National Arab American Heritage Month (NAAHM) celebrates Arab American heritage and culture.
It honors the contributions of Arab Americans and Arabic-speaking Americans to the wider American community.
Important Dates:
The word "Arab" refers to language and culture, Muslim refers to religion, and Middle Eastern refers to region. Many Arabs are Muslims, but there are also millions of Christian Arabs and thousands of Jewish Arabs. |
Arab Americans can trace their roots to these Arabic-speaking countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. |
Arab immigrants began coming to the U.S. in sizable numbers during the 1880’s. Today, it is estimated that nearly 3.7 million Americans trace their roots to an Arab country. |
Arab Americans are found in every state, but more than two thirds of them live in just ten states: California, Michigan, New York, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Metropolitan Los Angeles, Detroit, and New York are home to one-third of the population. |
The majority of Arab Americans are native-born, and nearly 82% of Arabs in the U.S. are citizens. |