Arab Brazilians are Brazilian citizens of

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

ethnic,

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.T ...

, linguistic heritage and

identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), an ...

. The majority of Arab Brazilians trace their origin to the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...

ine region of the

Arab World The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

, known in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

as ''

Bilad al-Sham Bilad al-Sham ( ar, بِلَاد الشَّام, Bilād al-Shām), often referred to as Islamic Syria or simply Syria in English-language sources, was a province of the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid caliphates. It roughly correspo ...

'', primarily from

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, as well as Palestine. Arab Brazilians are

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

in the great majority. The first

Syrians Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both ind ...

and Lebanese arrived in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

around 1880. It is not known exactly when, although the Syrians and Lebanese say that in 1885 there was a small core of peddlers working in the market square. By 1920, the census listed 50,246 Syrians and Lebanese in Brazil, 38.4% (2/5) of these in the

state of São Paulo State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

. The 1940 census enumerated 48,614 Syrians, Lebanese and other related groups with a decrease of approximately 1647 people. As immigration almost ceased after 1929 and the colony aged, it is surprising that the decline was not even greater. The trend of the period between 1920 and 1940 was the continuous concentration of Syrians and Lebanese in São Paulo. Almost half (49.3%) of Syrians and Lebanese residents in Brazil lived in São Paulo. Contemporary data on the number of Arab descendants in Brazil is highly inconsistent. The national

IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental informat ...

census has not questioned the ancestry of the Brazilian people for several decades, considering that immigration to Brazil declined almost to 0 in the second half of the 20th century. In the last census questioning ancestry, in 1940, 107,074 Brazilians said they were the children of a Syrian, Lebanese,

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

, Iraqi or Arab father. The native Arabs were 46,105 and the naturalized Brazilians, 5,447. Brazil had 41,169,321 inhabitants at the time of the census, so Arabs and children were 0.38% of Brazil's population in 1940. Currently, many sources cite that millions of Brazilians are of Arab descent. Itamaraty claims that there are between 7 and 10 million Lebanese descendants in Brazil. However, independent research, based on the interviewee's self-declaration, found much smaller numbers. According to a 2008 IBGE survey, 0.9% of the white Brazilians interviewed said they had a family background in

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes A ...

, which would give about one million people. According to another 1999 survey by the sociologist and former president of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) Simon Schwartzman, only 0.48% of the interviewed Brazilians claimed to have Arab ancestry, a percentage that, in a population of about 200 million of Brazilians, would represent around 960 thousand people.

History

Immigration to Brazil

Arab immigration to Brazil started in the 1890s as Lebanese and

n people fled the political and economic instability caused by the collapse of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

; the majority were Christian but there were also many Muslims. Immigration peaked around

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. 19th century, most of them coming from

and

, later from other parts of the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

. When they were first processed in the ports of Brazil, they were counted as Turks because they carried passports issued by the Turkish

that ruled the present day territories of

and

. There were many causes for Arabs to leave their homelands in the Ottoman Empire; overpopulation in Lebanon,

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...

in Lebanon and Syria, and religious persecution by the Ottoman Turks. Arab immigration to Brazil grew also after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and the rest of the 20th century, and concentrated in the states of

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, and ...

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literall ...

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goiâ ...

, and

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. Most Arab immigrants in Brazil were

, Muslims being a minority. Intermarriage between Brazilians of Arab descent and other Brazilians, regardless of ethnicity or religious affiliation, is very high; most Brazilians of Arab descent only have one parent of Arab origin. As a result of this, the new generations of Brazilians of Arab descent show marked

language shift Language shift, also known as language transfer or language replacement or language assimilation, is the process whereby a speech community shifts to a different language, usually over an extended period of time. Often, languages that are percei ...

away from Arabic. Only a few speak any Arabic, and such knowledge is often limited to a few basic words. Instead the majority, especially those of younger generations, speak

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

as a first language. The Brazilian and Lebanese governments claim there are 7 to 10 million Brazilians of Lebanese descent. Also, the Brazilian government claims there are 4 million Brazilians of Syrian descent. However, those numbers might an overestimate, given that an official survey conducted by the

Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental informatio ...

(IBGE) in 2008 showed that less than 1 million Brazilians claimed any Middle-Eastern origin (only 0.9% of white Brazilian respondents said they had family origins in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

Arabic influence in Brazil

Arab immigration has influenced many aspects of Brazil's culture – besides and beyond the Arabic influence inherited via Portugal, as, for instance, some Portuguese words of Arabic origin. In the main Brazilian cities it is easy to find restaurants that cook Arab food; and Arab dishes, such as

sfiha Sfiha or sfeeha ( ar, صفيحة, ṣafīḥa) is a dish consisting of flatbread cooked with a minced meat topping, often lamb flavored with onion, tomato, pine nuts, and spices. It is traditionally found in the countries of the Levant, and is cl ...

s (Portuguese ''esfirra''),

tabbouleh Tabbouleh ( ar, تبولة, translit=tabbūla; also tabouleh, tabbouli, tabouli, or taboulah) is a Levantine salad made mostly of finely chopped parsley, with tomatoes, mint, onion, bulgur (soaked, not cooked), and seasoned with olive oil, lemon ...

(Portuguese ''tabule''),

kibbeh Kibbeh (, also kubba and other spellings; ar, كبة, kibba; tr, içli köfte) is a family of dishes based on spiced ground meat, onions, and grain, popular in Middle Eastern cuisine. In Levantine cuisine, kibbeh is usually made by pounding ...

(Portuguese ''quibe''),

hummus Hummus (, ; ar, حُمُّص, 'chickpeas'; full Arabic name: ''ḥummuṣ bi-ṭ-ṭaḥīna'' ar, حمص بالطحينة, 'chickpeas with tahini'), also spelled hommus or houmous, is a Middle Eastern dip, spread, or savory dish made f ...

tahina Tahini () or tahina (, ) is a Middle Eastern condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame. It is served by itself (as a dip) or as a major ingredient in hummus, baba ghanoush, and halva. Tahini is used in the cuisines of the Levant and E ...

and

halwa Halva (also halvah, halwa, and other spellings, Persian : حلوا) is a type of confectionery originating from Persia and widely spread throughout the Middle East. The name is used for a broad variety of recipes, generally a thick paste made f ...

are very well known among Brazilians. Most Arab immigrants in Brazil have worked as traders, roaming the vast country to sell textiles and clothes and open new markets. This economic history can be seen today in the ways that the São Paulo-based Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce has gained greater recognition in increasing Brazilian exports to the Arab world. Arab-Brazilians are well integrated into Brazilian society. Today, only a minority of Arab Brazilians still know and speak the Arabic language, the vast majority of them being monolingual

speakers. Many important

Brazilians Brazilians ( pt, Brasileiros, ) are the citizens of Brazil. A Brazilian can also be a person born abroad to a Brazilian parent or legal guardian as well as a person who acquired Brazilian citizenship. Brazil is a multiethnic society, which ...

are of Arab descent, including important

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

s such as

Paulo Maluf Paulo Salim Maluf (; born 3 September 1931) is a Brazilian politician with a career spanning over four decades and many functions, including those of State Governor of São Paulo, Mayor of the City of São Paulo, Congressman and Presidential cand ...

Geraldo Alckmin Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho (; born 7 November 1952) is a Brazilian politician who is the vice president-elect of Brazil. He previously served as the Governor of São Paulo from 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2011 to 2018, the lo ...

Gilberto Kassab Gilberto Kassab ( or ; born 12 August 1960) is a Brazilian politician and former mayor of São Paulo. His term ended in 2012. A civil engineer and economist, one of the most famous Brazilians of Syrian descent, Kassab took over from José Serra, ...

, former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Michel Temer Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 31 December 2018. He took office after the impeachment and removal from off ...

José Maria Alkmin José Maria Alkmin (11 June 1901 – 22 April 1974) was the 15th vice president of Brazil from 1964 to 1967. Alkmin was born in Bocaiúva. He served as Minister of Finance before becoming vice president. He was also once the Partido S ...

, artists, writers (for instance

Raduan Nassar Raduan Nassar (born November 27, 1935, in Pindorama, São Paulo) is a Brazilian writer. The son of Lebanese immigrants, he moved to São Paulo when he was a teenager. He studied Law and Philosophy at the University of São Paulo. In 1970, he wr ...

) and

models A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

Notable Arab Brazilians

Adib Domingos Jatene Adib Domingos Jatene (June 4, 1929 – November 14, 2014) was a noted Brazilian physician of Lebanese background, university professor, scientist and thoracic surgeon. He is remembered as the inventor of the arterial switch operation (som ...

, physician *

Amyr Klink Amyr Klink (born 25 September 1955) is a Brazilian explorer, sailor and writer. One of his projects, "Antarctica 360", was circumnavigating the Antarctica, Antarctic continent on his own, in 88 days between 1998 and 1999. Career Amyr Klink was ...

, sailor *

Antônio Houaiss Antônio Houaiss ( or ; October 15, 1915 – March 7, 1999) was a Brazilian lexicographer, diplomat, writer and translator. Early life The son of Lebanese immigrants, he was born in Rio de Janeiro.(2012)Houaiss, Antonio. Itaú Cultural Encyclo ...

, writer and philologist *

Arnaldo Jabor Arnaldo Jabor (12 December 1940 – 15 February 2022) was a Brazilian film director and producer, screenwriter, writer, journalist and political pundit for Brazilian television network Rede Globo. Biography He was of jewish lebanese descent an ...

, film director, screenwriter and producer * Alfredo Saad-Filho, economist *

Tania Khalill Tânia Calil Campos de Oliveira (née Padis; born 8 July 1977), known professionally as Tania Khalill, is a Brazilian actress. Early life Khalill was born to pediatrician Emiliano Campos and psychologist Terezinha Calil Campos in São Paulo's ...

, actress * Branco,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

world champion *

Carlos Ghosn Carlos Ghosn (; ; ar, كارلوس غصن; , born 9 March 1954) is a businessman who holds Brazilian and French nationality. Ghosn was the CEO of Michelin North America, chairman and CEO of Renault, chairman of AvtoVAZ, chairman and CEO of Ni ...

, businessman (former CEO of

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

and

Nissan , trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun bra ...

) *

Bruna Abdullah Bruna Abdullah (born 24 October 1986) is a Brazilian actress working primarily in Bollywood. She played the role of "Mary" in the adult comedy film ''Grand Masti'' and Giselle in Punit Malhotra's ''I Hate Luv Storys'' (2010). She has also starr ...

, Hindi and Tamil language film actress *

Daniella Sarahyba Daniella Sarahyba Fernandes (born 8 July 1984) is a Brazilian model. She appeared in every edition of the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' from 2005 to 2010. Early life Sarahyba was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and her mother, Mara Lúc ...

, model * Alberto Dualib, businessman *

Beatriz Haddad Maia Beatriz Haddad Maia (born 30 May 1996) is a Brazilian professional tennis player. On 22 August 2022, she reached a career-high in the WTA rankings in singles at No. 15. Haddad Maia has won two singles and four doubles titles on the WTA Tour, on ...

, tennis player *

Rafael Leitão Rafael Duailibe Leitão (born 28 December 1979) is a Brazilian chess player. He is a grandmaster in both over-the-board chess and correspondence chess. Leitão is a seven-time Brazilian champion. He competed in the FIDE World Championship in 1 ...

, Brazilian chess grandmaster * Guilherme Afif Domingos, politician *

, politician and former governor of

, former

Governor of São Paulo A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, politician and former mayor of

João Bosco João Bosco de Freitas Mucci, known professionally as João Bosco () is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist. In the 1970s he established his reputation in ''música popular Brasileira'' (Portuguese: "Brazilian pop music") with lyricist ...

, musician *

, politician, former

Vice-President of Brazil The Vice President of Brazil ( pt, Vice-Presidente do Brasil), officially the Vice President of the Federative Republic of Brazil (''Vice-Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil''), or simply the ''Vice President of the Republic'' (''Vice-P ...

under Castelo Branco *

Juliana Paes Juliana Couto Paes (born 26 March 1979) is a Brazilian actress and former model. She became nationally known in telenovelas and modelling. She also starred a local version of the musical ''The Producers'', as Ulla. Career An actress, model ...

, actress * Luciana Gimenez Morad, model and TV entertainer *

Malu Mader Maria de Lourdes "Malu" da Silveira Mäder (born 12 September 1966) is a Brazilian actress. Biography Born in Rio de Janeiro, she is the daughter of Rubens Tramujas Mäder, a Brazilian army colonel (who gives his name to the RJ-163 highway, w ...

, actress *

Marcelle Bittar Marcelle Bittar de Almeida (born May 5, 1981), better known as Marcelle Bittar, is a Brazilian model of Lebanese descent. She was born in Guarapuava, Paraná, Brazil. In 1996, Bittar was registered by her mother in an Elite Model Management c ...

, model *

Mário Zagallo Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo (; born 9 August 1931) is a Brazilian former professional football player, coordinator and manager, who played as a forward. Zagallo holds the record for World Cup titles in general with four titles in total. He was ...

player and coach world champion *

, politician, former

President of Brazil The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...

Beto Carrero Beto Carrero (born João Batista Sergio Murad; 9 September 1937 – 1 February 2008) was a Brazilian theme park owner and entertainer. He was the creator of the Beto Carrero World Park, in the municipality of Penha, on the northern coast of t ...

, entertainer, creator of the

Beto Carrero World Beto Carrero World theme park located in Penha, Brazil. This park is part of Santa Catarina's signature amusement parks. It is the largest theme park in Latin America occupying divided into 7 different theme areas. History Beto Carrero Worl ...

Park *

, writer * Fagner, singer * Sabrina Sato Rahal, model and TV entertainer * Farid Zablith Filho, olympic swimmer *

Tony Kanaan Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani an ...

, race car driver *

Wallid Ismail Wallid Farid Ismail ( ar, وليد فريد إسماعيل, born February 23, 1968) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and promoter. Ismail holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) under Carlson Gracie, and is an IVC mixed martial art ...

, martial artist, World class Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, famous for choking

Royce Gracie Royce Gracie (; born 12 December 1966) is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer, and a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the Gracie family, he is considered to be one of the most influential figures ...

unconscious *

Felipe Nasr Luiz Felipe de Oliveira Nasr (born 21 August 1992) is a Brazilian racing driver. He is the 2018 IMSA Sportscar champion and won the 2019 12 Hours of Sebring. After a year as the official test driver for Williams in 2014, he joined Sauber ...

, F1 Driver. * Ibrahim Abi-Ackel, politician

References

{{Ancestry and ethnicity in Brazil

Arab Brazilian Arab Brazilians are Brazilian citizens of Arab ethnic, cultural, linguistic heritage and identity. The majority of Arab Brazilians trace their origin to the Levantine region of the Arab World, known in Arabic as ''Bilad al-Sham'', primarily ...

Ethnic groups in Brazil Arab diaspora in South America

History

Immigration to Brazil

Arabic influence in Brazil

Notable Arab Brazilians

See also

References