If you are like me, and most Americans – and dare I say, most Westerners as well – you never knew about the major Arab subculture in South America.
And that’s just Chile. Argentina and Brazil have more!
Europe has about 6+ million Arabs [many Euro-Muslims are not Arab] in a continent of 746 Million people, and yet we hear nothing but panic.
Egads! Eurabia! The Arabs are coming! The Arabs are coming!
What if I were to tell you that South America alone has 25+ Million Arabs, most of whom are assimilated, Christians, and getting along quite well in their respective countries.
WHAT?!
Yes! It is true. What did South America do that was so right; and what can we learn from them.
Each country in South America has a different profile. All they share is a common Latin language; and even that shows heavy dialectal differences.
Likewise, the Arabs among the Latins show some considerable differences.
Country
Numbers of Arabs
% of Population
Ethnic Makeup of Arabs (N/A to Suriname)
Religious Makeup of Arabs (not of total population)
Many are assimilated
and probably unaware of Arab ancestry
99+% Christian
Only ~15,000 Muslims
Surimame
81,0008
~ 13.9%
Indonesian, Asians, Arabs, Africans Muslims, not necessarily Arabs
Not Applicable
Uruguay
50-70,000
~ 2%
Mostly Lebanese.
Almost all Christian
Venezuela
~1,600,000
~ 5%
A mix of everything.
Almost all Christian
1Numbers vary. Fearab Argentina claims 4 million / 10%. Others claim less. But there is a large amount of intermarriage now. 9% is a good estimate. 2Numbers vary, but the estimate of Lebanese-Brazilians alone is 7 Million, so 12 – 15 million for all Arabs is a conservative estimate. In 2017, the president of Brazil was Michel Temer, who is of Christian Lebanese descent. 3Very rough estimate. Doubled number of Lebanese. The key was that many arrived as Eastern Christian, but the Maronites are affiliated with Roman Catholicism. So those who arrived as Eastern Christian were probably not Lebanese. 4Many arrived as Eastern Christians, but became Roman Catholic 5Wikipedia reports varying figures. From 20,000 (official) to 97,500 (private figures). However given the tendency of Lebanese Maronites to not identify as Arabs, and given their incredible tendency to assimilate rapidly, the higher numbers are probably more reasonable. Most, however, would be intermarried with other ethnics, which might explain why they do not show up on official figures. Ecuador has had 3 presidents with Lebanese ancestry, so we have to assume the higher figures were more accurate. What is clear is that they still constitute less than 1% of the population. To produce 3 presidents shows their elite status. 6Though small, El Salvador has had a president of Palestinian ancestry. Antonio Saca. His opponent, Schafik Handal, in the election was also Palestinian. Even more amazing, Saca, the winner, is a devout Evangelical. 7Former President Carlos Roberto Flores Facussé’s mother was Palestinian born. 8Suriname is 13.9% Muslim; however, it is not clear how much of these are Arabs, or the relic Islam of black slaves or the descendents of Javanese/Indonesian/Asian laborers. I used the Muslim figure. Suriname was populated by peoples from the former Dutch empire, and the Arabs in the country may be minimal. The country also is: 48.4% Christian, 22.3% Hindu, with various indigineous religions as well. Guyana and Suriname are members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
What must be remembered, however, is that Suriname and the Guyanas have very small populations. In total, not even equal to a good size Latin America city. Their Muslims are usually not even Arab, but often descended from Indonesians or Asians brought over the the colonial powers.
NOTE: The data can be tricky to collect.
As a rule, if you just look for Arab-Argentine or Arab-Brazilian in Wikipedia or another source, the population numbers cited will sometimes be low, and quite often less than Lebanese-Argentine or Lebanese-Brazilian. There is a history to this. The persecution of Lebanese Maronite Catholics by Muslims made the Lebanese-Christians consider themselves as Phoenician Westerners, NOT Arabs. Hence, Lebanese Maronites often refuse to be classified with other Arabs, and so demographic statistics for Arabs can be woefully underestimated.
One often gets ridiculous statistics for Argentina and the USA where there are more Lebanese listed than Arabs, which is an impossibility, as Lebanese are a subset of Arabs in general. The subset cannot be greater than the whole.
A good rule of thumb is to roughly double the amount of Lebanese – maybe add 10% on top of that. When you keep that in mind, and do some cross-checking, the numbers often make sense.
For example: Doubling the number of Lebanese-Argentines and adding 10% comes close to the 3.5 – 4 million Arab-Argentines claimed by Fearab Argentina.
A) Lebanese-Argentine figures are 1.5 Million according to Wikipedia.
B) Double that to get 3 Million
C) Add 10% to that, and one gets 3.3 Million, which is close to the high estimate of 3.5 Million Arab-Argentines in Wikipedia. Note: that Wikipedia gives a low estimate of 1.3 Million Arab-Argentines. The low estimate is ridiculous since Wikipedia lists 1.5 Million Lebanese-Argentines alone.
Mexico is another classic example. 45% of the Arabs in Mexico are Lebanese. Double that 45% figure and you get 90%. Add 10% to the 90%, and you get 100% of the Arabs. The rule is generally true, with the exceptions of Chile and Honduras where Palestinians are high in percentage numbers.
For my discussion about the difficulty caused by Maronite misidentification: (Click Here)
RELIGION: Do not trust Wikipedia’s statistics for Islam. The imams often rely on dated statistics. For ex:
The imams of Argentina claimed 3 million Muslims.
The census claims only 400-700,000 Muslims.
The number of Christian Arabs is over 3,000,000.
The reality is that less than 20,000 Muslims are practicing. The rest will intermarry into Christianity over time.
The media goes to imams for statistics and we get exaggerated news reports of creeping Islam in Latin America; but the reports lack substance.
The number of practicing Muslims in South America is rather small, in spite of media exaggerations.
The numbers of Muslims is changing, but South America is also in the midst of a major Evangelical Revival which is sweeping up tens of millions, so do not be confused if the news reports many more Muslims in Brazil. In the same period of time there are probably 10 Million more Pentecostal Christians. Traditional Islam has no experience of competing against Western Evangelical Christianity, and may not be able to compete against it.
May 8, 2017 – Edited: Had to update some figures.
May 22, 2017 – Edited: Adjustments. November 23, 2017 – Edited: Rewrites. August 28, 2019 – Updated number of Muslims in Ecuador, and adjusted overall numbers for Ecuador. September 2, 2020 – Updated a number. May 3, 2021 – Edited: Updated Brazilian numbers. May 4, 2021 – Edited: Updated Bolivian numbers. October 4, 2023 – Edited: Added Peruvian numbers.
When I started this blog, about twelve years ago, it was more of a curiosity to me. I just wanted to explore the subcultural impact of Arabs in Latin America. I wanted to show the world the food, the music, and the dance that Arabs had brought to Latin culture.
AND IT WAS IMPRESSIVE!
However, there were times that events intruded into the exploration of the subculture. The continuing wars in Gaza always left a mark. But the present Gaza War is of an altogether different character.
Unlike much of the world, and much of the internet, my own sympathies tend to lie with Israel, but I am an American.
Latin America has tens of millions of citizens of Arab ancestry, and while almost all of those Arab-Latins are Christians, some have a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel view. Chile, for example, has a massive Palestinian population which is very politically powerful, very hostile to Israel, and very influential. Oddly, these Chilean Palestinians are 99% Christian, yet sympathetic to the Islamic cause of Palestine in the Mideast.
To be sure, I am NOT putting down Latin-Arabs, most of whom are nice, but the media focuses on the loud protestors. And the Christians in Latin America forget that their ancestors often left the Mideast due to Muslim persecutions against Christians.
Thankfully, as a rule, Latins of Lebanese Maronite Christian ancestry do remember the predations of Islam; and they tend to avoid an anti-Israel sentiment. They can be a moderating force among other Latin-Arabs.
One has to remember that the pro-Palestinian elements may be loud and organized, but in Latin America there is a growing base of Evangelical Christians who are very pro-Israel. These will not make the headlines … but they vote and politicians have to take that bloc into account.
Posted on YouTube: November 13, 2023
Israel Receives Massive Support from Christians
(Can be auto-translated)
And what you have to also remember is that the general media often lies to you.
I am not saying Israel is perfect. WHAT NATION IS?!
But Hamas is a dark, vicious, terror group.
For example: This is floating on Twitter (X):
Estudiantes de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina, participan en el movimiento estudiantil global para exigir el fin del genocidio en la Franja de Gaza. pic.twitter.com/6GAQLCIxNr
Some students in Argentina are pro-Palestinian. So what?!
The tweet does not tell the whole story concerning Argentina.
The President of Argentina, Javier Milei, is very pro-Israel, but the tweet does not mention that. Neither does the tweet mention that a large part of Argentina’s elite is Jewish.
Unlike the rest of Latin America, Argentina had a massive wave of Jewish immigration. It has greatly affected their culture.
So a few pro-Palestinian students in Buenos Aires are insignificant.
Likewise, Brazil’s Presicent Lula may be against Israel, but he knows his position is weak. He got elected by a questionable vote. His opponent was Jair Bolsonaro, a strong pro-Israel supporter. Massive sections of Brazil are Christian-Zionist.
So media reports from South America may be out of sync with the underlying public opinion. While you may see supporters for Gaza in South America on the media, remember that these reports may be biased.
As noted, Latin America has an enormous population of Arab descent. Many of these Arab-Latins are NOT taking the news from Gaza that well, particularly in Chile where there is a large properous elite of Christian-Palestinian descent, the Chilestinos.
Posted on YouTube: March 25, 2024
The backlash is exacerbating antisemitism in Latin America. It is gathering attention.
Latin America has long nurtured an antisemitic underbelly that has drawn scant international media attention, even after the October 7 attacks. Latin America is home to approximately 500,000 Jews, including nearly 200,000 in Argentina alone. In Brazil, antisemitic attacks have risen by nearly 1,000% since October 7.
…
In Peru, right-wing extremists targeted a prominent Peruvian Jewish journalist by screaming antisemitic chants outside his home, including showing posters of rats holding bags of money.
In Nicaragua, Jewish cemeteries have been vandalized and desecrated. Vicente Fox, Mexico’s former president, accused presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum – who has Jewish parents – of being “a Jew and foreigner at the same time.”
…
In the past, such antisemitism has moved from words to murder.
…
Shortly after Israel began its defense, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, and Chile recalled their ambassadors from the region. Bolivia cut off diplomatic relations with Israel, accusing the nation of crimes against humanity.
Of course, this has to stop. Individual Jews should NOT feel threatened.
The Government of the United Arab Emirates would be interested in investing in logistics services and the creation of a regional distribution hub in Ecuador.
This February 28, 2024, the Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries, Sonsoles García , spoke with Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Commerce of the United Arab Emirates , about the potential of the commercial relationship between both countries.
As noted many times in the past, the Arabs and the Latin American nations do a lot of business together. And they are interested in economic alliances.
As for Ecuador, at the time of this post, Wikipedia reports that Ecuador has only about 2,000 Muslims out of a country of over 16 million – or roughly only 1 out of 9,000 people.
The (Christian) Lebanese demographic is about 100,000 though, about 50 times the number of Muslims. Again, as noted, that vast majority of Arabs in Latin America are Christian. The Lebanese came to Ecuador fleeing the tyranny of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire.
Yet, amazingly, Ecuador has had three presidents with Arab ancestry.
What we see is that the Arabs tend to be elites in South America.
Yes, I know that – at the time of this writing – Ecuador is having a national crisis over gangs, but that does not change the fact that Arabs have done well in Ecuador.