History – Page 15 – Latin Arabia

Thoughts on Palestine by a Palestinian Chilean

Latin Arabia History, Palestinians, Thought of the Day March 22, 2013September 2, 2020Chile 0 Comment

Middle East Monitor

Ramona Wadi
Wednesday, 28 November 2012 17:45

…

Can you narrate the origins of the Palestinian community in Chile?

There were three important migrations of Palestinians to Chile. The first registered migration occurred in 1880, although it is noted that those who arrived prior to this, in 1850, quickly returned to Palestine. The era was that of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, which exercised its power over Arab nations and imposed higher taxes on the income of non-Turkish subjects of the empire, making life very difficult. With this migration, the doors of South America were open to Palestinians. Their preferred destinations in the region were Chile, Peru and Bolivia – notably because of the similarities in climate, landscape and the perceived opportunities offered by a developing country which had just celebrated its 100 years of independence. The migration intensified during the World Wars for reasons well understood. The Turks sent Arab youths, as young as fifteen, to the battle front. The parents, in an attempt to prevent probable death, sent their sons to ‘conquer the world’ through travels, with the intention of joining their offspring and returning to a normal family life once they became established in another country. These families were mostly Christian families who suffered discrimination at the hands of the Empire. Migrants from Syria and Lebanon also faced the same problems.

The second migration occurred during the British Mandate for Palestine, which was contrary to the agreements between Palestinians and General Allenby who promised Palestinians their independence if they fought against the Turks. My grandfather was part of this migration to Chile in 1925. The mandate caused widespread discontent amongst Palestinians due to the entry of European Zionists; also British laws were harsh in relation to Palestinians.

The third migration happened after the Nakba Catastrophe in 1948. Palestinians were dominated by Jordanians and Israelis, making life extremely difficult especially for those with large families. My father’s family completed their migration in 1951, returning only sporadically to Chile to visit relatives who stayed behind. There was a fourth migration, not as large as the previous, which took place in 1967 upon the total occupation of Palestine

Mauricio Abu-Ghosh was detained in Isael, and refused entry
to the Palestinian Territories in 2012.

The article goes on to describe the speaker as Mauricio Abu-Ghosh, a first generation Palestinian Chilean with ancestral roots in Beit Jala. Mr. Abu Ghosh is also President of the Palestinian Federation of Chile.

He has apparently come to the attention of Israeli authorities who have detained him when he has tried to end the Palestinian territories.

I do not fault him for not being Zionist. I suppose that would be too much to ask of a Palestinian, whether Christian or Muslim. But he should at least acknowledge that the Christians have been persecuted by Muslim as well.

Middle East Monitor

Ramona Wadi
Wednesday, 28 November 2012 17:45
…

We also do a program on Radio Universidad de Chile, which runs every Sunday at 7pm – an hour of analysis, news and interviews. As can be seen, the Federation is growing and we will continue spreading the just cause of the Palestinians.

What has to be noted is that Mauricio Abu-Ghosh is Christian. Beit Jala was a Christian town. He was careful to downplay the aspect of Christianity, but he should not have avoided the issue.

Make no mistake about it. The Palestinians of Chile are becoming radicalized. Chile is the elite capitalist workhorse of South America. The Palestinians are the elite of Chile. If this is not contested, it will have a disastrous effect for the West.

The Expulsion of the Moors

Latin Arabia History, Other March 20, 2013March 25, 2013Andalusia, Moriscos, Spain 0 Comment

From: When the Moors Ruled in Europe

Spain kicked the governing Moors out of Spain in 1492, but allowed some Muslims to remain. Over time, the religious rights of the remaining Moors were restricted.

By 1609, the Moors (Moriscos in Spanish) were ordered to be totally expelled from Spain. It took about 5 years to complete.

Why is this important?

We know that many of these Moriscos went to Latin America. The early colonial records speak of Moors in Spain. There is evidence that the guachos might own part of their culture and dress to the Morisos.

I put this in as a reference point. Latin and Arab culture are different – certainly in religion – but not as different as one would think.

Arab-Argentine Home of Berisso

Latin Arabia Dabke, Education, History, Music, Muslim February 21, 2013February 26, 2013Argentina, Berisso, Buenos Aires 0 Comment

From 2011 – Arab-Argentine Home of Berisso – Islamic Mutual Aid Society of Berisso
At (0:25), the girl in the red dress looks Ukrainian. At (6:40), the girl in the blue dress looks positively Celtic.
How many of these so called Muslim Arabs even look Arabic?
How many are just culturally affiliated, with no religious connection?
How many are Christian non-Arabs, who just wanted to take up Arab dancing?

Argentina is almost unique in Spanish speaking Latin America in that the Arab immigration was so large and stable that it did produce a somewhat noticeable Muslim community. (Brazil to a lesser extent, but it was Portuguese speaking) Yet, even in Argentina and Brazil, the Muslims never rose above a small minority within their Arab ethnic communities.

Even in Argentina, the trend was for the Muslims to assimilate to non-observance, and often intermarry into Christianity.

Most of the other countries Christianized the Muslims who did come in, making for extremely small Muslim communites prone to coversion over time.

The difference is that in Argentina and Brazil, the Muslim communities are small, while elsewhere in South America they are incredibly small.

For ex: Nominally, in Argentina: (Muslims are about 10-20% of the Arab ethnic population. In practice considerably smaller).

In Chile: (Muslims are less than 0.5% of the Arab ethnic population).

Overall, taking the whole nation into account …

About 1½% of Argentina is Muslim (Nominally! In practice, much less).
About 0.025% of Chile is Muslim, and most of those are new arrivals, or converts who may re-convert back out.

Muslims in Argentina are noticeably small. In Chile, they are microscopically small.

However, the Islamic Mutual Aid Society of Berisso is one Islamic group that did put down roots in Argentina. (The link is to their website in Spanish). They were founded in 1917.

This was pre-Iranian Revolution, pre-Saudi funding; and may be one of the few genuine expressions of original cultural preservation not tainted by the Islamic extremism.

The Islamic groups now forming in Latin America are often expressions of Saudi or Iranian manipulation. [For ex: the recently built obscenity of the King Fahd Mosque in Buenos Aires, was financed by the Saudis, and draws very few Argentine Muslims. Almost all attendees are recent immigrants. The Saudi-financed Mosque’s behavior has been very unpopular with Argentine Arabs.]

Berisso is a suburb about 13 miles/20 km southeast of Buenos Aires. Oddly, Berisso has a double s, which is not found in Spanish; and is a name of Italian origin. The town was founded by Italian immigrants.

Berisso is notable for its immigrants with many of it citizens tracing their roots to Italian, German, Portuguese, Arab, East European, Irish, Lithuanian, and Jewish immigrants. [And you though Argentines were primarily Spanish Gauchos! – Actually, Italians may now outnumber the Spanish in Argentina where the Spanish is now spoken with an Italian accent in Buenos Aires.]

How many of these dancers are still practicing Arab Muslims, I do not know.

Please look at the above video in this post. Notice how many of the girls look like pale skinned Slavs or Nordics. At (6:40), the girl in the blue dress looks positively Celtic. How many of the swarthier girls are actually Latin?

As we have seen, in Latin America, Arab culture has broken out of the ethnic envelope, and is now embraced by non-Arabs. Also, the rate of intermarriage is very high.

If you doubt this, the video was posted in 2011, by someone with the Surname of Gonzalez, which is a Spanish name of Visigothic (Ancient Germanic) origin.

I am sure some Islamic aspect survives in the group; but I suspect a lot of it functions as a cultural relic for those who have a Muslim ancestor; but are now either Christian, confused, or unsettled as to what they are.

I included this to show that in Latin America, the Muslim groups, while culturally powerful, are religiously neutered. This is not a Salifist, or Wahabbist group.

Latin America usually converts Muslims; and even where it fails to convert, willl often culturally soften the Muslims. Do you see burqas in that group?

Latin America is – and has been – doing something right that the West needs to emulate.

FYI.

Linguistic Curiosities – Olé – Wadi

Latin Arabia History, Other February 21, 2013February 21, 2013Mexico, Spain 0 Comment

O Allah ==> Ojala (Spanish exclamation of surprise/approval) ==> Olé (bullring chant)

The Guadalquivir river Spain is the best navigable river in Spain.

The name comes from the Arabic al-wādi al-kabīr (الوادي الكبير), which means The Great River/Valley/Canyon.

Now, think of Guadalajara (in Castile, Spain; and later Mexico) (wādī al-hidjārah), which means “river of stones

Guadalcanal, in Seville Spain comes from an Arabic word,(wādī al-Qanal), meaning “river of refreshment stalls”

The root of all this comes from the Arabic word Wadi, which means intermittant riverbed, or valley.

The Spanish word for river is rio, which is of Indo-European origin; but the root Guada– is how the Spanish pronounced the Arabic wadi.

This term Guada– is now found in Mexico (Guadalajara) and even in the Solomon Islands, where an island (Guadalcanal) was the site of a famous WWII battle. The island was named after a river in Castile, Spain, which was originally named by the Arabs.

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