History

Posted on YouTube: July 15, 2024

One may hold the very erroneous idea that the Arabs in Latin America have a unified culture and presence.

Dispense with that idiocy right now.

The most outstanding group in this mix are the Maronites of Lebanon.

The Maronites of Lebanon are a group of Christian Arabs who are members of the Maronite Church – which is affiliated with Roman Catholicism – though the Maronite Church allows married men to become priests. The Maronites do not even consider themselves to be Arab.

As the Canadian-American scholar, T.B. Irving, noted:

Source Islamic Renewal in Iberia and Latin America: Its Needs and Preconditions T.B. Irving 1981
a lecture delivered at the University of Brasilia

[T]he Christian Lebanese immigrants to South America… owe much to their over‑all Arab heritage, even though many of them try to call themselves “Phoenicians”.

They Maronites feel this way, even though the Maronites in Lebanon speak Arabic, and live in an Arab culture. This attitude is a product of centuries of persecution at the hands of Muslims. Sadly, the Maronites were nearly genocided in the 19th century at the hands or rampaging Muslims, and many Maronites have a distrust of Islam.

Rather, the Maronites of Lebanon consider themselves to be the descendants of ancient Phoenicians, and will identity themselves as such.

If you know your history, the ancient Phoenicians sailed west and planted colonies in Sicily, Spain, North Africa, Corsica, Sardinia, and and possibly the British Isles.

In simple terms, the Phoenicians always looked westward, and the Maronites, likewise, looked to Europe for their inspiration, not the Arab world. The other Arabs considered the Maronites as a fifth column in their ranks. The Maronites may have seen themselves as Western-looking Phoenicians, but the Muslims in Lebanon saw themselves as Arab. This became a point of hostility between the two groups.

Today, the vast majority of Lebanese Maronites live in the Western Hemisphere. They affiliate with (Western) Roman Catholicism, not the Eastern Orthodox nor the Syrian Christian faiths.

Given that Roman Catholicism is a Western denomination, and that many Maronites have a degree of European (Roman, Greek, etc.) ancestry, the Maronites could pass for Latin whites, and could blend in almost seamlessly in South America.

This article (Click Here) vastly underestimates their numbers, but even so, they are clearly a large demographic everywhere.

The Maronites who remained in Lebanon were never really anti-Israel. In fact, some Lebanese Maronite leaders favored Zionism, as they thought it might be an ally against Islam. For those who know the bible, King Hiram of Tyre (in modern day Lebanon) was a friend of David.

Today, if Lebanon and Israel always seem on the verge of war, it is because the demographic of Muslims soon overtook the Christians. The Maronites were not happy with that development.

A subsequent civil war in Lebanon caused many more Maronites to flee.

And almost everywhere, many of the Maronites prefer to label themselves as Phoenician, and will often distance themselves from Arab causes.

This can play havoc with demographers. With lots of Maronites refusing to consider themselves Arabs, millions of Latin-Arabs are not counted.

Where the Maronites are the majority subset of Arabs in Latin America countries – or even roughly half – they tend to moderate anti-Zionist extremism among the Arab ethnics.

Brazil and Argentina have large Maronite populations, and they tend to be friendly to Israel. Do not let the present president of Brazil, Lula, fool you. He does NOT reflect the opinion of most Brazilians regarding Israel. Most Brazilians are pro-Israel.

How could it be otherwise? Brazil is one-third Evangelical Christian, who tend to have Christian Zionist viewpoints.

Where the Palestinians are the majority subset of Arabs, they can skew the foreign policy of Latin nations. Chile is an example. The very prosperous Palestinians have turned Chile’s government policies to a status that is cold toward to Israel. Below is an example.

Source: Times of Israel
November 1, 2023

Recalling ambassador, Chile’s president accuses Israel of ‘unacceptable’ rights violations in Gaza

Chile announces its recalling its ambassador to Israel for consultations, accusing the Jewish state of “unacceptable” human rights violations in the war against the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group.

The only antidote to anti-Zionism among the Latin Arabs is either a large demographic of Maronites, or a growing Evangelical demographic in the host nation.

Guatemala is noted for this. It has a noticeable Palestinian population (1% of the nation); however, 40% of the general population is Evangelical.

Posted on YouTube: February 18, 2022

What is clear is that the Arabs do not present a unified face in Latin America. And it is foolish to think so.

The Maronites barely consider themselves Arab.

And Evangelicalism can overrule even hostile tendencies in other Arab groups.

November 18, 2024 – Added data.