Arabic Weather Term ‘Haboob’ Offends Texans #HummusHaters

posted on: Jun 2, 2016

With all the anti-Arab bashing we see in the news every week, Arab America is determined to expose those who discriminate against our community. We will recognize those who vilify the positive influence and contributions Arabs have made to the fabric of American society. And we will use hummus as our weapon. By naming those who vilify the Arab American community as #HummusHaters, we can express our culture positively while showing intolerance to bigotry.

BY: Nisreen Eadeh/Staff Writer

A Facebook post from the US National Weather Service of Lubbock, Texas has many Texans angry because the Arabic word haboob (“blasting” in English) was used. A haboob refers to a traveling wall of dust that precedes a storm cloud. If extreme, the haboob will mix with the storm’s rain and cause a mud storm. The haboob that was approaching Lubbock, Texas looked dangerous, and the post served as a warning for Texans to be prepared.

The term haboob originates from the Arab world because that is where haboobs are prone to happen, such as Sudan in the Sahara Desert, Iraq, Kuwait, and the Arabian Peninsula. Other arid areas are also prone to haboobs, such as Australia and Southwest United States, including Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

Haboob has been a meteorological term since about 1900 and is nothing new to North America. But for some Texans, this Arabic word has no place on their Facebook news feeds.

Facebook user John Fullbright commented:

Haboob!?! I’m a Texan. Not a foreigner from Iraq or Afghanistan. They might have haboobs but around here in the Panhandle of TEXAS, we have Dust Storms. So would you mind stating it that way. I’ll find another weather service

Another user, Brenda Daffern, added:

In Texas, nimrod, this is called a sandstorm. We’ve had them for years! If you would like to move to the Middle East you can call this a haboob. While you reside here, call it a sandstorm. We Texans will appreciate you. 

Meteorologist Ben Henson responded to the “linguistic angst” against the term haboob in an article he wrote that clarified the difference between sandstorms, dust storms, and haboobs.

Henson wrote: “Of course, there is Arabic influence throughout the world of scientific terminology. Every time you use 3, 5, or 8, you’re using an Arabic numeral. And though it’s only recently made it into public discourse, ‘haboob’ is hardly a new term in the meteorological literature. As noted by Maryland weathercaster and AGU blogger Dan Satterfield, a 1925 paper in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society was titled ‘Haboobs’.”

Henson is right. There are numerous Arabic words used in the English language every day, such as alcohol, algebra, coffee, guitar, lemon, sugar, tambourine, and so much more.

So, to the Texans who find it offensive that Arabic is part of the English language, try some hummus! The Arab dish is so good, it’ll help you forget you were ever this angry over a Facebook post. After you have hummus, take some to Arizona. There are people in Arizona who get “insulted” by the word haboob every time it is used there, too.