Arab which race

Arabic is a language, yes. Honestly, I think the categorization of Arabs being white is rooted in white supremacy, mostly in order to claim Jesus as white. I say label yourself however you want, especially because most Arabs are not white passing and do not receive the privilege that comes along as being white or being perceived as white. I'm Armenian American and it's always really irritated me that I don't have the choice to indicate I'm Middle Eastern.

I'm not white because I'm just not white, I'm Middle Eastern. Being an Armenian, technically I am West Asian, but that's not right either. If there is a spot to write in my ethnicity I write in Armenian. If not I put in Other. Sometimes very very rarely the ethnicity question actually includes Middle Eastern, and I use that. You should put Asian, that is what most of the world considers Arabs.

If that is not option choose black. You can be Caucasian and have darker skin. This is true for me. But if the only option on the form is "White", then I suggest you use "Asian" because that's a more-accurate descriptor. If one of your parents is White, there's nothing wrong with choosing "White" or "mixed-race" if that's an option. What I find fascinating is that it's Arab Americans or Armenian Americans who spend so much time caring, arguing and fussing over these things. We Arabs actual immigrants, I'm from Iraq, born and raised mostly don't care.

If you're Italian-American, that doesn't make you Italian. You're American with Italian ancestors. You have no connection to Italy, you likely don't speak the language, and likely know very little about Italian culture outside of food and some basic traditions.

The same is true for most 2nd generation immigrants children of immigrants. You're "Palestinian American" but you're more American than you are Palestinian because you grew up here, you speak English, your world and identity and formation are shaped by American society and American culture.

As to the person who claimed that "Arabs are classified white because of White Supremacy because they want to claim Jesus is White" -- this is utter nonsense. Jesus was a Hebrew, not an Arab. If you want to actually learn the reason why Arabs were classified as White in the US, then try learning the actual history instead of just making random and historically false statements like that.

Take a look at "Dow v. United States", a court case from You'll learn how and why Arabs came to be classified as White back then. Care to expound on that? Or is this how you deal with all rational debates: flat out denial and rejection of facts because you don't like what you hear? Tell me what I said that was wrong?

United States", look it up. Stop being a child. You're stepping into College soon. You'll be expected to think critically, not just respond emotionally. Your emotions are meaningless against textual and historical facts.

Also, I saw you comment above that they should use Asian. That's exactly what I said. I said they should use Asian because that's what most Arabs say about themselves that's what I was raised to say. All I explained here was that Caucasian wasn't a skin color, it was a region in Southwest Asia -- Caucasian is made of two words, Cauc-asian, the Cauc piece is short for "Caucasus", which is a region in Asia. So the specific policy is going to depend from college to college, but generally speaking most colleges will either treat a Middle Eastern student as Asian or White for the purposes of admissions.

When colleges report data and statistics to the government, they count students with a Middle Eastern or North African background as white see quoted text from the census website below per government definitions. Students with Israeli heritage are usually treated as white. Like Muraweh, Jordan Harb can also pass as white because of his light skin. But that is not the case with a lot of his relatives on the Lebanese side of his family.

For Eslam Hag and Maie Elkeshky, a married couple from Egypt, the question of race is just as complicated, but for other reasons. Hag, 37, is too dark-complexioned to pass for white. For Elkeshky, finding a more suitable category for Middle Easterners and North Africans is important not so much because of how she and her husband identify themselves, but because of their three children.

At school, they are registered under different racial categories. Elkeshky registered their two daughters as white because there was no other option, she said. Hag registered their son as black. The Arab American Institute last year filed a lawsuit in U. District Court in Washington, D. Meanwhile, at the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix, Shami has welcomed volunteers and census workers on Fridays, a dedicated day of worship for Muslims, to talk about the importance of participating in the survey.

On that warm October afternoon, the volunteers were handing out fliers and asking mosque-goers to write down their phone numbers and email addresses so that they can be reminded to respond to the census once the questionnaires are out. Although one part of his ethnic identity will not be represented in , Shami said he is doing what he can to make sure that as many Muslims as possible make their voices heard.

As a digital reporter for Cronkite News, she focuses primarily on how politics and public policy affect marginalized communities. All rights reserved. Creative Commons. Share this story:. Farah Eltohamy. Leave a Comment. A Muslim is a follower of Islam.

The Middle East is a loose term, not always used to describe the same territory. Turkey is sometimes considered part of the Middle East, sometimes part of Europe.

Arab Americans are Americans of Arab descent. There are Americans with roots in each Arab country, but most originate from Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. There are also substantial communities from Egypt, Yemen and Iraq. The first immigrants arrived in the late 19th century. A second wave of immigration started after World War II, and still continues.

The largest communities live in the Detroit area.