The Arab reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004
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Arab


In its older racial sense, an Arab is a person of Arabic descent, whose original ancestry comes from the Arabian Peninsula; by this definition, there are considerably fewer Arabs than by the previous (and commoner) definition, and most of them are or were until very recently Bedouins. Arabs are a Semitic people, who trace their ancestry from Ishmael, a son of the ancient patriarch Abraham and Hagar.

Most, but not all, Arabs have embraced the religion of Islam. Most American Arabs (about two-thirds) are Christian Arabs, particularly from Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon.


See also: Semitic people, Ababda, Pan-Arabism, Arab League

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