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Afro-Arab (sometimes referred to as African Arab) refers to people who possess both black African and Arab ancestry.1 There are large communities of Afro-Arabs in North Africa, East Africa and some Middle Eastern countries as well as, through recent migrations, Western Europe.
The phrase "Afro-Arab" also refers to African Union efforts to improve co-operation between Africa and countries of the Arab world.2
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History
The Arabs of the Middle East have very old connections to the African continent, and in addition more than half the Arab world now exists in Africa (in terms of area, and possibly population too), i.e. from Egypt and Sudan in the east to Mauritania in the west, although much of the North African population are Berbers (a separate, native ethnic group speaking an Afro-Asiatic language) or Arabized Berbers. The Islamic world covers even more area, ie. Nigeria in the west and many other West African nations too. So this intermingling of peoples from the African continent, along with the spread of Islam, has resulted in large populations of African Arab peoples covering a vast area of Africa. Present-day Sudan is home to millions of Arabs, with 40% of the population identifying themselves under the ethnic group of 'Arabs' even though the option of 'Afro-Arabs' is also available. Afro-Arabs within the Middle East itself are for the most part descendants of African slaves who were brought there during the arab slave trade.34
East Africa hosts a significant Afro-Arab population, especially along the Swahili coast, such as in Zanzibar, Mombasa, Lamu, Malindi, the Comoros, Bagamoyo, and Ujiji.56
The Darfur conflict is among Arabic and non-Arabic speaking black Africans of many ethnicities in Sudan.789
Culture
In the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, descendants of East Africans from Tanzania and Zanzibar perform Liwa and Fann At-Tanbura music and dance 1011. Mizmar (dance) is performed in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia
References
- ^ Gustavo Benavides, M. W. Daly, Religion and Political Power, SUNY Press, 1989, 84.
- ^ Sarah Grainger, Uganda celebrates Afro-Arab unity, BBC News, March 13, 2008.
- ^ Theola Labb, A Legacy Hidden in Plain Sight, Iraqis of African Descent Are a Largely Overlooked Link to Slavery, January 11, 2004; Page A01.
- ^ Susan Beckerleg, Hidden History, Secret Present: the Origins and Status of African Palestinians, translated by Salah Al Zaroo.
- ^ R. E. S. Tanner, Cousin Marriage in the Afro-Arab Community of Mombasa, Kenya, Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Apr., 1964), pp. 127-138
- ^ Patricia Romero Curtin, Laboratory for the Oral History of Slavery: The Island of Lamu on the Kenya Coast, The American Historical Review, Vol. 88, No. 4 (Oct., 1983), pp. 858-882
- ^ Askia Muhammad, Sudanese president answers questions on Darfur, The Final Call, May 14, 2007. Quote: "'Talk of Arabs killing Blacks is a lie,'” said Pres. Bashir in what may have been the first inter-active video conference between an African head of state with a Black group in this country. 'The government of Sudan is a government of Blacks, with all different ethnic backgrounds,' he continued. 'We’re all Africans. We’re all Black.'"
- ^ Darfur: Black vs Arab?, Arab Media Watch.
- ^ Mahmood Mamdani, The Politics of Naming: Genocide, Civil War, Insurgency, London Review of Books, Vol. 29, No. 5, March 8, 2007.
- ^ Africans in the Arabian Gulf, Afropop Worldwide.
- ^ Poul Rovsing Olsen, "La Musique Africaine dans le Golfe Persique", Journal of the International Folk Music Council, Vol. 19, (1967), pp. 28-36
See also
External links
- "Black African and Arab intermarriage in East Africa" -a cited ColorQ.org essay
- "Black Africans in (Arab) West Asia" -a cited ColorQ.org essay
- Prof. Helmi Sharawy, Arab Culture and African Culture: ambiguous relations, paper extracted from the book The Dialogue between the Arab culture and other cultures', Arab League, Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALECSO), Tunis, 1999.
- Africans in the Arabian Gulf, Afropop Worldwide
- Resolution on Afro-arab Co-operation of The Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, 23, February 23-28, 1987.
- African Union/league of Arab States Inter-secretariat Consultative Meeting On Afro-arab Cooperation, Addis Ababa: 10 – 12 May 2005.
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