Arab Brazilian

infobox ethnic group
group = Arab Brazilian


caption = Notable Arab Brazilians:
Luciana Gimenez·Paulo Maluf
Geraldo Alckmin·Daniella Sarahyba·Gilberto Kassab·
poptime = 10,000,000 Arab Brazilians [ [http://www.brazzil.com/2004/html/articles/sep04/p118sep04.htm Brazil - Brasil - BRAZZIL - News from Brazil - Arabs: They are 12 Million in Brazil - Brazilian Immigration - September 2004 ] ]
popplace = São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro
langs = Portuguese, Arabic
rels = Christianity (mostly Roman Catholic and Orthodox), with Jewish and Islam, minorities
related = Other Arabs, Arab American

An Arab Brazilian is a Brazilian-born person of Arab descent, sometimes including other non-Arabic Middle Eastern peoples.

The population of Brazil identifying with either full or partial Arabic descent is estimated at between 8 to 10 million people, most of them tracing their roots back to Lebanese and Syrian immigrants who arrived in Brazil in the early 20th century. The Lebanese population in Brazil, over 7 million descendants and recent immigrants is larger than the population in Lebanon. Today, only a minority of these Arab Brazilians still know and use their original Arabic language, most of them having shifted to Portuguese.

Immigration of Arabs to Brazil started in the late 19th century, most of them coming from Lebanon, later from Syria and Jordan, Palestine and Iraq. Arab immigration to Brazil grew in the 20th century, and was concentrated in the state of São Paulo, but also extended to Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and other parts of Brazil.

Initially, most Arab immigrants in Brazil were Christians. However, after the 1970s, large number of Muslims from Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian Territories, and other Muslim countries immigrated, and the current Muslim population of Brazil, predominantly Sunni Muslim, is estimated at about 1.5 million. [ [http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200505/the.arabs.of.brazil.htm Saudi Aramco World : The Arabs of Brazil ] ] There are also Brazilian Jews who are or whose ancestors were immigrants from Lebanon, Syria and North Africa; among them is Harry Abdul, the father of American singer/dancer Paula Abdul.

Arab culture has influenced many aspects of Brazil's culture. In big towns of Brazil it is easy to find restaurants of Arab food, and Arab dishes, such as sfihas, hummus, kibbeh, tahina, tabbouleh and halwa are very well-known among Brazilians. Most Middle-Eastern immigrants in Brazil have worked as traders, roaming the vast country to sell textiles and clothes and open new markets. This economic history can be seen today in the ways that the São Paulo-based Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce has gained greater recognition in increasing Brazilian exports to the Arab world (see: Karam, John Tofik. 2007. "Another Arabesque: Syrian-Lebanese Ethnicity in Neoliberal Brazil". Philadelphia: Temple University Press).

Arab-Brazilians are well integrated into Brazilian society. Many important Brazilians are of Arab descent, including important politicians, such as São Paulo's former mayor Paulo Maluf and governor Geraldo Alckmin, artists, writers and even top models.

Historical figures of Arab Brazilian

Notable people

*Fernando Gabeira, politician
*Geraldo Alckmin, politician, former governor of São Paulo state
*Gilberto Kassab, politician, mayor of São Paulo
*Carlos Ghosn, businessman, current CEO of Renault and Nissan
*Paulo Maluf, politician, former mayor of São Paulo city and former governor of São Paulo state
*Tasso Jereissati, politician, former governor of Ceará
*Antônio Houaiss, writer and philologist
*Daniella Sarahyba, top model
*Luciana Gimenez Morad, top model and TV entertainer
*Marcelle Bittar, top model
*Sabrina Sato Rahal, top model and TV entertainer
*Malu Mader, actress
*Adib Domingos Jatene, physician
*Edmond Safra, banker
*Amyr Klink, sailor
*Mário Zagallo, football coach
*Tony Kanaan, race car driver
*Carlos Eddé, Lebanese politician
*Amir Slama, Iraqi fashion designer

References

ee also

*Arab diaspora
*Islam in Brazil
*Demographics of Brazil
*White Latin Americans

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4468070.stm Giving Brazil a taste of Arabia]
* [http://www.washtimes.com/world/20050711-092503-1255r.htm "Arab roots grow deep in Brazil's rich melting pot]
* [http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2006/07/117345.php "Brazil Has More Lebanese than Lebanon" ]
* [http://www.aaiusa.org/press-room/2680/the-new-refugees The New Refugees]
* [http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200505/the.arabs.of.brazil.htm "The Arabs of Brazil"]