Are all Muslims Arab or Middle Eastern?

You may have heard the words Arab, Arabic and Muslim. Do you actually know the difference?

Ok, Let’s make this really clear and distinguish between these words before we start!

Arab: The name of the people that speak the language just as you would say someone is Chinese because they speak Chinese

Arabic: is an official language for about 25 countries in Middle East and North Africa

Islam: A religion followed by many people world wide, from Arabic or Non-Arabic speaking backgrounds

Muslim: Is the name of the people that follow the religion of Islam.

Now to answer the question are all Arabs Muslim ? No they aren’t

Arabs are generally people that speak the language “Arabic” and can be of any religion such as Muslim, Christian or even Jewish.

A Muslim is someone who follows the religion of Islam, whether they were born into the religion or decided to become a muslim later on in life. Muslims can be of any ethnicity and from any country. They do not have to be Arab or be from the Middle East. A Muslim can be from Somalia, China, America, India, or any other country. Their skin colour could be white, brown or anything really (Off course not blue).

Islam and the Arabic language

Arabic is like a universal language for Muslims worldwide, mainly because of the Quran was revealed over 1400 years ago originally in Arabic.

The Quran is the verbatim word of God revealed to prophet Muhammed (pbuh) the last and final Messenger that came approximately 600 years after Jesus (as). It is very common to find Muslims that aren’t from a direct Arab background able to read, speak or even write Arabic from a young age. For Example, a Muslim from Indonesia where the official language is Indonesian may be able to read, speak or even write Arabic. The reason is because many learn Arabic when young or later on to be able to read and understand the Quran in Arabic rather than refer to the translations.

The main belief of Islam is to believe that their is only one God worthy of worship and Muhammed (pbuh) is the last and final messenger. That is strict Monotheism.

To be clear, Islam does not distinguish between muslims of different colour, race or lineage. All people descended from Adam and Arab Muslims are not superior than Non-Arab Muslims.

Conclusion

I hope you now understand that Arabs aren’t always muslims, middle eastern people aren’t always muslim and a muslim can be from any country and speak any language. An Arab can be of any religion and doesn’t alway have to be muslim. Please do not ask people if they are Arabic, or Ask if food is Arabic that reflects a bit of ignorance from your end.

As usual keep searching and looking for the truth, you deserve to know facts during these crazy times. Those who seek something will either reach some of it or find it all!

Preview Photo by Haydan As-soendawy

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