Q. Is Arabic an ethnicity?
“Arab” is a cultural and linguistic term. It refers to those who speak Arabic as their first language. Arabs are united by culture and by history. Arabs are not a race.
Q. What countries are considered Arab?
The Arab World consists of 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
Q. What defines an Arab?
An Arab can be defined as a member of a Semitic people, inhabiting much of the Middle East and North Africa. The ties that bind Arabs are ethnic, linguistic, cultural, historical, nationalist, geographical, political, often also relating to religion and to cultural identity.
Q. Are Lebanese considered Arab?
Lebanon shares many of the cultural characteristics of the Arab world, yet it has attributes that differentiate it from many of its Arab neighbours. Its rugged, mountainous terrain has served throughout history as an asylum for diverse religious and ethnic groups and for political dissidents.
Q. Is Islam an Arab religion?
The majority of Arabs are Muslims however; there are Arabs who are Jewish and many Arabs who are Christian. The predominant faith of the approximately six million Arab-Americans is Christianity. Islam is a world-wide faith with most of its followers in Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India.
Q. What religion goes to a mosque?
Islam
Q. Can a woman go into a mosque?
In nearly two-thirds of American mosques, women pray behind partitions or in separate areas, not in the main prayer hall; some mosques do not admit women at all due to the “lack of space” and the fact that some prayers, such as the Friday Jumuʻah, are mandatory for men but optional for women.
Q. What meat do Muslims not eat?
A Muslim does not eat generally available meat or food that contains animal fats, in case it contains pork fat or fat from other animals not ritually slaughtered. Fish and eggs must be kept strictly separate from meat during preparation.
Q. Can a woman wear pants to a mosque?
It is most appropriate to wear modest, loose-fitting clothes. For men, it is better to wear long pants, and for women to wear pants or full-length skirts or dresses, with long sleeves. Non-Muslim women are encouraged to wear a headscarf in the prayer hall. One can be provided upon request.
Q. Why do mosques have no pictures?
Mosaics with complicated and intricate patterns are used to decorate many mosques, but there are no images of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad or any other human or animal figures. Pictures or statues of other human figures are avoided because they could mistakenly be worshipped, which would be idolatry or shirk .
Q. How do I convert to Islam?
Converting to Islam requires the shahada, the Muslim profession of faith (“I bear witness that there is no deity but God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.”). Islam teaches that everyone is Muslim at birth but the parents or society can cause them to deviate from the straight path.
