The Arab World - Who are the Arabs?

All Arabs are not Muslims and all Muslims are not Arabs. Out of the almost a billion Muslims worldwide, Arabs constitute only about 20% of the total Muslim population

The Arabs are mostly Muslims with a minority of Christian followers, and some Arab Jews. Similar to non-Arab Muslims, Arab Muslims are Sunni, Shiite, Ibadhite, Alawite, Ismaili or Druze. The Druze faith is sometimes considered as a separate religion apart. The Arab Christians follow generally one of the following Eastern Churches: Coptic, Maronite, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic.

Most Arabs live in the Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi-Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Arabian Gulf countries, and others. The United States has a very large population of Arab immigrants who came in as early as in the 1940s.

The Arabic language is primarily the defining characteristics of Arabs. Within the Arab world there are also distinct groups - the Berbers, the Kurds, etc - whose main language is not Arabic, though they may have absorbed some of the traditions of the Arab culture.

Islam has played a major part in shaping the Arab culture. Prophet Muhammad was an Arab to whom the Islam's Holy Book, the Quran was revealed in Arabic.