Loading ...8 Fun Facts About Arabs Unknown To the Western World
By: Meral Abu-Jaser/Arab America Contributing Writer
There are so many fun facts about Arabs unknown to the Western world. For example, did you know that an Arab scientist named Ibn Al-Haytham discovered that light enters the eye rather than leaving it? This bit of information led him to inventing the pin-hole camera in the early 5th century. The pinhole is the fundamental part of how our cameras function to this day. Fascinating, right? Want to know more? Check out these amazing 8 fun facts about the Arab World.
1. Arab is not a race, and not all Arabs Speak Arabic
The majority of people think that Arabs are a race, however, that is not the case. As a matter of fact, Arab is a term used to refer to the culture. The Arab world itself consists of 22 countries and most are in Asia; some are in Africa and others are in the Gulf. Having that in mind, the Arabic language is not the only language spoken among Arabs. For example, Somalia does not speak Arabic – instead, the official language is Somali. Djibouti, another part of the Arab world, is a country inhabiting natives who speak both Arabic and French. Lastly, Comoros is a country where Arabic, French, and Comorian is spoken.
2. Each Arabic country has its own dialect
The Arab nationality can be easily identified by the dialect spoken. In detail, the Arabic language belongs to the Semitic language family and is known to be very complex. In addition to its complexity, there are four categories of Arabic dialects. The most commonly know is Levantine, which includes Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, and Syria. Secondly is Gulf, which includes Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Third is Egyptian, which only includes Egypt. Lastly is the Maghreb, which includes Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan, Mauritania, Somalia, and Djibouti. Despite the difference in dialect, the Arabic language grammar is the same with differences in word structure and pronunciation.
3. Al Khwarizmi, an Arab mathematician invented Algebra
Yes, Arabs are fundamentally responsible for today’s development that involves Algebra! Aside from that, an interesting fact is that the word algebra is an Arabic word which means “restoration of broken parts.” Therefore, the best way to describe the reason for inventing algebra was revolutionary in opposing Greek Geometry. As mentioned earlier, Al Khwarizmi, who is known to be the first director of the House of Wisdom in Bagdad, began his invention in the early 8th century. With his enlightenment and invention of Algebra, he later became known as “The Father of Algebra.” Due to his knowledge, Al Khwarizmi published many algebra related books, and one of his most known is “The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balance.”
4. Arab instruments influenced music in Western Europe
Arab instruments played a fundamental role in the evolution of European music. Without a doubt, oud, rabab, quitara, a-duf, and al-tabi are respectively the lute, rebec, guitar, adufe, and the atabal in European languages. These are just some of the most-commonly-known instruments that originated from the Arab world.
You might be wondering how Europeans got introduced to these instruments. It should be noted that Europeans had access to these instruments by traders and scholars. They would go to Arab tribes and trade their goods in exchange for musical instruments. Indeed, Westerners developed their own music using Arab Instruments. Westerners created new instruments that elaborated upon the models that they found when trading with the Arab World.
5. Numerals used by the Western World are Arabic numerals
The numbers used every day in the Western World by English speakers are actually Arabic. This goes back to the early 8th century where Al-Khwarizmi invented the Arabic Numerals while he was on the rise with his algebra invention. During the time of Al-Khwarizmi’s inventions, trading was the only business tribes know of – and as a result, enormous trading between different cultures would occur. Thus, Arabic numerals made their way to the Western world. Arabic numerals became the standard, and has continued to be used in the Western world.
6. The world’s first university was founded by Fatima Al-Fihriya
This is one of the best facts about Arabs that Westerners are not aware of: The University of Al-Qarawiyyin (or Karueein) was the first university to ever be built in the world. It is located in Fes, Morocco, and is known to be very beautiful with its unique structure. The founder was an Arab Muslim woman named Fatima bint Muhammad Al-Fihriya Al-Qurashyia. This marvelous construction took place in 859 AD. Aside from the fact that Fatima was the founder of the first university to ever be built, the University of Al-Qarawiyyin is also recognized by UNESCO and the Guinness World Records. It is one of the most ancient universities in the world that still operates to this day.
7. Arabs ruled Spain for almost 800 years
Well, maybe the majority of people know this Arab fact, but did you know that this occupation allowed Spain to flourish? Dating back to 711 AD, the Moors, who are known to be Arabs, ruled Spain for almost 800 years. During this time of the ruling, the Moors introduced new scientific techniques that helped Europeans gain more knowledge in the fields of Astronomy Science, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, and so much more which helped Spain flourish. Spaniards now had better access to education since it was more accessible and cost-efficient. Additionally, with Spain occupied, the Arabic language was absorbed by the Spanish language. To this day, 8% of the Spanish language traces its origins to words in Arabic.
8. Arabs always offer their guests the best they have
Arabs are recognized for their kindness and hospitality with their guests. It is in their tradition, culture, and faith to treat guests like family. Whenever you visit an Arab’s house, they will present you with the best they have to offer. It is important to note that Arabs never take no for an answer. That being said, if you are offered food, drinks, snacks, or anything else, you can only reject once and not twice. If you say no then they might think, believe, or feel they are not serving you well. Additionally, Arabs often make a display on their table with plenty of food, which means that by the end of the night, you may be going home with left-overs.
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