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Glossary of Middle East Terms

Iraq in a Nutshell
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Arab

a.       Racially, an Arab is a person of Arabic descent, whose can trace their ancestry to the Arabian Peninsula.

b.       According to the Torah, Bible and Quran, Arabs are descendants of Shem, the son of Noah.

c.       "Arabized Arabs" or Adnanites (also called Ishmaelites) are believed to have descended from Abraham through his son Ishmael.
According to the Bible and the Quran, because Abraham's wife, Sarah, was barren, Abraham was instructed to sleep with Sarah's Egyptian servant, Hagar. Together they produced a son called Ishmael.
Sarah then miraculously conceived a child of her own named Isaac (from whom Jews are believed to have descended).  After the birth of Isaac, Sarah told Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael to the desert where they eventually assimilated with local Arabian tribes.
Adnanites are descendants of Ishmael's grandson, Adnan.
Prophet Muhammad's tribe, the Quraish, are said to be Adnanites. 

d.   Those whose first language is Arabic have also been identified as "Arabs." According to this definition, the label can be applied to the populations of Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, the West Bank, and Yemen.

e. Most, but not all, Arabs have embraced the religion of Islam.

2)       Persian

a.        A native or inhabitant of Iran.  Most Persians are Shiite Muslims.

b.       Also the language of Persia (Iran).  The Persian word for the Persian language is “Farsi.”

3)       Palestinian

a.        A descendant of the Arabs who inhabited Palestine

b.       The word was seldom used before World War I. During the British Mandate, all inhabitants of the area of Palestine were called “Palestinians” (Jews and Arabs). At one point, European writers used the term “Palestinian” only when referring to Jews residing in Palestine (especially those whose ancestors had been living in Palestine before the beginning of Zionism. 

c.        After the creation of the State of Israel, many Arabs (particularly those who supported pan-Arabism or pan-Syrianism) denied the existence of Palestinians who were distinct from other Arabs of the region.

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