Comment by Pet_Ant
1 day ago
Haven't read because of paywall, but for anyone who might not know:
Ira_n_ is not Arab. They are Persian and speak an Indo-European language.
Ira_q_, is Arab. Neighbors, some of the same religion^, similar name, same-ish alphabet, similar skin tones... very different language. Arabic is semitic language, think Hebrew.
Most Muslim middle-east countries are Arab... Iran is an exception (as is Turkey who come from Central Asia, eg Turkmenistan)
Most Arab countries are predominantly Muslim. Malta is the exception, Lebanon is complicated.
^ The biggest split amongst Muslims is Sunni vs Shia (think protestants vs catholics), Saudi Arabia is Sunni, Ira_n_ is Shia, Iraq is mixed.
Why did you need to break the spelling of Iraq and Iran?
I believe they're trying to highlight the character to make clear the difference in the two similar names
Arabic speakers are not necessarily Arabs. Indigenous populations became Arabic speakers during the spread of Islam.
We saw the same in Latin America with Spanish and Catholicism.
They may not be genetically Arab but are probably culturally Arab
Quick research, but it appears that the population are descendents of the Emirate of Sicily from 1000 AD, which was colonised by people from Tunisia, who would be considered Arabs generally. So a splinter group cut off from the main body for a thousand years (if my reading is correct).
Are they still Arabs? That's subjective.
I'd consider America and England two capitals of the Anglo empire much like Roman and Constantinople, but there is lots of room for nuance. (Romans & Byzantines saw themselves as the same, whereas Americans and English see themselves as different... but I chalk that up to the tyranny of small differences, just look at how the elites jump back and forth across the pond and how their politics harmonise, Trump/Farage, Reagan/Thatcher, Clinton/Blair).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese_people#History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Relationship
I've never heard anyone refer to Malta as Arab before.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese_language
> Maltese is a Central Semitic language derived from late medieval Sicilian Arabic with Romance superstrata. It is the only Semitic language officially written in the Latin script. It is spoken by the Maltese people and is a national language of Malta, and is the only official Semitic and Afroasiatic language of the European Union
Maltese is the official language of Malta and 77% of people in Malta are Maltese. Now, what's the definition of Arab is debateable, but I think it's reasonable. I think they are sort of like Romanians where they are surrounded by Slavs, but their bretheren are on the other side of the continent. This is a simplification and as primer, I'm sure people have more nuanced takes.
Thank you for this! I wonder how close it is to Arabic or Hebrew. However, I think the definition of "Arab" does not apply here (as someone from the Middle East myself)
Paywall bypass: https://archive.is/Mlhfk