Middle Eastern American Cultural Appreciation

Background:

The term Middle Eastern Americans refers to immigrants and their native-born descendants who trace their ancestry to the Middle East and North Africa. They come from the 22 countries that form the Arab League, and the non-Arab countries: Iran, Israel, and Turkey. There are also minority populations (ethnic and religious) from these nation states who are also Middle Eastern Americans. These include Armenians, Assyrians, Baha’is, Chaldeans, Copts, Druze and Kurds. The U.S. government does not recognize Middle Eastern Americans as an official minority group.

The immigrants from the Middle East are a very diverse group. Within the Middle Eastern category many people identify themselves more in terms of their national origin (Syrian, Lebanese, and Iranian) or ethno-religious origin (Armenian, Assyrian, Baha’i, Druze) rather than in terms of the larger Middle East region.

Arab Americans are defined as those who immigrated from or are descendants of immigrants who came from the predominantly Arabic-speaking nations in Southwest Asia and North Africa. This includes people from the 22 nations that make up the Arab League: Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine (the West Bank and Gaza), Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti and the Comoros Islands.

The vast majority of the early Arab immigrants [in the late 1880s] were Christian.

[The Middle Eastern American Experience: The Early Years. Lesson 1. Middle Eastern Americans Then and Now. Middle Eastern American Resources Online. 2009.]

Books- EHS Library Middle Eastern Titles (left). Check out EHS book collection.

Articles- document with vetted resources (left) Read and Research peer vetted scholarly articles and newspaper articles.

Exhibits and Primary Sources- (left) Check out art and first hand experiences.