southern edge of Arab North Africa is marked by the Sahel, a dry area south of the Sahara.

States and territories

Different types of governments exist in the Arab world. Some countries are monarchies, like Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Others are republics.

Many of the current borders of the Arab world were set by European powers during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some larger countries, like Egypt and Syria, have had natural borders for a long time.

The Arab world includes many developing economies. Most rely on selling oil, gas, or other raw materials. Recently, there has been growth, especially with rising oil prices. Some countries are also working to grow other parts of their economies.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of the Arab world

The Arab world is a group of countries mainly in West Asia and North Africa. Most people there speak Arabic, but there are also many other groups such as Berbers, Kurds, Somalis, and Nubians.

Main article: List of largest cities in the Arab world

The majority of people in the Arab world follow Islam. Some countries mainly follow Sunni Islam, while others have large groups that follow Shia Islam. There are also Christian communities in several Arab countries.

Main article: Higher education in the Arab world

Main article: Women in the Arab world

Main article: Arab cinema

Arab cinema includes films from many different countries and cultures. Egypt has been a leader in making films, but each Arab country has its own style. Over time, Arab films have changed and grown, exploring many topics important to the people there.