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British Arabs

January 19, 2024

British Arabs (Arabic: عرب بريطانيا) are British citizens of Arab descent. They share a common Arab ethnicity, culture, language and identity from different Arab countries. Arabs also come from non-Arab countries as ethnic minorities.

British Arabs
عرب بريطانيا
Distribution by local authority in the 2011 census.
Total population
United Kingdom approx. 249,911–500,000[1]
England: 320,215 – 0.6% (2021)[2]
Scotland: 9,366 – 0.2% (2011)
Wales: 11,641 – 0.4% (2021)[2]
Northern Ireland: 1,817 – 0.1% (2021)[3]
Regions with significant populations
London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool
Languages
Arabic, British English
Religion
Islam (Sunni, Shia)
Christianity (Orthodox, Catholic, Melkite, Protestant)
Related ethnic groups
other Arabs

The majority of British Arabs reside in the British capital of London, and have come largely from the Arab countries of Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon, and the Gulf States.[4]

Overview edit

Census designation edit

"British Arabs" is used as an ethnic designation by the National Association of British Arabs.[5] It is also employed by academics,[6] and in the media.[7] Unlike Black British or Asian British, the term "British Arab" was not one of those employed in government ethnicity categorisations used in the 2001 UK Census and for national statistics.[8] As a result, community members are believed to have been under-counted in previous population estimates according to the National Association of British Arabs (NABA).

This absence of a separate "Arab" category in the UK census obliged many to select other ethnicity categories.[9] In the late 2000s, the British government announced that an "Arab" ethnicity category would be added to the 2011 UK Census for the first time.[10] The decision came following lobbying by the National Association of British Arabs and other Arab organizations, who argued for the inclusion of a separate "Arab" entry to accommodate under-reported groups from the Arab world.[11]

Demographics edit

 
Other: Arab ethnic group as a population pyramid in 2021 (in England and Wales)

According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, Arabs in England & Wales enumerated 331,844.[12] Most British Arabs live in the Greater London area, and many are either businesspeople, recent immigrants or students.[9] There are also sizable and long-established Yemeni Arab communities living in both Cardiff and the South Shields area near Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

A diverse community, British Arabs are represented in the business and media fields, among other areas. Miladi's 2006 survey of 146 community members during the summer of 2001 reported Al-Jazeera as being the respondents' preferred news outlet. Reasons supplied for the selection included the quality of the station's programs and transmission, its discussion of current issues in the Arab world, and the possibility of giving voice to the community's concerns and positions on various matters.[13]

Additionally, 2010 was a breakthrough year in terms of political participation. Several British Arabs ran for and/or were appointed to office as community representatives.[14][15]

Including both write-in and tick-box responses, 230,556 Arabs were recorded in the 2011 Census in England, 9,989 in Wales,[16] and 9,366 in Scotland.[17] In NABA's own report on the 2011 Census, it adds up answers from the write-in responses that it classifies as Arab, namely "Arab", "African Arab", "White and Arab", "Moroccan", "Algerian", “Egyptian”, "North African", "Other Middle East", or "White and North African", arguing that this gives a total of 366,769 Arabs in England and Wales but noting that there may be double-counting of individuals in this total, since it is uncertain how many of these individual write-in responses are also included in the general "Arab" category.[18]

Religion edit

Religion England and Wales
2011[19] 2021[20]
Number % Number %
  Islam 178,195 77.27% 277,737 83.70%
No religion 11,939 5.18% 15,963 4.81%
  Christianity 21,988 9.54% 13,671 4.12%
  Judaism 571 0.25% 425 0.13%
  Buddhism 402 0.17% 129 0.04%
  Hinduism 1,060 0.46% 103 0.03%
  Sikhism 509 0.22% 82 0.02%
Other religions 859 0.37% 1,419 0.43%
Not Stated 15,077 6.54% 22,314 6.72%
Total 230,600 100% 331,843 100%

History edit

19th century edit

Great Britain and the Arab world have engaged in commercial activities with one another since the medieval times.[4] Yemenis began to migrate to Britain since the 1860s via Aden, the main refuelling stop in the area, and settled around the docks in the port cities of Cardiff, Liverpool, South Shields, Hull, and London.

At the end of the 19th century, Yemenis working as stokers on steamships began moving ashore and set up boarding schools in the dock area. There are now an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 Yemenis in Britain.[21][4]

Early 20th century edit

Iraqis began settling in London in the 1930s, and the UK has had a significant Iraqi population since the 1940s.[22] Liberal and radical dissidents in the Kingdom of Iraq sought refuge to the UK at the time. Supporters of the monarchy later sought refuge in the UK after it was overthrown in 1958.[22]

Arab migration to the United Kingdom significantly began in the 1940s and 1960s when Egyptians and Moroccans came in search of employment, and this generally increased as the Arab world wrestled for independence from European colonialism.[4]

Late 20th and 21st centuries edit

The Palestinian exoduses of 1948 and 1967 saw an influx and through the 70s and 80s. More Arabs arrived from the Gulf in the 1970s during the oil-boom era to set up businesses. Arab refugees also arrived as a result of conflicts in parts of the Arab world, such as the Lebanese civil war from 1975 to 1990 or the instability which followed the invasion of Iraq in 2003.[4] The United Kingdom settled approximately 20,000 Syrian refugees amid the Syrian civil war.[23]

Notable British Arabs edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ . 2015-01-03. Archived from the original on 2015-01-03. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  2. ^ a b "2021 Census: Ethnic group, local authorities in the United Kingdom". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  3. ^ "MS-B01: Ethnic group". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e BBC. "Arabic London". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
  5. ^ . The National Association of British Arabs. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
  6. ^ Nagel, Caroline (2001). "Hidden minorities and the politics of 'race': The case of British Arab activists in London". Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 27 (3): 381–400. doi:10.1080/136918301200266130. S2CID 145331530.
  7. ^ Akbar, Arifa (10 January 2004). . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on June 16, 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
  8. ^ . Office for National Statistics. 13 February 2003. Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
  9. ^ a b Jalili, I.K. (PDF). National Association of British Arabs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  10. ^ "2011 Census Questions Published". BBC News. 21 October 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  11. ^ . Archived from the original on 9 January 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  12. ^ "Ethnic group - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  13. ^ Miladi, Noureddine (August 2006). "Satellite TV News and the Arab Diaspora in Britain: Comparing Al-Jazeera, the BBC and CNN". Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 32 (6): 947–960. doi:10.1080/13691830600761552. S2CID 192658321.
  14. ^ Tarbush, Susannah (26 April 2010). "Arab engagement in the British general and local elections". Al-Hayat. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  15. ^ Tarbush, Susannah (17 June 2010). "Mixed results in the British general and local elections for candidates of Middle Eastern origin". Al-Hayat. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  16. ^ "Table CT0010EW 2011 Census: Ethnic group (write-in responses), local authorities in England and Wales". Office for National Statistics. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  17. ^ (PDF). National Records of Scotland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  18. ^ . National Association of British Arabs. Archived from the original on May 29, 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  19. ^ "DC2201EW - Ethnic group and religion" (Spreadsheet). ONS. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016. Size: 21Kb.
  20. ^ "Ethnic group by religion - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  21. ^ "BBC - Religions - Islam: History of Islam in the UK". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
  22. ^ a b Change Institute (April 2009). (PDF). London: Communities and Local Government. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  23. ^ "UK employed 'double standards' over treatment of Ukrainian, Syrian refugees". Arab News. 2022-03-30. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
  24. ^ Professor Jim Al-Khalili OBE [1], Profile, University of Surrey.
  25. ^ Nonie Niesewand (March 2015). "Through the Glass Ceiling". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 22 December 2018.

External links edit

  • Arab British Centre
  • Broken link
  • Arab British Chamber of Commerce (ABCC)
  • BBC Arab London
  • Reassessing what we collect website – Arab London History of Arab London with objects and images - Broken link

January 19, 2024
british, arabs, arabic, عرب, بريطانيا, british, citizens, arab, descent, they, share, common, arab, ethnicity, culture, language, identity, from, different, arab, countries, arabs, also, come, from, arab, countries, ethnic, minorities, عرب, بريطانياdistributio. British Arabs Arabic عرب بريطانيا are British citizens of Arab descent They share a common Arab ethnicity culture language and identity from different Arab countries Arabs also come from non Arab countries as ethnic minorities British Arabsعرب بريطانياDistribution by local authority in the 2011 census Total populationUnited Kingdom approx 249 911 500 000 1 England 320 215 0 6 2021 2 Scotland 9 366 0 2 2011 Wales 11 641 0 4 2021 2 Northern Ireland 1 817 0 1 2021 3 Regions with significant populationsLondon Birmingham Manchester Sheffield LiverpoolLanguagesArabic British EnglishReligionIslam Sunni Shia Christianity Orthodox Catholic Melkite Protestant Related ethnic groupsother ArabsThe majority of British Arabs reside in the British capital of London and have come largely from the Arab countries of Iraq Egypt Morocco Algeria Palestine Yemen Lebanon and the Gulf States 4 Contents 1 Overview 1 1 Census designation 2 Demographics 2 1 Religion 3 History 3 1 19th century 3 2 Early 20th century 3 3 Late 20th and 21st centuries 4 Notable British Arabs 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksOverview editCensus designation edit British Arabs is used as an ethnic designation by the National Association of British Arabs 5 It is also employed by academics 6 and in the media 7 Unlike Black British or Asian British the term British Arab was not one of those employed in government ethnicity categorisations used in the 2001 UK Census and for national statistics 8 As a result community members are believed to have been under counted in previous population estimates according to the National Association of British Arabs NABA This absence of a separate Arab category in the UK census obliged many to select other ethnicity categories 9 In the late 2000s the British government announced that an Arab ethnicity category would be added to the 2011 UK Census for the first time 10 The decision came following lobbying by the National Association of British Arabs and other Arab organizations who argued for the inclusion of a separate Arab entry to accommodate under reported groups from the Arab world 11 Demographics edit nbsp Other Arab ethnic group as a population pyramid in 2021 in England and Wales According to the 2021 United Kingdom census Arabs in England amp Wales enumerated 331 844 12 Most British Arabs live in the Greater London area and many are either businesspeople recent immigrants or students 9 There are also sizable and long established Yemeni Arab communities living in both Cardiff and the South Shields area near Newcastle upon Tyne A diverse community British Arabs are represented in the business and media fields among other areas Miladi s 2006 survey of 146 community members during the summer of 2001 reported Al Jazeera as being the respondents preferred news outlet Reasons supplied for the selection included the quality of the station s programs and transmission its discussion of current issues in the Arab world and the possibility of giving voice to the community s concerns and positions on various matters 13 Additionally 2010 was a breakthrough year in terms of political participation Several British Arabs ran for and or were appointed to office as community representatives 14 15 Including both write in and tick box responses 230 556 Arabs were recorded in the 2011 Census in England 9 989 in Wales 16 and 9 366 in Scotland 17 In NABA s own report on the 2011 Census it adds up answers from the write in responses that it classifies as Arab namely Arab African Arab White and Arab Moroccan Algerian Egyptian North African Other Middle East or White and North African arguing that this gives a total of 366 769 Arabs in England and Wales but noting that there may be double counting of individuals in this total since it is uncertain how many of these individual write in responses are also included in the general Arab category 18 Religion edit Religion England and Wales2011 19 2021 20 Number Number nbsp Islam 178 195 77 27 277 737 83 70 No religion 11 939 5 18 15 963 4 81 nbsp Christianity 21 988 9 54 13 671 4 12 nbsp Judaism 571 0 25 425 0 13 nbsp Buddhism 402 0 17 129 0 04 nbsp Hinduism 1 060 0 46 103 0 03 nbsp Sikhism 509 0 22 82 0 02 Other religions 859 0 37 1 419 0 43 Not Stated 15 077 6 54 22 314 6 72 Total 230 600 100 331 843 100 History edit19th century edit Great Britain and the Arab world have engaged in commercial activities with one another since the medieval times 4 Yemenis began to migrate to Britain since the 1860s via Aden the main refuelling stop in the area and settled around the docks in the port cities of Cardiff Liverpool South Shields Hull and London At the end of the 19th century Yemenis working as stokers on steamships began moving ashore and set up boarding schools in the dock area There are now an estimated 70 000 to 80 000 Yemenis in Britain 21 4 Early 20th century edit Iraqis began settling in London in the 1930s and the UK has had a significant Iraqi population since the 1940s 22 Liberal and radical dissidents in the Kingdom of Iraq sought refuge to the UK at the time Supporters of the monarchy later sought refuge in the UK after it was overthrown in 1958 22 Arab migration to the United Kingdom significantly began in the 1940s and 1960s when Egyptians and Moroccans came in search of employment and this generally increased as the Arab world wrestled for independence from European colonialism 4 Late 20th and 21st centuries edit The Palestinian exoduses of 1948 and 1967 saw an influx and through the 70s and 80s More Arabs arrived from the Gulf in the 1970s during the oil boom era to set up businesses Arab refugees also arrived as a result of conflicts in parts of the Arab world such as the Lebanese civil war from 1975 to 1990 or the instability which followed the invasion of Iraq in 2003 4 The United Kingdom settled approximately 20 000 Syrian refugees amid the Syrian civil war 23 Notable British Arabs editDennis W Sciama 1926 1999 British physicist of Syrian descent who played a role in developing British physics after the Second World War Jim Al Khalili British Iraqi Professor of Theoretical Physics author broadcaster and presenter of science programmes on BBC radio and television 24 Zaha Hadid British Iraqi architect who received the architectural award the Stirling Prize in 2010 and 2011 and the first woman to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004 25 Ayman Asfari Syrian British billionaire former CEO OF Petrofac Ronald Mourad Chairman of The Portland Trust and Bridges Ventures His parents were originally from Syria Lowkey British Iraqi musician Kefah Mokbel British Syrian breast surgeon and founder of the UK charity Breast Cancer Hope Mustafa Suleyman British Syrian entrepreneur and co founder of DeepMind Alexander Siddig British Sudanese actor known for his role in Syriana and Kingdom of Heaven Potter Payper Algerian British singer and rapper Rachid Harkouk Algerian British Footballer Zeinab Badawi British Sudanese journalist at BBC world previously ITV and Channel 4 News Shadia Mansour British Palestinian musician Nadia Sawalha British Jordanian television presenter cook and actress known for her role as Annie Palmer in EastEnders Kamal El Hajji British Moroccan Serjeant at Arms of the House of Commons in 2015 Moe Sbihi British Moroccan rower and twice Olympic medal winner Naseem Hamed British Yemeni professional boxer who held multiple featherweight world championships Bilal Hasna British Palestinian actor Elyes Gabel British Algerian actor in Seasons 1 and 2 of the Game of Thrones Faysal Bettache British Algerian professional footballer Tarik O Regan British Algerian composer and recipient of two British Composer Awards Mika singer British Lebanese singer and songwriter Amal Clooney British Lebanese barrister specialising in international law and human rights and special envoy on media freedom by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Peter Medawar British Lebanese Father 1960 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine Layla Michelle Moran British Palestinian member of Parliament Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon Eugene Cotran British Palestinian Circuit judge in England Jade Thirlwall Egyptian Yemeni musician part of Little Mix Adam El Abd British Egyptian semi professional footballer and played Egypt national team Joe El Abd British Egyptian rugby union player Khalid Abdalla British Egyptian actor and activist from Maida Vale Mike Bishay British Egyptian rugby league footballer of Greek and Sri Lankan descent Ben Bland British Egyptian presenter and journalist for the BBC News of Lithuanian Jewish and Russian Jewish descent Fady Elsayed British Egyptian actor Abdel Majed Abdel Bary British Egyptian former rapper Amir El Masry British Egyptian actor known for The Night Manager and Tom Clancy s Jack Ryan Magdi Yacoub British Egyptian Cardiothoracic surgeon carried out UK s first heart and lung transplant in the 1980s Layla Kaylif British Emirati singer Nemir Kirdar Iraqi businessmanSee also edit nbsp United Kingdom portalArab diaspora Arabs in Europe British Arab Commercial Bank List of British MuslimsReferences edit British Arabs 2015 01 03 Archived from the original on 2015 01 03 Retrieved 2022 12 05 a b 2021 Census Ethnic group local authorities in the United Kingdom Office for National Statistics Retrieved 29 November 2022 MS B01 Ethnic group Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency 22 September 2022 Retrieved 7 January 2023 a b c d e BBC Arabic London www bbc co uk Retrieved 2022 06 13 The National Association of British Arabs The National Association of British Arabs Archived from the original on 9 February 2008 Retrieved 7 June 2009 Nagel Caroline 2001 Hidden minorities and the politics of race The case of British Arab activists in London Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 27 3 381 400 doi 10 1080 136918301200266130 S2CID 145331530 Akbar Arifa 10 January 2004 Kilroy was here BBC suspends daytime host The Independent London Archived from the original on June 16 2009 Retrieved 7 June 2009 Population size 7 9 from a minority ethnic group Office for National Statistics 13 February 2003 Archived from the original on 27 May 2009 Retrieved 7 June 2009 a b Jalili I K Study for consideration of inclusion of Arab as an ethnic group on ethnicity profile forms PDF National Association of British Arabs Archived from the original PDF on 2 April 2015 Retrieved 30 November 2012 2011 Census Questions Published BBC News 21 October 2009 Retrieved 27 April 2010 Arab Population in the UK Study for consideration of inclusion of Arab as an ethnic group on future census returns Archived from the original on 9 January 2013 Retrieved 30 December 2012 Ethnic group Office for National Statistics www ons gov uk Retrieved 2022 11 29 Miladi Noureddine August 2006 Satellite TV News and the Arab Diaspora in Britain Comparing Al Jazeera the BBC and CNN Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 32 6 947 960 doi 10 1080 13691830600761552 S2CID 192658321 Tarbush Susannah 26 April 2010 Arab engagement in the British general and local elections Al Hayat Retrieved 30 November 2012 Tarbush Susannah 17 June 2010 Mixed results in the British general and local elections for candidates of Middle Eastern origin Al Hayat Retrieved 30 November 2012 Table CT0010EW 2011 Census Ethnic group write in responses local authorities in England and Wales Office for National Statistics 30 January 2013 Retrieved 8 March 2020 Ethnic group detailed All people PDF National Records of Scotland Archived from the original PDF on 16 April 2021 Retrieved 8 March 2020 REPORT ON THE 2011 CENSUS MAY 2013 Arabs and Arab League Population in the UK National Association of British Arabs Archived from the original on May 29 2014 Retrieved 25 April 2014 DC2201EW Ethnic group and religion Spreadsheet ONS 15 September 2015 Retrieved 14 January 2016 Size 21Kb Ethnic group by religion Office for National Statistics www ons gov uk Retrieved 2023 04 02 BBC Religions Islam History of Islam in the UK www bbc co uk Retrieved 2022 06 13 a b Change Institute April 2009 The Iraqi Muslim Community in England Understanding Muslim Ethnic Communities PDF London Communities and Local Government p 22 Archived from the original PDF on 23 September 2011 Retrieved 3 July 2010 UK employed double standards over treatment of Ukrainian Syrian refugees Arab News 2022 03 30 Retrieved 2023 03 12 Professor Jim Al Khalili OBE 1 Profile University of Surrey Nonie Niesewand March 2015 Through the Glass Ceiling Architectural Digest Retrieved 22 December 2018 External links editNational Association of British Arabs Arab British Centre British Arabs Resource Centre Broken link Arab British Chamber of Commerce ABCC BBC Arab London Reassessing what we collect website Arab London History of Arab London with objects and images Broken link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title British Arabs amp oldid 1194706208, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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