arab Americans Sharon Cromwell AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS rourke publishing
CHAPTER ONE Arab History Religion and Culture Today Today Arabs live all over the world Their original homelands were countries across North Africa the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula Much of this land is desert or scrubland high mountains and fertile river valleys and coastal areas
TUNISIA Mediterranean Sea ALGERIA LIBYA LEBANON ISRAEL PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES EGYPT Atlantic Ocean MOROCCO WESTERN SAHARA MAURITANIA Baghdad IRAN IRAQ KUWAIT BAHRAIN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES QATAR OMAN TURKEY SYRIA Beirut JORDAN Red Sea SAUDI ARABIA SUDAN YEMEN DJIBOUTI SOMALIA Arabian Sea 500 miles 500 kilometers Arab countries Arabs live in many countries This map shows the main Arab nations of the world Most Arabs are Muslims They follow the religion of Islam Not all Arabs are Muslims and not all Muslims see themselves as Arabs Some Middle Eastern Christians and followers of other religions call themselves Arabs The Jews who also live in the Middle East call themselves Jews and Israelis not Arabs Most Arabs speak Arabic Spoken Arabic has many dialects that differ from place to place Opposite A simple home in a rural area of Morocco There is no electricity or piped water Water has to be collected from a well in plastic bottles 5
