WHO IS AN ARAB?

We recognize that the Arab identity is varied and nuanced, often tied to cultural, historical, political, colonial, and social contexts.  The Government of Canada recognizes “Arab” as a visible minority population group. The Arab world is home to dozens of minority Indigenous groups who might not necessarily identify as Arab. In the Diaspora, this nuance is not always understood. Accordingly, we see Arabs as an ethno-linguistic category of people who speak the Arabic language as their mother tongue or native language (or mother tongue of their ancestors). While Arabs speak the same language, there is enormous ethnic diversity among the spoken dialects. We recognize that there are also non-Arab ethnic populations that reside and have a long history in the region currently known as the Arab world.

Originating in centuries of European academic scholarship, literature, politics, and art, anti-Arab racism can be found today in many aspects of Canadian artistic, literary, academic, political, social and economic life. Anti-Arab racism can be seen today as over- representation of negative stories about Arabs in the news; dehumanising stereotypes about Arabs in film and educational curricula; surveillance of Arab communities and organisations; significantly high rates of unemployment and poverty in comparison to other racial groups; lower average income levels than other racial groups; and support for imperialist foreign policies. Anti-Arab racism is founded on the core belief that the Arab world and the people and culture that originate from it represent values and traditions that are contradictory to the values and traditions seen as acceptable in Canada, thereby posing a direct threat to the “Canadian way of life.”

Other common beliefs that constitute anti-Arab racism include:

• Arabs are inherently and unjustifiably violent and hateful, particularly against ethnic and religious groups outside of their own. 

• Arabs are a single homogenous group, lacking diversity in race, religion, history, culture, sexual orientation, and political beliefs. 

• The Arab world and the people and culture that originate from it are ‘backwards’ and barbaric; they never move forward in history and are always behind Western historical progress and civilization. 

• Arab men are oppressive of women. The relationship between any Arab man and any Arab woman is an inevitably abusive and oppressive one with a strong power imbalance. Arab men must be disciplined by the West while Arab women must be rescued/liberated by the West. 

• All Arabs are extremely wealthy and prone to extravagant spending. 

• Arabs are hypersexual and have unnatural sexual norms

In the next few months, we will be conducting a comprehensive study on the manifestations of anti-Arab racism in Canada, in collaboration with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) and the Arab Community Centre of Toronto (ACCT).

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