The Arab world
The Arab world, also known as the Arab nation, consists of the 22 Arabic-speaking countries of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the West to the Arabic Sea in the East, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the North to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the Southeast. These countries include: Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Mauritania, Egypt, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Comoros, Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and the State of Palestine.
It is worth mentioning that not all inhabitants of the so-called Arab world are of Arab origin. This vast area encompasses many diverse cultural, ethnic, and linguistic groups. These include Berbers, Kurds, Persians, Turkmens, Tuareg, Turks, Circassians, and others. In Morocco, for instance, The Amazigh, also known as Berbers, constitute as much as 40% of Morocco’s population. Sudan, one of the most ethnically diverse nations in the world, is believed to be home to 600 ethnic groups and Arabs estimates around 39% of the population (source:http://nationencyclopedia.com )
The Arab world should not be confused with the “Middle East”, a geopolitical term first used by The United States Naval officer Alfred Thayer Mahan in 1902 to designate the region between Arabia and India. Geographically, the term denotes the crossroads of three continents (Europe, Africa and Asia) and used to mean Southwestern Asia and sometimes Northeastern Africa. Yet, this geographical area has no precise borders that defines its boundaries, hence it remains a matter of disagreement mainly for Sudan, Egypt and Turkey. It should be remembered that the Middle East region encompasses non-Arab countries as well such as Israel, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
The Muslim world consists of the 49 Muslim-majority countries. The map below shows the countries in which Islam is the majority religion of the people.
The two terms “Arab” and “Muslim” are usually intertwined or even used interchangeably as if all Arabs were Muslims and all Muslims were Arabs. According to Pew Research Center, Arabs accounts for only 20% of the world Muslim population. The country with the world’s largest Muslim population is Indonesia followed by Pakistan with approximately 204.8 million and 178 million, respectively.
There exists no majority Muslim country in Europe or the Americas. According to the same source, about 23.4% of the world population is Muslims. Of these, around 62% live in Asia-Oceania. 20% in the Middle East & North Africa, 15% in Sab-Saharan Africa, around 3% in Europe and 0.3% in the Americas (2010)
On the other hand, it is wrong to believe that all Arabs are Muslims. Christianity constitutes the second largest religion in the Arab League with over 20 million adherents mostly living in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq. The Jewish community, however, remains small compared to other religions, mainly because many Arab Jews moved to Israel after its founding in 1948. Other minor religious groups include: Baha’I, Coptic, Durze, Yazidi,etc.
To conclude, the Arab world is not necessarily equated to the Muslim world. To be an Arab refers to the ethnic identity, whereas to be a Muslim refers to religious belief/affiliation of someone who adheres to the teachings of Islam.
The Muslim World