Arabization: Encyclopedia - Arabization

Arabization

Arabization is the gradual transformation of an area into one that speaks Arabic and is part of the Arab culture. It can also mean the replacement or displacement of a native population with Arabs, although this rarely happened in ancient times, as there weren't nearly sufficient numbers of original Arabs to replace or displace existing populations. There were significant pre-Islamic Arab migrations out of the Arabian Peninsula (see: Ghassanids, Nabataeans); however, full Arabization of the Middle East took place after the coming of Islam. It should be noted that the Arabs were not the first Semitic peoples who migrated out of the peninsula (see: Aramaeans, Canaanites, Akkadians). After the rise of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula, Arab culture and language spread through trade with African states, conquest, and intermarriage of the local population with the Arabs.

Countries and territories that are traditionally thought to have gone through Arabization include Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, and Sudan, although this is highly disputed. The peninsular Arabic language became common among these areas; dialects also formed. Today, an Arab from the Levant finds the Arabic of a North African almost incomprehensible. Modern Standard Arabic functions as something of a dachsprache, allowing speakers of disparate dialects to communicate.

Arabization - In modern times

In part of the Al-Anfal Campaign, Saddam Hussein's Iraqi Ba'athist regime drove hundreds of thousands of Kurdish families out of their homes in Kirkuk after a Kurdish revolt, and gave their homes to Arab-speaking oil field workers. This campaign was an example of violent Arabization. The campaign was an attempt to transform the historically Multi ethnic city of Kirkuk into an Arab city. Kurdish families were left with no homes after being evicted forcefully by Saddam's Iraqi soldiers, and therefore had to migrate to refugee camps. After the fall of Saddam's regime, many Kurdish families came back to Kirkuk to live peacefully with Arab families.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Arabization", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki