Names: ___________________________________

Muslim v. Arab
In your groups, take turns reading the sections marked “Reader 1-4.” Then, individually, complete the
questions at the end of the reading.

Reader 1:
The words “Muslim” and “Arab” tend to be used interchangeably, but did you know they actually
don’t mean the same thing? People can be both Arab and Muslim, but it is also possible to be one but
not the other.
For example: many ducks tend to be cute things. However, not all cute things are ducks, and not all
ducks are cute things… unfortunately.
However—unlike generalizing ducks and cute things—generalizing Arabic and Muslim people can lead
to racial and ethnic stereotyping, cultural misunderstanding, and social conflict. Let’s explore this.

Reader 2:
Did you know about 25% of the globe’s population is Muslim? About 3.5 million live in North America,
317 million live in the M.E. & N. Africa, and almost 1 billion live in the Asia-Pacific region!
Muslims are people who practice the religion Islam, which is a monotheistic religion based on the
teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. Monotheistic means "believing in a single God," and Muslims
call their God "Allah." The world Islam means “submission.” Muslims practice their faith by submitting
themselves to the will of Allah. Think of this as analogous to the Christian notion of living your life “for
God.” Muslims follow the Five Pillars of Islam described in the Quran.
There are two major branches of Islam in the world today: Sunni and Shiite. The larger of the two
main branches, the Sunni, is generally thought to be the more progressive branch and to have more
lenient cultural stances. The Shiites tend to be more orthodox (traditional) and have stricter stances
on cultural practices.
 Reader 3:
Arab is an ethno-linguistic category, identifying people who speak the Arabic language as their mother
tongue. It also can apply to those whose parents or grandparents (other ancestral family) spoke
Arabic as their native language. Arabic is a Semitic language, closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic.
While Arabs speak the same language, there is enormous ethnic diversity among the spoken dialects.
Varied dialects occur regionally throughout the M.E. & N. Africa.
Similarly, though people from the Midwest and West Coast generally speak the same form of English,
people in the Midwest refer to soda as “pop,” and people on the West Coast refer to soda according
to itself actual title, which is indisputably, “soda.”
Map of Arabic Dialects in the M.E. & N. Africa

Today, more than 200 million Arabs live mostly throughout 21 countries; they make up the
overwhelming majority of the population in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt,
and the nations of North Africa. The U.S. Census reports that the Arab population in Indiana is about
15,000, which ranks 23rd in the country amongst states with highest Arab populations.

Statistics for the Arab Population in Indiana (2011)

Reader 4:
So, the difference between “Muslim” and “Arab” is: Muslim refers to someone who practices the
religion Islam, while Arab refers to an ethnic/linguistic heritage originating from the M.E. While many
people identify as both Muslim and Arab, it is possible to be one and not the other.
For example, Lupe Fiasco is Muslim but he is not Arab. Rami Malek is Arab, but he is not Muslim. And
Zayn Malik is both Muslim and Arab.

Question:

1. Who is another celebrity who is Muslim but not Arab?

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2. Who is another celebrity who is Arab but not Muslim?
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3. Who is another celebrity who is both Muslim and Arab?
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*You can use your Chromebook to search for people