Arab Americans

When did the Arabs arrive in America?

Numerous evidence suggest that Muslims from Spain and West Africa arrived in the Americas at least
five centuries before Columbus. It is recorded, for example, that in the mid-tenth century, during the
rule of the Umayyad Caliph in Andalus ( Spain) , Abdul-Rahman III (929-961 CE), Muslims of African
origin sailed westward from the Spanish port of DELBA (Palos) into the "Ocean of darkness and fog".
They returned after a long absence with much booty from a "strange and curious land". It is evident
that people of Muslim origin are known to have accompanied Columbus and subsequent Spanish
explorers to the New World.
• A Muslim historian and geographer ABUL-HASSAN ALI IBN AL-HUSSAIN
AL-MASUDI (871-957 CE)‫ف ا لمسع ودي‬‫ ا لمع رو ب‬wrote in his book Muruj adh-
dhahab wa maadin aljawhar ‫(مروج ا لذهبومع ادنا لجوهر‬The meadows of gold
and quarries of jewels) that during the rule of the Muslim caliph of Spain
Abdullah Ibn Mohammad(888-912 CE), a Muslim navigator, Khashkhash
Ibn Saeed Ibn Aswad ‫ خشخاشابنس عيد ابناسود‬from Cordoba, Spain, sailed
from Delba (Palos) in 889 CE, crossed the Atlantic, reached an unknown
territory (ard majhoola) and returned with fabulous treasures. In Al-
Masudi's map of the world there is a large area in the ocean of darkness
and fog which he referred to as the unknown territory (Americas).
• This took place way before Columbus set a foot on the American soil.
• A renowned American historian and linguist, LEO WEINER of Harvard
University, in his book, AFRICA AND THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA
(1920) wrote that Columbus was well aware that the West African
Muslims had spread throughout the Caribbean, Central, South and
North American territories, including Canada, where they were
trading and intermarrying with the indigenous Indian tribes.
• From the 10th century on ward, many Arab and Muslim historians,
geographers and travelers from Al-Andalus ( Spain) documented many
voyages to the Americas.
• Columbus and early Spanish and Portuguese explorers were able to
voyage across the Atlantic (a distance of 2400 Km's) thanks to Muslim
geographical and navigational information, in particular maps made by
Muslim traders, including AL-MASUDI (871-957CE) in his book Akhbar
az-zaman‫( أخبار ا لزمان‬News of the Time) which is based on material
gathered in Africa and Asia. As a matter of fact, Columbus had two
captains of Muslim origin during his first transatlantic voyage.
• Many western historians dispute these claims and deny any
Arab/Muslim presence in the new world until much later.
A leap in history
• Now we know the Arabs are here .
• According to the 1990 census, there were 870,000 persons in the
United States who identified themselves as ethnically Arab or who
emigrated from one of the countries that constitute the
contemporary Arab world. Previous estimates by scholars and Arab
American community organizations placed the number of Arab
Americans at between one and three million.
• How and when they arrived?
• Arabic-speaking immigrants arrived in the United States in three
major waves.
• The first wave between the late 1800s and World War I consisted
mainly of immigrants from Greater Syria, an Arab province of the
Ottoman Empire until the end of World War I. Following the breakup
of the Empire, the province was partitioned into the separate political
entities of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Transjordan. The great
majority of immigrants in this wave were Christians. They left their
native countries for religious or political reasons, as well as economic
opportunities.
• More than half of the 60,000 Arabs who emigrated to the United
States between 1899 and 1910, were illiterate, and mostly unskilled
single men who had left their families behind. They were
economically motivated and left their native countries with the
intention of earning money and returning home to live out the
remainder of their lives in relative prosperity.
• Early Arab immigrants assimilated easily into American society
facilitated by the fact that the majority were Christian
• Early immigrants settled in the urban areas of the Northeast and
Midwest, in states like New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania,
Michigan, and Ohio. By 1940, a fifth of the estimated 350,000 Arabs
resided in three cities—New York, Boston, and Detroit. They
clustered in ethnic neighborhoods.
• Although many found work in the industrial factories and textile mills,
many also worked as peddlers selling dry goods. chose the life of
itinerant salesmen, peddling dry goods and other sundry items across
the American heartland. Others homesteaded on the Great Plains and
in rural areas of the South.
• The second wave:
• During the interwar period which was marked by the Great Depression and anti-immigrant
sentiment, not too many immigrants allowed in .
• Immigration resumed after the close of World War II, especially from the 1950s to the mid-
1960s. This second wave included many more Muslims. It also included refugees who had
been displaced by the 1948 Palestine War that culminated in the establishment of Israel.
• This period also witnessed the arrival of many Arabic-speaking professionals and university
students who often chose to remain in the United States after completion of their training.
Immigrants of the second wave tended to settle where jobs were available.
• Those with few skills drifted to the established Arab communities in the industrial towns of
the East coast and Midwest, while those with professional skills ventured to the new
suburbs around the major industrial cities or to rural towns.
• The Third Wave
• In the mid-1960s, a third wave of Arab immigration began which
continues to the present.
• This influx resulted in part from the passage of the Immigration Act of
1965 which abolished the quota system and its bias against non-
European immigration
• The third wave included many professionals, entrepreneurs, and
unskilled and semi-skilled laborers. These immigrants often fled
political instability and wars engulfing their home countries.
• They included Lebanese Shiites from southern Lebanon, Palestinians
from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and Iraqis of all political
persuasions. But many professionals from these and other countries
like Syria, Egypt, and Jordan, and unskilled workers from Yemen also
emigrated in search of better economic opportunities.
• The third wave of Arab immigrants encountered a negative reception
from the host society. Instead of assimilating, these new immigrants
often opted to remain on the outskirts of society, even while adopting
many American cultural mores (habits and customs).
• This wave has been the driving force behind the recent upsurge in the
establishment of Muslim schools, mosques, churches, charities, and
Arabic language schools.
• Acculturation and Assimilation ‫ا لتثاقفوا لتأقلم‬
• Early Arab immigrants assimilated easily into
American society facilitated by the fact that the
majority were Christian. Aside from barely discernable
Arabic names beneath anglicized surnames and a
preference for some old- world dishes, they retained
few traces of their ethnic roots. Many were successful,
some achieving celebrity status.
• The second and third waves of Arab immigrants were able to
assimilate into mainstream society without much resistance.
• This wave tended to retain some distinctive features of its ethnic past
because many of the newcomers were Muslim, contributing to the
retention of a distinct cultural identity. The establishment of cultural
clubs, political committees, and Arabic language schools helped
maintain a cultural identity and a political awareness among many
new arrivals and their children.
• Arab contributions to the American society
• Arab Americans have made important contributions in virtually every
facet of The American society.
• ACADEMIA
• Among the many Arab American academics, Edward W. Sa’id (1935–
2003) stands out as a world-class intellectual. Born in Jerusalem,
Palestine, and educated at Princeton and Harvard universities, Sa’id
has achieved international renown as a scholar in the fields of literary
criticism and comparative literature.
• There are thousands of others across the land.
• ENTERTAINMENT
• In the entertainment field several Arab Americans have achieved
celebrity status, including singers Paul Anka (1941– ) and Paula Abdul
(1962– ), actors Danny Thomas (1914-1991), Marlo Thomas (1938– ),
and Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham (1939– ). Musicians include "Tiny
Tim" (Herbert Khoury; 1922-1996) the ukulele-strumming, falsetto
singer; surf guitarist Dick Dale (b. late 1930s); singer Tiffany (Tiffany
Renee Darwish; 1972– ); musician Frank Zappa (1940-1993); and G.E.
Smith, former guitarist for the Saturday Night Live Band and frequent
collaborator with musician Bob Dylan and the record producer and
executive DJ Khaled ( Khaled Mohammad Khaled).
• Television and film industries.
• Jamie Farr (1934– ) portrayed cross-dressing Corporal Klinger on the
hit television sitcom M*A*S*H*, and Mustapha Akkad produced the
blockbuster Halloween thrillers. Khrystyna Haji starred on the
television sitcom Head of the Class and was picked as one of the 50
most beautiful persons in the United States by People Magazine. Amy
Yasbeck (1962– ) and Tony Shalhoob (1953– ) have become
recognizable faces due to their work on the popular television sitcom
Wings
• FASHION
• Joseph Abboud (1950– ) is the winner of several prestigious design awards. Joseph Haggar

• GOVERNMENT
• A number of Arab Americans have played prominent roles in government at the federal level. The first Arab
American to be elected to the U.S. Senate was James Abourezk (1931– ) of South Dakota. Abourezk earned a
reputation as a fighter for Native American and other minority rights while in Congress. Former Senate
majority leader, George Mitchell, Democrat from Maine (1933– ) is the offspring of a Lebanese mother and
an Irish father. The most prominent Arab American woman in national government is Donna Shalala
(1941– ). Prior to her appointment to a cabinet post as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the
Clinton Administration, Shalala headed the University of Wisconsin. In the preceding administration, another
Arab American, John Sununu (1941– ), the son of Lebanese Palestinian immigrants, served as George Bush's
White House Chief of Staff. Beyond the official circles of government, consumer advocate Ralph Nader
(1934– ) ranks as one of the most prominent Arab Americans in the public eye. His activism has had a lasting
impact on national policy.
• Ilhan Omar, US Representative from Minnesota
• Rashida Tlaib, US Representative from Michigan
• Still other Arab American politicians include Michigan Senator
Spencer Abraham and Representatives Nick Joe Rahall II, a Democrat
from West Virginia, and Pat Danner, a Democrat from Kansas. Former
politicians include Senator James Abdennour of South Dakota,
Representative Mary Rose Oakar of Ohio, Representative George
Kasem of California, Representative Abraham Kazen, Jr., of Texas,
Representative Toby Moffett of Connecticut, and former Governor of
Oregon Victor Atiyeh
• LITERATURE
• In the field of literature , several Arab Americans have achieved recognition
such as the Lebanese born Gibran Khalil Gibran (1883-1931). Sam Hazo
(1928– ) is an established American poet, as well as founder of the
International Poetry Forum in Pittsburgh. Palestinian American Naomi Shihab
Nye (1952– ), and Lebanese American Lawrence Joseph (1948– ) are also well-
known poets. Helen Thomas (1920–2013 ), the White House reporter for
United Press International, has covered the presidency since 1961. William
Peter Blatty (1928– ) is the author of the novel The Exorcist, and screenwriter
Callie Khouri (1957– ) received an Oscar award for Best Original Screenplay in
1990 for Thelma and Louise. Writer and director Tom Shediac is responsible for
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and the 1998 remake of The Nutty Professor.
• SCIENCE
• One of the most prominent Arab American scientists is Dr. Farouk El-
Baz (1938– ), who works for NASA as a lunar geologist and assisted in
planning the Apollo moon landings. Dr. Michael DeBakey (1908–
2008), heart surgeon and the inventor of the heart pump and served
as the Chancellor of Baylor University's College of Medicine. Dr. Elias
Corey (1928– ) of Harvard University won the 1990 Nobel Prize for
Chemistry. George A. Doumani made discoveries that helped prove
the theory of continental drift
• SPORTS
• Doug Flutie (1962– ) won the Heisman Trophy and quarterbacked the
Toronto Argonauts to a championship in the Canadian Football
League. Rony Seikaly (1965– ), born in Lebanon, played center in the
National Basketball Association for the New Jersey Nets. Jeff George
(1967– ) is a quarterback for the National Football League's
Minnesota Vikings. Oday Aboushi , football player currently with
Detroit Lions. Robert Saleh, current head coach of the New Jersey
Jets.
• Media
• The Arab American community has traditionally supported a number
of local electronic (radio, cable and broadcast TV programs) and print
media. The Arab American community is increasingly relying on
nationally-produced programming.
• Helen Thomas , member of the White house press corps from
presidents, Kennedy to Barak Obama.
Acknowledgment
• Most of the information cited in this presentation was adapted from
“ Arab Americans” , by Nabeel Abraham, who is an American
anthropologist and activist focuses on how Arabs and Palestinians are
represented in mainstream American media.