A map of the Arab world, formally the Arab homeland; also known as the Arab nation. The modern period in Arab history refers to the time period from the late 19th century to the present day.
Arab, one whose native language is Arabic. In modern usage, it embraces any of the Arabic-speaking peoples living in the vast region from Mauritania, on the Atlantic coast of Africa, to southwestern Iran, including the entire Maghrib of North Africa, Egypt and Sudan, the Arabian Peninsula, and Syria and Iraq.
Many Americans have a hard time distinguishing between the terms Arab, Middle Eastern, and Muslim. Here we break down the various terms to help you distinguish between these three categories.
The term Arab (Arabic: عرب ʻarab) generally refers to those persons who speak Arabic as their native tongue. There are estimated to be over 300 million people living in the Arab world. There are 22 nations holding membership in the Arab League, though not all are independent.
Modern Arab intellectuals are well aware of the difficulty in defining an Arab. As long ago as December, 1938, a conference of Arab students in Europe, held in Brussels, declared that "all who are Arab in their language, culture and loyalty (or "national feeling") are Arabs."
Arabs are a culturally diverse group of people who primarily reside in the Arab world, a region comprising 22 countries across the Middle East and North Africa. United by a shared Arabic language and cultural heritage, Arabs represent a mosaic of ethnic backgrounds, religions, and traditions.
Arab geography books typically define the Arab world as extending from the Persian Gulf to the Atlantic Ocean, from Iraq and the Gulf states in the east to Morocco’s Atlantic coast in the west. From north to south, the Arab world extends from Syria to Sudan.