The Arabs are mostly Muslims, a minority of Christian followers and some Arab Jews. The main factions of Arab Muslims are Sunni, Shia, Ibadi, alawitas, Druze and Ismailis. The Druze are often treated as a separate religion. Arab Christians are followers, usually within one of the churches of the East: Copts, Maronites, Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholics.
Before the advent of Islam, most Arabs professed a religion characterized by the worship of many deities, among whom were Hubal, Wadd, Al-Lat, Manat and Uzza, while some tribes had converted to Christianity or Judaism and some small groups, the "upright [1]," had rejected polytheism in favor of a poorly defined monotheism. The kingdoms Christian Arabs were the most prominent Gasana (southern Syria) [2] and laquemeda (southern Iraq) [3]. With the conversion of the kingdoms himyaritas (southern Arabia) [4] to Judaism in the late fourth century d. C., the elite of another prominent Arab kingdom, the kinditas (central Arabia) [5], became a vassal of the first, becoming apparent to Judaism (at least in part). With the expansion of Islam, most Arabs are quickly became Muslims, and pre-Islamic polytheistic traditions disappeared.
Currently, most Arabs are Muslims. Sunni Muslims dominate in most Arab lands, and overwhelmingly in North Africa. Shiite Muslims predominate in Bahrain, southern Iraq and adjacent areas of Saudi Arabia, southern Lebanon, parts of Syria, northern Yemen, southern Iran and the region of Oman called al-Batinah. The small Druze community, belonging to a little visible branch of Islam, is also Arabic.
The best estimates of the number of Arab Christians vary depending on the definition of "Arab" used but, in any case are significant between the total number of Arabs and fall far short of the numbers of Arab Muslims. Today, Christians account for only 9.2% of the population of the Middle East. In Lebanon reach 39% of the population in Syria account for between 10% and 15%, a 3.8% in Palestine and in Israel, Arab Christians constitute 2.1% of the total (about 10% of Israeli Arab population). In Egypt, up 6% of the population. Most of the Arabs of North America, South America and Australia (about two thirds) are Arab Christians, in particular, from Syria, Palestine and Lebanon.
The Jews from Arab countries (mostly Yemenis and Mizrahi) are not currently considered as Arabs. The sociologist Philip Mendes says that before the anti-Jewish actions in the decades of 30 and 40 of the twentieth century, especially the Iraqi Jews "were themselves as Arabs of Jewish faith rather than as a distinct race or nationality" . Before the advent of the term "Mizrahi [6]," the term "Arab Jew" (Yehudim 'Áravim, יהודים ערבים) was sometimes used to describe Jews from the Arab world. That term is rarely used today. The few Jews remaining in Arab countries residing in Morocco and Tunisia. Between the late 40 and early 60's of the twentieth century, from the creation of the state of Israel, most of those Jews fled or were expelled from their countries of birth and are currently concentrated in Israel . Some emigrated to France (where they form the largest Jewish community, still higher than the number of other European Jews), germany and a few others to the United States (see Jewish exodus from Arab lands).
Before the advent of Islam, most Arabs professed a religion characterized by the worship of many deities, among whom were Hubal, Wadd, Al-Lat, Manat and Uzza, while some tribes had converted to Christianity or Judaism and some small groups, the "upright [1]," had rejected polytheism in favor of a poorly defined monotheism. The kingdoms Christian Arabs were the most prominent Gasana (southern Syria) [2] and laquemeda (southern Iraq) [3]. With the conversion of the kingdoms himyaritas (southern Arabia) [4] to Judaism in the late fourth century d. C., the elite of another prominent Arab kingdom, the kinditas (central Arabia) [5], became a vassal of the first, becoming apparent to Judaism (at least in part). With the expansion of Islam, most Arabs are quickly became Muslims, and pre-Islamic polytheistic traditions disappeared.
Currently, most Arabs are Muslims. Sunni Muslims dominate in most Arab lands, and overwhelmingly in North Africa. Shiite Muslims predominate in Bahrain, southern Iraq and adjacent areas of Saudi Arabia, southern Lebanon, parts of Syria, northern Yemen, southern Iran and the region of Oman called al-Batinah. The small Druze community, belonging to a little visible branch of Islam, is also Arabic.
The best estimates of the number of Arab Christians vary depending on the definition of "Arab" used but, in any case are significant between the total number of Arabs and fall far short of the numbers of Arab Muslims. Today, Christians account for only 9.2% of the population of the Middle East. In Lebanon reach 39% of the population in Syria account for between 10% and 15%, a 3.8% in Palestine and in Israel, Arab Christians constitute 2.1% of the total (about 10% of Israeli Arab population). In Egypt, up 6% of the population. Most of the Arabs of North America, South America and Australia (about two thirds) are Arab Christians, in particular, from Syria, Palestine and Lebanon.
The Jews from Arab countries (mostly Yemenis and Mizrahi) are not currently considered as Arabs. The sociologist Philip Mendes says that before the anti-Jewish actions in the decades of 30 and 40 of the twentieth century, especially the Iraqi Jews "were themselves as Arabs of Jewish faith rather than as a distinct race or nationality" . Before the advent of the term "Mizrahi [6]," the term "Arab Jew" (Yehudim 'Áravim, יהודים ערבים) was sometimes used to describe Jews from the Arab world. That term is rarely used today. The few Jews remaining in Arab countries residing in Morocco and Tunisia. Between the late 40 and early 60's of the twentieth century, from the creation of the state of Israel, most of those Jews fled or were expelled from their countries of birth and are currently concentrated in Israel . Some emigrated to France (where they form the largest Jewish community, still higher than the number of other European Jews), germany and a few others to the United States (see Jewish exodus from Arab lands).
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