Arabization

CaliphAbd al-Malik(r.685–705) establishedArabicas the sole official language of theUmayyad Caliphatein 686 CE

ArabizationorArabicization(Arabic:تعريب,romanized:taʻrīb) is asociologicalprocess of cultural change in which a non-Arab society becomesArab,meaning it either directly adopts or becomes strongly influenced by theArabic language,culture,literature,art,music,andethnic identityas well as other socio-cultural factors. It is a specific form ofcultural assimilationthat often includes alanguage shift.The term applies not only to cultures, but also to individuals, as they acclimate to Arab culture and become "Arabized". Arabization took place after theMuslim conquest of the Middle East and North Africa,as well as during the more recentArab nationalistpolicies toward non-Arab minorities in modernArab states,such asAlgeria,Iraq,Syria,Egypt,Bahrain,andSudan.

After therise of Islamin theHejazand subsequentMuslims conquests,Arab culture and language spread outside theArabian Peninsulathrough trade and intermarriages between members of the non-Arab local population and the peninsular Arabs. The Arabic language began to serve as alingua francain these areas andvarious dialectswere formed. This process was accelerated by the migration of variousArab tribesoutside of Arabia, such as theArab migrations to the Maghreb.

The influence of Arabic has been profound in many other countries whose cultures have been influenced by Islam. Arabic was amajor source of vocabulary for various languages.This process reached its zenith between the 10th and 14th centuries, widely considered to be the high point of Arab culture, during theIslamic Golden Age.

Early Arab expansion in the Near East

AfterAlexander the Great,theNabataean Kingdomemerged and ruled a region extending from north of Arabia to the south of Syria. The Nabataeans originated from the Arabian peninsula, who came under the influence of the earlierAramaicculture, the neighbouring Hebrew culture of the Hasmonean kingdom, as well as the Hellenistic cultures in the region (especially with theChristianizationofNabateansin the 3rd and 4th centuries). The pre-modern Arabic language was created by Nabateans, who developed theNabataean Alpha betwhich became the basis of modernArabic script.TheNabataean language,under heavy Arab influence, amalgamated into theArabic language.

The ArabGhassanidswere the last major non-Islamic Semitic migration northward out ofYemenin late classic era. They wereGreek Orthodox Christian,and clients of theByzantine Empire.They arrived inByzantine Syriawhich had a largelyArameanpopulation. They initially settled in theHauranregion, eventually spreading to the entireLevant(modern Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Jordan), briefly securing governorship of parts of Syria and Transjordan away from theNabataeans.

The ArabLakhmid Kingdomwas founded by the Lakhum tribe that emigrated fromYemenin the 2nd century and ruled by theBanu Lakhm,hence the name given it. They adopted the religion of theChurch of the East,founded inAssyria/Asōristān,opposed to the Ghassanids Greek Orthodox Christianity, and were clients of theSasanian Empire.

The Byzantines and Sasanians used the Ghassanids and Lakhmids to fight proxy wars in Arabia against each other.

History of Arabization

Arab conquests 622 AD to 750 AD

Arabization during the early Caliphate

Main article:Early Muslim conquests

The most significant wave of "Arabization" in history followed theearly Muslim conquestsof Muhammad and the subsequentRashidunandUmayyadCaliphates.These Arab empires were the first to grow well beyond the Arabian Peninsula, eventually reaching as far asIberiain the West and Central Asia to the East, covering 11,100,000 km²(4,300,000 sq mi),one of thelargest imperial expanses in history.

Southern Arabia

Further information:Southern Arabia

South Arabia is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, yet it also included Najran, Jizan, and 'Asir, which are presently in Saudi Arabia, and the Dhofar of present-day Oman.

Old South Arabianwas driven to extinction by the Islamic expansion, being replaced byClassical Arabicwhich is written with theArabic script.TheSouth Arabian Alpha betwhich was used to write it also fell out of use. A separate branch ofSouth Semitic,theModern South Arabian languagesstill survive today as spoken languages in southern of present-day Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Dhofar in present-day Oman.

AlthoughYemenis traditionally held to be the homeland of theQahtanite Arabswho, according to Arab tradition, are pure Arabs; however, mostof the sedentary Yemeni population did not speakOld Arabicprior to the spread ofIslam,and spoke the extinctOld South Arabian languagesinstead.

Eastern and Northern Arabia

Further information:Eastern Arabia,Bahrani people,andDilmun civilization

Sassanian weaponry, 7th century.

Before the 7th centuryCE,the population of Eastern Arabia consisted ofChristian Arabs,ZoroastrianArabs,Jews,andAramaic-speaking agriculturalists.Some sedentary dialects of Eastern Arabia exhibitAkkadian,AramaicandSyriacfeatures.The sedentary people of ancient Bahrain were Aramaic speakers and to some degree Persian speakers, while Syriac functioned as aliturgical language.

Even within Northern Arabia, Arabization occurred to non-Arab populations such as theHutaymin the northwestern Arabia and theSollubain the Syrian Desert and the region of Mosul.

The Levant

See also:Muslim conquest of the Levant

On the eve of theRashidun Caliphateconquest of the Levant, 634 AD, Syria's population mainly spoke Aramaic; Greek was the official language of administration.ArabizationandIslamizationof Syria began in the 7th century, and it took several centuries for Islam, the Arab identity, and language to spread;the Arabs of the caliphate did not attempt to spread their language or religion in the early periods of the conquest, and formed an isolated aristocracy.The Arabs of the caliphate accommodated many new tribes in isolated areas to avoid conflict with the locals; caliphUthmanordered his governor,Muawiyah I,to settle the new tribes away from the original population.Syrians who belonged toMonophysiticdenominations welcomed the peninsular Arabs as liberators.

TheAbbasidsin the eighth and ninth century sought to integrate the peoples under their authority, and the Arabization of the administration was one of the tools.Arabization gained momentum with the increasing numbers of Muslim converts;the ascendancy of Arabic as the formal language of the state prompted the cultural and linguistic assimilation of Syrian converts.Those who remainedChristianalso became Arabized;it was probably during the Abbasid period in the ninth century that Christians adopted Arabic as their first language; the first translation of the gospels into Arabic took place in this century.Many historians, such asClaude Cahenand Bernard Hamilton, proposed that the Arabization of Christians was completed before theFirst Crusade.By the thirteenth century, Arabic language achieved dominance in the region and its speakers became Arabs.

Egypt

See also:Muslim conquest of Egypt

Prior to the Islamic conquests, Arabs had been inhabiting theSinai Peninsula,theEastern desertandeastern Deltafor centuries.These regions of Egypt collectively were known as "Arabia" to the contemporary historians and writers documenting them.Several pre-Islamic Arab kingdoms, such as theQedarite Kingdom,extended into these regions. Inscriptions and other archeological remains, such as bowls bearing inscriptions identifyingQedaritekings andNabateanArabic inscriptions, affirm the Arab presence in the region.Egypt was conquered from theRomansby theRashidun Caliphatein the 7th century CE. TheCoptic language,which was written using theCoptic variationof theGreek Alpha bet,was spoken in most of Egypt prior to the Islamic conquest. Arabic, however, was already being spoken in the eastern fringes of Egypt for centuries prior to the arrival of Islam.By theMamelukeera, the Arabization of theEgyptianpopulace alongside a shift in the majority religion going from Christianity to Islam, had taken place.

The Maghreb

See also:Arab migration to the Maghreb

Neither North Africa nor the Iberian Peninsula were strangers toSemitic culture:thePhoeniciansand later theCarthaginiansdominated parts of the North African and Iberian shores for more than eight centuries until they were suppressed by theRomansand by the followingVandalandVisigothicinvasions, and theBerberincursions.

From theMuslim conquest of the Maghrebin the 7th century, Arabs began tomigrate to the Maghrebin several waves. Arab migrants settled in all parts of the Maghreb, coming as peaceful newcomers who were welcomed everywhere, establishing large Arab settlements in many areas.In addition to changing the population's demographics, the early migration of Arab tribes resulted in the Arabization of the nativeBerberpopulation. This initial wave contributed to the Berber adoption ofArab culture.Furthermore, theArabic languagespread during this period and drove localLatin(African Romance) into extinction in the cities. The Arabization took place around Arab centres through the influence of Arabs in the cities and rural areas surrounding them.

Arab political entities in the Maghreb such as theAghlabids,Idrisids,SalihidsandFatimids,were influential in encouraging Arabization by attracting Arab migrants and by promoting Arab culture. In addition, disturbances and political unrest in theMashriqcompelled the Arabs to migrate to the Maghreb in search of security and stability.

After establishingCairoin 969, theFatimidsleft rule over Tunisia and eastern Algeria to the localZirid dynasty(972–1148).In response to the Zirids later declaring independence from the Fatimids, the Fatimids dispatched largeBedouinArab tribes, mainly theBanu HilalandBanu Sulaym,to defeat the Zirids and settle in the Maghreb. The invasion of Ifriqiya by the Banu Hilal, a warlike ArabBedouintribe, sent the region's urban and economic life into further decline.The Arab historianIbn Khaldunwrote that the lands ravaged by Banu Hilal invaders had become completely arid desert.The Fatimid caliph instructed the Bedouin tribes to rule the Maghreb instead of the Zirid emirAl-Mu'izzand told them "I have given you the Maghrib and the rule of al-Mu'izz ibn Balkīn as-Sanhājī the runaway slave. You will want for nothing." and told Al-Mu'izz "I have sent you horses and put brave men on them so that God might accomplish a matter already enacted". Sources estimated that the total number of Arab nomads who migrated to the Maghreb in the 11th century was at around 1 million Arabs.There were later Arab migrations to the Maghreb byMaqilandBeni Hassanin the 13th-15th century and byAndalusirefugees in the 15th-17th century.

Banu Hilal, Emir of Mascara in western Algeria, 1856

The migration of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym in the 11th century had a much greater influence on the process of Arabization of the population than did the earlier migrations. It played a major role in spreadingBedouin Arabicto rural areas such as the countryside and steppes, and as far as the southern areas near theSahara.It also heavily transformed the culture of the Maghreb into Arab culture, and spread nomadism in areas where agriculture was previously dominant.

Al-Andalus

After theUmayyad conquest of Hispania,under theArabMuslim ruleIberia (al-Andalus) incorporated elements of Arabic language and culture. TheMozarabswereIberianChristianswho lived under Arab Islamic rule inAl-Andalus.Their descendants remained unconverted toIslam,but did however adopt elements of Arabic language andcultureand dress. They were mostlyRoman Catholicsof theVisigothic or Mozarabic Rite.Most of the Mozarabs were descendants ofHispano–GothicChristians and were primarily speakers of theMozarabic languageunder Islamic rule. Many were also what theArabistMikel de Epalza calls"Neo-Mozarabs",that isNorthern Europeanswho had come to the Iberian Peninsula and picked up Arabic, thereby entering the Mozarabic community.

Besides Mozarabs, another group of people in Iberia eventually came to surpass the Mozarabs both in terms of population and Arabization. These were the Muladi orMuwalladun,most of whom were descendants of local Hispano-Basques and Visigoths who converted to Islam and adopted Arabic culture, dress, and language. By the 11th century, most of the population of al-Andalus was Muladi, with large minorities of other Muslims, Mozarabs, andSephardic Jews.It was the Muladi, together with the Berber, Arab, and other (SaqalibaandZanj) Muslims who became collectively termed in Christian Europe as "Moors".

TheAndalusian Arabicwas spoken in Iberia during Islamic rule.

Sicily, Malta, and Crete

A similar process of Arabization and Islamization occurred in theEmirate of Sicily(as-Siqilliyyah),Emirate of Crete(al-Iqritish), and Malta (al-Malta), during this period some segments of the populations of these islands converted toIslamand began to adopt elements ofArabic culture,traditions,andcustoms.The Arabization process also resulted in the development of the now extinctSiculo-Arabiclanguage, from which the modernMaltese languagederives. By contrast, the present-daySicilian language,which is anItalo-Dalmatian Romance language,retains very little Siculo-Arabic, with its influence being limited to some 300 words.

Sudan

Contacts between Nubians and Arabs long predated the coming of Islam,but the Arabization of the Nile Valley was a gradual process that occurred over a period of nearly one thousand years. Arabnomadscontinually wandered into the region in search of fresh pasturage, and Arab seafarers and merchants traded atRed Seaports for spices and slaves. Intermarriage and assimilation also facilitated Arabization. Traditional genealogies trace the ancestry of the Nile valley's area of Sudan mixed population to Arab tribes that migrated into the region during this period. Even many non-Arabic-speaking groups claim descent from Arab forebears. The two most important Arabic-speaking groups to emerge in Nubia were theJa'alinand theJuhaynah.

Map showing the late medieval migration of Arabs into Sudan

In the 12th century, the Arab Ja'alin tribe migrated intoNubiaandSudanand gradually occupied the regions on both banks of theNilefromKhartoumtoAbu Hamad.They trace their lineage toAbbas,uncle of theIslamicprophetMuhammad.They are of Arab origin, but now of mixed blood mostly withNorthern SudaneseandNubians.In the 16th and 17th centuries, new Islamic kingdoms were established – theFunj Sultanateand theSultanate of Darfur,starting a long period of gradualIslamizationandArabizationin Sudan. These sultanates and their societies existed until the Sudan was conquered by theOttoman Egyptian invasionin 1820, and in the case of Darfur, even until 1916.

In 1846, ArabRashaida,who speakHejazi Arabic,migrated from theHejazin present-day Saudi Arabia into what is nowEritreaand north-east Sudan, after tribal warfare had broken out in their homeland. The Rashaida of Sudan live in close proximity with theBeja people,who speakBedawiyedialects in eastern Sudan.

The Sahel

Main article:Baggara

Baggara belt

Inmedieval times,theBaggara Arabs,a grouping of Arab ethnic groups who speakShuwa Arabic(which is one of the regionalvarieties of Arabicin Africa), migrated into Africa, mainly betweenLake Chadand southernKordofan.

Currently, they live in a belt which stretches acrossSudan,Chad,Niger,Nigeria,Cameroon,Central African RepublicandSouth Sudanand they number over six million people. Like other Arabic speaking tribes in theSaharaand theSahel,Baggara tribes have origin ancestry from theJuhaynahArab tribes who migrated directly from theArabian peninsulaor from other parts ofnorth Africa.

Arabic is an official language of Chad and Sudan as well as anational languagein Niger,Mali,Senegal,and South Sudan. In addition, Arabic dialects are spoken of minorities inNigeria,Cameroon,andCentral African Republic.

Arabization in modern times

Further information:Arab nationalism

Status of Arabic language map

Exclusive official language

One of official languages, majority

One of official languages, minority

In the modern era, Arabization occurred due to theArab nationalistpolicies toward non-Arab minorities in modernArab states,includingAlgeria,Iraq,Syria,Egypt,Bahrain,Kuwait,andSudan.Modern Arabization also occurred to reverse the consequences of European colonialism.Arab governments often imposed policies that sought to promote the use ofModern Standard Arabicand eliminate the languages of former colonizers, such as the reversing of street signs fromFrenchto Arabic names in Algeria.

Arabization in Algeria

Modern Arabization in Algeria took place to develop and promote Arabic into the nation's education system, government, and media in order to replace the former language that was enforced due to colonization, French.Algeria had been conquered by France and even made to be part of itsmetropolitan corefor 132 years, a significantly longer timespan compared to Morocco and Tunisia, and it was also more influenced by Europe due to the contiguity withFrench settlers in Algeria:both Algerian and French nationals used to live in the same towns, resulting in the cohabitation of the two populations.

While trying to build an independent and unified nation-state after theEvian Accords,the Algerian government underAhmed Ben Bella's rule began a policy of Arabization. Indeed, due to the lasting and deep colonization, French was the major administrative and academic language in Algeria, even more so than in neighboring countries. Since independence,Algerian nationalismwas heavily influencedArab socialism,IslamismandArab nationalism.

The unification and pursuit of a singleAlgerian identitywas to be found in the Arab identity, Arabic language and religion. Ben Bella composed the Algerian constitution in October 1963, which asserted that Islam was the state religion, Arabic was the sole national and official language of the state, Algeria was an integral part of theArab world,and that Arabization was the first priority of the country to reverse French colonization.According to Abdelhamid Mehri, the decision of Arabic as an official language was the natural choice for Algerians, even though Algeria is a plurilingual nation with a minority, albeit substantial, number of Berbers within the nation, and the local variety of Arabic used in every-day life,Algerian Arabic,was distinct from the official language,Modern Standard Arabic.

However, the process of Arabization was meant not only to promote Islam, but to fix the gap and decrease any conflicts between the different Algerian ethnic groups and promote equality through monolingualism.In 1964 the first practical measure was the Arabization of primary education and the introduction of religious education, the state relying on Egyptian teachers – belonging to theMuslim Brotherhoodand therefore particularly religious– due to its lack of literary Arabic-speakers. In 1968, during theHouari Boumedieneregime, Arabization was extended, and a lawtried to enforce the use of Arabic for civil servants, but again, the major role played by French was only diminished.

The whole policy was ultimately not as effective as anticipated: French has kept its importanceand Berber opposition kept growing, contributing to the1988 October Riots.Some Berber groups, like theKabyles,felt that their ancestral culture and language were threatened and the Arab identity was given more focus at the expense of their own. After theAlgerian Civil War,the government tried to enforce even more the use of Arabic,but the relative effect of this policy after 1998 (the limit fixed for complete Arabization) forced the heads of state to make concessions towardsBerber,recognizing it in 2002as another national language that will be promoted. However, because of literary Arabic's symbolic advantage, as well as being a single language as opposed to the fragmentedBerber languages,Arabization is still a goal for the state, for example with laws on civil and administrative procedures.

Arabization in Oman

Despite being a nation of the Arabian peninsula,Omanhad been home to several native languages other than Arabic,of whichKumzariwhich is the only nativeIndo-European languagein the Arabian peninsula has been classified as highly endangered by the UNESCO and at risk of dying out in 50 years.Before thetakeover of Qaboos as sultan,Arabic was only ever spoken by the inhabitants outside the village ofKumzar,in mosques or with strangers, however since the introduction of Arabic-only schools in 1984, Arabic is hence now spoken at both school and village with it being mandatory in school and as tv and radio are also in Arabic meaning virtually all media the people of Kumzar are exposed to is in Arabic.There has also been an internalization of outsiders' negative attitudes toward the Kumzari language to the point where some Kumzari families have begun to speak Arabic to their children at home.

TheModern South Arabian languageshave also come under threat in Oman.Hobyotis considered a critically endangered language.The actual number of speakers is unknown, but it is estimated to be only a few hundred. Most of those who maintain the language are elderly, which adds to the likelihood that language extinction is near. Ethnologue categorizes it as a moribund language (EGIDS 8a). The only fluent speakers that are left are older than the child-bearing age, which ultimately makes integration of the language into subsequent generations highly improbable.Mechanisms of transmission would have to be created from outside the community in order to preserve it.

TheHarsusi languageis also critically endangered, as most Harsusi children now attend Arabic-language schools and are literate in Arabic, Harsusi is spoken less in the home, meaning that it is not being passed down to future generations.With the discovery of oil in the area and the reintroduction of theArabian Oryxin the area which has provided job opportunities for Harsusi men, this has led to them using primarily Arabic orMehriwhen communicating with their co-workers.These factors have also caused many Harasis to speak Arabic and Mehri in addition to or in place of Harsusi. These pressures led one researcher to conclude in 1981 that "within a few generations Harsusi will be replaced by Arabic, more specifically by the Omani Arabic standard dialect"though this has not yet materialized.UNESCOhas categorised Harsusi as a language that is "definitely endangered".

TheShehri languagehas also come under threat in recent years, prior to the Arabization of Oman, Shehri was once spoken from Yemen'sHadhramautregion toRas Al Haddin Eastern Oman.Until around as little as forty years ago, Shehri was spoken by all of the inhabitants of Dhofar as the common language, including by the native Arabic speakers in Salalah who spoke it fluently. The remainder of Dhofar's inhabitants all spoke Shehri as their mother tongue. Today however Arabic has taken over as the form of mutual communication in Dhofar and is now exclusively spoken by those to whom it is their native tongue. A number of the older generation of Shehri language speakers, particularly those who live in the mountains, don't even speak Arabic and it was only around fifty years ago that most of Dhofar's Shehri speaking population began to learn it. The fact that Arabic has a written form unlike Shehri has also greatly contributed to its decline.

Another language,Bathariis the most at risk of dying out with its numbers (as of 2019) at currently anywhere from 12 to 17 fluent elderly speakers whereas there are some middle aged speakers but they mix their ancestral tongue with Arabic instead.The tribe seems to be dying out with the language also under threat from modern education solely in Arabic. The Bathari language is nearly extinct. Estimates are that the number of remaining speakers are under 100.

Arabization in Morocco

Following 44 years of colonization by France,Morocco began promoting the use of Modern Standard Arabic to create a united Moroccan national identity, and increase literacy throughout the nation away from any predominant language within the administration and educational system. Unlike Algeria, Morocco did not encounter with the French as strongly due to the fact that the Moroccan population was scattered throughout the nation and major cities, which resulted in a decrease of French influence compared to the neighboring nations.

First and foremost, educational policy was the main focus within the process, debates surfaced between officials who preferred a "modern and westernized" education with enforcement of bilingualism while others fought for a traditional route with a focus of "Arabo-Islamic culture".Once theIstiqal Partytook power, the party focused on placing a language policy siding with the traditional ideas of supporting and focusing on Arabic and Islam.The Istiqal Party implemented the policy rapidly and by the second year after gaining independence, the first year of primary education was completely Arabized, and a bilingual policy was placed for the remaining primary education decreasing the hours of French being taught in a staggered manner.

Arabization in schools had been more time-consuming and difficult than expected due to the fact that the first 20 years following independence, politicians (most of which were educated in France or French private school in Morocco) were indecisive as to if Arabization was best for the country and its political and economic ties with European nations.Regardless, complete Arabization can only be achieved if Morocco becomes completely independent from France in all aspects; politically, economically, and socially. Around 1960, Hajj Omar Abdeljalil the education minister at the time reversed all the effort made to Arabize the public school and reverted to pre-independent policies, favoring French and westernized learning.Another factor that reflected the support of reversing the Arabization process in Morocco, was the effort made by King Hassan II, who supported the Arabization process but on the contrary increased political and economic dependence on France.Due to the fact that Morocco remained dependent on France and wanted to keep strong ties with the Western world, French was supported by the elites more than Arabic for the development of Morocco.

Arabization in Tunisia

The Arabization process in Tunisia theoretically should have been the easiest within the North African region because less than 1% of its population was Berber, and practically 100% of the population natively spoke vernacularTunisian Arabic.However, it was the least successful due to its dependence on European nations and belief in Westernizing the nation for the future development of the people and the country. Much like Morocco, Tunisian leaders' debate consisted of traditionalists and modernists, traditionalists claiming that Arabic (specifically Classical Arabic) and Islam are the core of Tunisia and its national identity, while modernists believed that Westernized development distant from "Pan-Arabist ideas" are crucial for Tunisia's progress.Modernists had the upper hand, considering elites supported their ideals, and after the first wave of graduates that had passed their high school examinations in Arabic were not able to find jobs nor attend a university because they did not qualify due to French preference in any upper-level university or career other than Arabic and Religious Studies Department.

There were legitimate efforts made to Arabize the nation from the 1970s up until 1982, though the efforts came to an end and the process of reversing all the progress of Arabization began and French implementation in schooling took effect.The Arabization process was criticized and linked with Islamic extremists, resulting in the process of "Francophonie" or promoting French ideals, values, and language throughout the nation and placing its importance above Arabic.Although Tunisia gained its independence, nevertheless the elites supported French values above Arabic, the answer to developing an educated and modern nation, all came from Westernization. The constitution stated that Arabic was the official language of Tunisia but nowhere did it claim that Arabic must be utilized within the administrations or every-day life, which resulted in an increase of French usage not only in science and technology courses. Further, major media channels were in French, and government administrations were divided—some were in Arabic while others were in French.

Arabization in Sudan

Main article:Languages of Sudan

Sudanis an ethnically mixed country that is economically and politically dominated by the society of central northern Sudan, where many identify as Arabs and Muslims. The population inSouth Sudanconsists mostly of Christian and AnimistNilotic people,who have been regarded for centuries as non-Arab, African people. Apart from Modern Standard Arabic, taught in schools and higher education, and the spoken forms ofSudanese Arabiccolloquial, several other languages are spoken by diverse ethnic groups.

Since independence in 1956,Sudanhas been a multilingual country, with Sudanese Arabic as the major first or second language. In the 2005constitution of the Republic of Sudanand following theComprehensive Peace Agreement,the official languages of Sudan were declared Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and English. Before the independence ofSouth Sudanin 2011, people in the southern parts of the country, who mainly speakNilo-Saharanlanguages orJuba Arabic,were subjected to the official policy of Arabization by the central government. The constitution declared, however, that "all indigenous languages of the Sudan are national languages and shall be respected, developed, and promoted," and it allowed any legislative body below the national level to adopt any other national language(s) as additional official working language(s) within that body's jurisdiction.

MSA is also the language used in Sudan's central government, the press, as well as in official programmes of Sudan television and Radio Omdurman. Severallingua francashave emerged, and many people have become genuinely multilingual, fluent in a native language spoken at home, a lingua franca, and perhaps other languages.

Arabization in Mauritania

Mauritaniais an ethnically-mixed country that is economically and politically dominated by those who identify as Arabs and/or Arabic-speakingBerbers.About 30% of the population is considered "Black African",and the other 40% are Arabized Blacks, both groups suffering high levels of discrimination.Recent Black Mauritanian protesters have complained of "comprehensive Arabization" of the country.

Arabization in Iraq

Main articles:Ba'athist Arabization campaigns in North IraqandAl-Anfal Campaign

Saddam Hussein'sBa'ath Partyhad aggressive Arabization policies involving driving out many pre-Arab and non-Arab races – mainlyKurds,Assyrians,Yezidis,Shabaks,Armenians,Turcomans,Kawliya,Circassians,andMandeans– replacing them with Arab families.

In the 1970s, Saddam Husseinexiledbetween 350,000 to 650,000Shia Iraqis of Iranian ancestry (Ajam).Most of them went to Iran. Those who could prove an Iranian/Persian ancestry in Iran's court received Iranian citizenship (400,000) and some of them returned to Iraq afterSaddam.

During the Iran-Iraq War, theAnfal campaigndestroyed many Kurdish, Assyrian and other ethnic minority villages and enclaves in North Iraq, and their inhabitants were often forcibly relocated to large cities in the hope that they would be Arabized.

This policydrove out 500,000 people in the years 1991–2003. The Baathists also pressured many of these ethnic groups to identify as Arabs, and restrictions were imposed upon their languages, cultural expression and right to self-identification.

Arabization in Syria

See also:Human rights in Rojava,Arab Belt Project,andQamishli massacre

Since the independence of Syria in 1946, the ethnically diverseRojavaregion in northern Syria suffered grave human rights violations, because all governments pursued a most brutal policy of Arabization.While all non-Arab ethnic groups within Syria, such asAssyrians,Armenians,Turcomans,andMhallamihave faced pressure fromArab Nationalistpolicies to identify asArabs,the most archaic of it was directed against theKurds.In his report for the 12th session of the UNHuman Rights CounciltitledPersecution and Discrimination against Kurdish Citizens in Syria,theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Human Rightsheld:

"Successive Syrian governments continued to adopt a policy of ethnic discrimination and national persecution against Kurds, completely depriving them of their national, democratic and human rights — an integral part of human existence. The government imposed ethnically-based programs, regulations and exclusionary measures on various aspects of Kurds' lives — political, economic, social and cultural."

TheKurdish languagewas not officially recognized, it had no place in public schools.A decree from 1989 prohibited the use of Kurdish at the workplace as well as in marriages and other celebrations. In September 1992 came another government decree that children not be registered with Kurdish names.Also businesses could not be given Kurdish names.Books, music, videos and other material could not be published in Kurdish language.Expressions of Kurdish identity like songs and folk dances were outlawedand frequently prosecuted under a purpose-built criminal law against "weakening national sentiment".Celebrating theNowruzholiday was often constrained.

In 1973, the Syrian authorities confiscated 750 square kilometers of fertile agricultural land inAl-Hasakah Governorate,which were owned and cultivated by tens of thousands of Kurdish citizens, and gave it to Arab families brought in from other provinces.Describing the settlement policies pursued by the regime as part of the "Arab Belt programme, a Kurdish engineer in the region stated:

"The government built them homes for free, gave them weapons, seeds and fertilizer, and created agricultural banks that provided loans. From 1973 to 1975, forty-one villages were created in this strip, beginning ten kilometers west ofRas al-'Ayn.The idea was to separateTurkishandSyrian Kurds,and to force Kurds in the area to move away to the cities. AnyArabcould settle inHasakeh,but no Kurd was permitted to move and settle there. "

In 2007, in another such scheme in Al-Hasakah governate, 6,000 square kilometers aroundAl-Malikiyahwere granted to Arab families, while tens of thousands of Kurdish inhabitants of the villages concerned were evicted.These and other expropriations of ethnic Kurdish citizens followed a deliberate masterplan, called "Arab Belt initiative", attempting to depopulate the resource-rich Jazeera of its ethnic Kurdish inhabitants and settle ethnic Arabs there.

After the Turkish-led forces hadcaptured Afrin Districtin early 2018, they began to implement a resettlement policy by movingTurkish-backed Free Syrian Armyfighters and Sunni Arab refugees from southern Syria into the empty homes that belonged to displaced locals.The previous owners, most of them Kurds orYazidis,were often prevented from returning to Afrin.Refugees from EasternGhouta,Damascus,said that they were part of "an organised demographic change" which was supposed to replace the Kurdish population of Afrin with an Arab majority.

De-Arabization

In the modern era, de-Arabization can refer to government policies which aim to reverse Arabization, such as the reversal of the Arabization ofKurdsin northern Iraq andMizrahi JewsinIsrael.

Historic reversions of Arabization

Norman conquest of southern Italy (999-1139)

TheMuslim conquest of Sicilylasted from 827 until 902 when theEmirate of Sicilywas established. It was marked by anArab–Byzantine culture.Sicily in turn was then subjected to theNorman conquest of southern Italyfrom 999 to 1139.The Arab identity of Sicily came to an end latest by the mid-13th century.

Reconquista (1212-1492)

TheReconquistain theIberian Peninsulais the most notable example of a historic reversion of Arabization. The process of Arabization and Islamization was reversed as the mostly Christian kingdoms in the north of the peninsula conqueredToledoin 1212 andCordobain 1236.Granada,the last remaining emirate on the peninsula, was conquered in January 1492.The re-conquered territories wereHispanicizedandChristianized,although the culture, languages and religious traditions imposed differed from those of the previousVisigothic kingdom.

Reversions in modern times

The multilingual flag ofSyrian Democratic Forcesexpresses thepolyethnicagenda of the faction in theSyrian Civil Waras opposed to Arabization policies.

In modern times, there have been various political developments to reverse the process of Arabization. Notable among these are:

• The 1948 establishment of theState of Israelas a Jewish polity,Hebraization of Palestinian place names,use ofHebrewas an official language (withArabic remaining co-official) and the de-Arabization of the Arabic-speakingSephardimandMizrahi Jewswho arrived in Israel from the Arab world.
• The 1992 establishment of a Kurdish-dominated polity inMesopotamiaasIraqi Kurdistan.
• The 2012 establishment of a multi-ethnicDemocratic Federation of Northern Syria.
• Berberism,aBerberpolitical-cultural movement of ethnic, geographic, or culturalnationalismpresent inAlgeria,Moroccoand broader North Africa includingMali.The Berberist movement is in opposition to cultural Arabization and thepan-Arabistpolitical ideology, and is also associated withsecularism.
• South Sudan's secession from Arab-ledSudanin 2011 after a bloody civil war decreased Sudan's territory by almost half. Sudan is a member of the Arab League while South Sudan did not enter membership. Arabic also is not an official language of South Sudan.
• Arabization of Malays was criticized by SultanIbrahim Ismail of Johor.He urged the retention of Malay culture instead of introducing Arab culture.He called on people to not mind unveiled women or mixed sex handshaking, and urged against using Arabic words in place of Malay words.He suggested Saudi Arabia as a destination for those who wanted Arab culture.He said that he was going to adhere to Malay culture himself.Abdul Aziz Barisaid that Islam and Arab culture are intertwined and criticized the Johor Sultan for what he said.Datuk Haris Kasim, who leads the Selangor Islamic Religious Department, also criticized the Sultan for his remarks.
• The Chinese government launched a campaign in 2018 to remove Arab-style domes and minarets from mosques in a campaign called "de-Arabization" and "de-Saudization".

See also

• Arab nationalism
• Pan-Arabism
• Cultural assimilation
• History of the Arabs
• Islamism
• Spread of Islam

References

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External links

• Genetic Evidence for the Expansion of Arabian Tribes into the Southern Levant and North Africa
• Bossut, Camille Alexandra.Arabization in Algeria: language ideology in elite discourse, 1962-1991(Abstract) - PhD thesis,University of Texas at Austin,May 2016.