An amazing video. Generally true … but … though incredible …
the author underestimates the numbers of Arabs in Latin America. This is because many Lebanese Christians will not identify as Arabs, and often assimilate so rapidly that they lose any ethnic identification.
He also overestimated the numbers of Muslims in Latin America which, though growing, is still relatively small as a percentage.
WHAT HE DOES GET RIGHT – AND MAGIFICENTLY SO – IS THAT THE LEBANESE CHRISTIANS WERE WESTWARD LOOKING AND EAGER TO ASSIMILATE.
There is a demographic issue when accounting for the Arabs in Latin America. For an example: Look at this inconsistency for Colombia (image below).
Screenshots of Wikipedia.
Wikipedia estimated about 800,000 – 3.2 million Lebanese Colombians, out of approximately 50 million people in Colombia. Take a moment to let that enormous spread in estimated numbers sink in.
Now look at the second image. Notice that the Arab diaspora in Columbia is listed at 1.5 million.
Did you notice the contradiction? Lebanese-Colombians could be as high as 3.2 million, but another chart lists only 1.5 million Arab-Colombians.
How can there be more Lebanese-Columbians than Arab-Columbians, when the Lebanese are a subset of Arabs?
This is what makes checking the demographics of Arabs in the Western Hemisphere so hard. As is so often stated, the problem is that many Lebanese refuse to call themselves Arabs.
The number of Arabs in South America is much higher than official figures cite.
Similar inconsistencies crop up in Argentina and the United States. In Australia, the Lebanese do not even have to list their ancestry as Arab, but can cite Syriac (which is a language group, not necessarily Syrian) instead.
I suspect elsewhere as well.
The demographic contradictions stem from the reluctance of Lebanese Christians to identify as Arabs.
Lebanese Christians were horribly persecuted by the Muslims. In the nineteenth century, the French had to intervene in Lebanon to prevent a genocide of Christians by the Muslims. Many Lebanese Christians prefer to call themselves Phoenicians, by virtue of their ancient Phoenician past. Some will get rather indignant if you call them Arabs.
This has led to the odd situation where Lebanese are often considered completely different than Arabs.
Yet, upon arrival in any country, Lebanese Christians speak Arabic, eat Arabic food, and listen to Arabic music. The international community considers them Arabs.
Most of the Lebanese who immigrated to the West were from the Christian community. Muslims were less likely to leave. And, given that Maronite Christianity is affiliated with Roman Catholicism – the dominant religion in Latin America – Lebanese Maronites could seamlessly blend into Catholic communities in one generation. The first generation of kids would be indistinguishable from other Latins.
Complicating the matter, Lebanese Christians, primarily the Maronite Christians, have a portion of European DNA, as a result of their ancestors having intermarried with Europeans Crusaders. In plain terms, they are sometimes slightly whiter than other Arabs, and can often pass for Europeans. In Latin America, whites are often the elite, and Maronites would have had that advantage.
Muslims did immigrate to Latin America, but in smaller numbers, and often decades later, long after the Maronites blended in.
Mixing things up further, Muslim Lebanese certainly consider themselves to be Arabs. So ironically the Muslim-Lebanese would classify themselves as Arabs – in contravention to the Christians – primarily the Maronite Christians – who consider themselves to be Phoenician, not Arabic.
Historically, the Lebanese Christians, who refuse to identify as Arabs, were also determined to blend in, assimilate, and intermarry rather rapidly. So if they are under-reported, it is because they assimilated so well. The Lebanese Christians are a large almost invisible community.
The migration of Lebanese Christians to the Americas was rather large, and the result is that glaring inconsistencies in demographics can occur. Hence the number of Arabs in any country in the Western Hemisphere is grossly under-reported.
Thankfully, this is not a problem for anyone, but demographers.
Take for example: Julio César Turbay. He was the 25th president of Colombia, and was half-Lebanese. The product of assimilation and intermarriage.
This curiosity has to be noted.
February 3, 2018 – Edited: Grammatical error. July 17, 2020 – Edited: Added image. Added and edited text.
The last, the Ninawa Daher Foundation, was named after a beloved Agentine lawyer, newscaster, TV hostess of Maronite-Christian-Lebanese ancestry. It is a charity which helps women.
Ninawa Daher died rather young – she was 31 – in a car crash in 2011.
Argentina is about 9% Arab. Many, if not most Latin-Arabs, are intermarried and not pure Arab; but Arabs are a large enough community that she had quite a following.
They are running a festival this month in Buenos Aires about Arab-Latin arts.
If you are in Buenos Aires, check it out.
Madrilenos (Madrid citizens) have lisp
Spaniard talk like Daffy Duck
It may seem odd that I, an American, would know about this.
A little over 2 years ago, I was trying to learn some Spanish by going to YouTube. From past experience, I know that South Americans speak better Spanish than Spaniards. Spaniards have a lisp and cannot pronounce the letter s.
The Spaniards of Madrid say Ethpaña, not España.
It is like talking to Daffy Duck.
So, I went to check out some videos from Argentina and Chile. The Latinos of South America, particularly Argentina and Chile, tend to be of European extraction, and speak a much more educated Spanish, without the lisp of the Madrilenos (citizens of Madrid) of Spain.
I accidentally found a video about a video about a show called DESDE EL ALJIBE (FROM THE WELL), a program aimed at Arab-Latins in Argentina.
Ninawa Daher
From the Argentine show: DESDE EL ALJIBE
The name comes from the community Water Well where news and gossip is traded among Arabs in their communities. In America, we get our gossip at the office Water Cooler. Same principle.
Click after click, and I found dozens of videos about DESDE EL ALJIBE.
Ninawa Daher was the co-host.
I could not understand all their Spanish, but I was able to get the general idea.
One click lead to another, and I discovered a massive – and I do mean massive – Arab subculture in South America. Not just in Argentina, but in Chile (which has a massive Palestinian population), Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, all of Latin America.
Most fascinating is that almost no one in America, or Europe, knows about this. The only time our news mentions Arabs in South America is when someone arrests a Hezbollah operative.
Our media never tells us that there are 25-30 Million Arabs in South America. Ninety-five perent (95%) of them, or more, are Christian. Many of these Arab-Latins had ancestors who went to South America around 1900, when they were fleeing Turkish Muslim persecution.
Latin immigrants came from Syria, Lebanon, and Israel/Palestine as well. Most were Christian. A few were Muslim; but most of their children or grandchildren are Christian. They assimilate well.
They tend to be well off, and elite, in Latin America. Yet, we never hear about this. They present an image of a successful, Westernized, educated, elite ethnic group that we never hear about.
We never hear how mainstream Arab culture has become in South America. I found dozens, if not hundreds, of videos of Latins with names indicating Spanish, Italian, or German origins who have taken up Arab Dance, and appear in Arab Dance shows. Check out my Dancer of the Day Category.
Viña del Mar – a beach resort in Chile
The Palestinians in Chile are elite
This is not some salacious trend. Arab Dance is taught to young girls, and not all are of Arab descent. In fact it is taught at Catholic Schools. (Click Here). It is considered cultural.
This is seen as a positive thing.
Just as American Jews are discovering the Jewish roots, these Arab-Latins are re-discovering their Arab roots, it seems.
There is a positive side to the Arabs, and South America presents it.
What you say? Arabs in the land of the gauchos?!
I asked the same thing. Gauchos and Arabs do not mix.
Arab Origin of Gauchos – Ninawa Daher
DESDE EL ALJIBE
I soon found out how wrong I was. Apparently, Gauchos came from Moorish exiles from Spain who went to South America. Ninawa Daher did a piece on DESDE EL ALJIBE about the history of the Arab – Gaucno connection that almost no one knows anything about.
BTW: Though once considered ridiculous, more and more historians are coming to the unavoidable conclusion that the Guachos have some Arab/Moorish input in their history.
It is two years later, since I ran into these videos – almost by accident. My Spanish is still terrible. I have trouble making out what they are saying but I have discovered into a massive subculture that is astounding.
I wish I were younger. I would learn re-learn my Spanish, and learn Arabic as well.
Now, do not get me wrong. I remain suspicious of extremist Islam; but our media ignores a positive side to the Arabs which should be encouraged.
I am neither Arab, Hispanic, Latin, Muslim, nor Jewish. I am an American Christian of European ancestry. I just find this fascinating. I am amazed how few people here in the United States know about this.
This ignorance – which is fostered by our media – is a story in and of itself.
July 3, 2020 – Edited: Had to replace a dead video link.
