British Arabs ( ar, عرب بريطانيا) are British 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, ...
descent. They share a common
Arab ethnicity,
culture
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 ...
,
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
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 ...
from different
Arab countries. Arabs also come from non-Arab countries as ethnic minorities. The majority of British Arabs reside in the British capital of
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, and have come largely from the Arab countries of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
,
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
,
Palestine,
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...
,
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 ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, and the
Gulf States.
Overview
"British Arabs" is used as an ethnic designation by the National Association of British Arabs. It is also employed by academics,
and in the media.
Unlike
Black British
Black British people are a multi-ethnic group of British citizens of either African or Afro-Caribbean descent.Gadsby, Meredith (2006), ''Sucking Salt: Caribbean Women Writers, Migration, and Survival'', University of Missouri Press, pp. 76� ...
or
Asian British
British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying as Asian/Asian Bri ...
, the term "British Arab" was not one of those employed in government ethnicity categorisations used in the
2001 UK Census and for national statistics.
As a result, community members are believed to have been under-counted in previous population estimates according to the National Association of British Arabs (NABA). This absence of a separate "Arab" category in the UK census obliged many to select other ethnicity categories.
In the late 2000s, the British government announced that an "Arab" ethnicity category would be added to the
2011 UK Census
A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...
for the first time. The decision came following lobbying by the National Association of British Arabs and other Arab organizations, who argued for the inclusion of a separate "Arab" entry to accommodate under-reported groups from 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 ...
.
Including both write-in and tick-box responses, 230,556 Arabs were recorded in the 2011 Census in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, 9,989 in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
,
and 9,366 in Scotland. In NABA's own report on the 2011 Census, it adds up answers from the write-in responses that it classifies as Arab, namely "Arab", "African Arab", "White and Arab", "Moroccan", "Algerian", “Egyptian”, "North African", "Other Middle East", or "White and North African", arguing that this gives a total of 366,769 Arabs in England and Wales but noting that there may be double-counting of individuals in this total, since it is uncertain how many of these individual write-in responses are also included in the general "Arab" category.
Most British Arabs live in the
Greater London
Greater may refer to:
*Greatness
Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...
area, and many are either businesspeople, recent
immigrants or students.
There are also sizable and long-established Yemeni Arab communities living in both
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
and the
South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...
area near
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
.
A diverse community, British Arabs are represented in the business and media fields, among other areas. Miladi's 2006 survey of 146 community members during the summer of 2001 reported
Al-Jazeera
Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
as being the respondents' preferred news outlet. Reasons supplied for the selection included the quality of the station's programs and transmission, its discussion of current issues in the Arab world, and the possibility of giving voice to the community's concerns and positions on various matters.
Additionally, 2010 was a breakthrough year in terms of political participation. Several British Arabs ran for and/or were appointed to office as community representatives.
According to the
2021 United Kingdom census
The decennial 2021 censuses of England and Wales and of Northern Ireland took place on 21 March 2021, and the census of Scotland took place on 20 March 2022. The censuses were administered by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in England a ...
, Arabs in England & Wales enumerated 331,844
History
Britain and
Arab states have been collaborating with each other in business since the medieval times.
Yemenis
Yemenis or Yemenites ( ar, يمنيون) are the nationals of Yemen.
Social hierarchy
There is a system of social stratification in Yemen that was officially abolished at the creation of the Republic of Yemen in 1962 but, in practice, this syst ...
began to migrate to Britain since the 1860s via
Aden
Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 peopl ...
, the main refuelling stop in the area, and settled around the docks in the port cities of
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
,
South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...
,
Hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
, and
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. At the end of the 19th century, Yemenis working as
stokers on
steamships began moving ashore and set up
boarding schools in the dock area. There are now an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 Yemenis in Britain.
Iraqis
Iraqis ( ar, العراقيون, ku, گهلی عیراق, gelê Iraqê) are people who originate from the country of Iraq. Iraq consists largely of most of ancient Mesopotamia, the native land of the indigenous Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, ...
also began settling in London in the 1930s. Arab migration to the United Kingdom significantly began in the 1940s and 1960s when
Egyptians
Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...
and
Moroccans
Moroccans (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Kingdom of Morocco. The country's population is predominantly composed of Arabs and Berbers (Amazigh). The term also applies more broadly to any people who are of Moroccan nationality, sh ...
came in search of employment, and this generally increased as the Arab world wrestled for independence from European colonialism.
Palestinians exodus of 1948 and 1967 saw an influx and through the 70s and 80s. More Arabs arrived from the
Gulf
A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...
in the 1970s during the oil-boom era to set up businesses. Arab refugees also arrived as a result of conflicts in parts of the Arab world, such as the
Lebanese civil war
The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...
from 1975 to 1990 or the instability which followed the
invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
in 2003.
Religion
According to the
2011 Census, the religious breakdown of Arabs in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...
, and
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
can be seen in the table below.
[ Size: 21Kb.]
Percentages of Arab population (2011)
Notable British Arabs
*
Jim Al-Khalili
Jameel Sadik "Jim" Al-Khalili ( ar, جميل صادق الخليلي; born 20 September 1962) is an Iraqi-British theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster. He is professor of theoretical physics and chair in the public engagement in scie ...
(
OBE), (British Iraqi) Professor of Theoretical Physics, author, broadcaster and presenter of science programmes on BBC radio and television.
*
Dame
''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...
Zaha Hadid
Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ar, زها حديد ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centu ...
(
DBE,
RA), (British-Iraqi) renowned architect who received the UK's most prestigious architectural award, the
Stirling Prize, in 2010 and 2011 and the first woman to receive the
Pritzker Architecture Prize
The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...
(in 2004).
*
Lowkey, (British-Iraqi), musician
*
Kefah Mokbel
Professor Kefah Mokbel FRCS is the lead consultant breast surgeon at the London Breast Institute of the Princess Grace Hospital, Professor (Honorary) of Breast Cancer Surgery at Brunel University London, an honorary consultant breast surgeon at ...
, (British-Syrian), breast surgeon and founder of the UK charity Breast Cancer Hope.
*
Mustafa Suleyman, (British-Syrian), entrepreneur and co-founder of
DeepMind
DeepMind Technologies is a British artificial intelligence subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. and research laboratory founded in 2010. DeepMind was acquired by Google in 2014 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, after Google's restru ...
which Google bought for an estimated £400 million in 2014.
*
Alexander Siddig, (British-Sudanese),actor known for his role in
Syriana and Kingdom of Heaven.
*
Potter Payper, (Algerian-British), singer and rapper.
*
Rachid Harkouk, (Algerian-British), Footballer
*
Zeinab Badawi, (British-Sudanese), journalist at BBC world (previously ITV and Channel 4 News).
*
Shadia Mansour
Shadia Mansour ( ar, شادية منصور , born 1985), also known as "the first lady of Arabic hip hop" See also is a British-Palestinian rapper who performs in Arabic and English. Much of her music revolves around Middle Eastern politics ...
, (British-Palestinian), musician
*
Nadia Sawalha
Nadia Sawalha (; born 18 November 1964) is a British actress, television personality and YouTuber. She played the role of Annie Palmer on the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1997 to 1999 and Gina in ITV comedy Second Thoughts (TV series), ...
, (British-Jordanian), television presenter, cook and actress known for her role as
Annie Palmer
Annie Palmer is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Nadia Sawalha, from 6 May 1997 to 10 June 1999.
Storylines
When Annie arrived in Albert Square in 1997, she is believed to be a former business associate o ...
in ''
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...
''.
*
Kamal El-Hajji,
(BEM), (British-Moroccan),
Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons (in 2015).
*
Moe Sbihi
Mohamed Karim Sbihi (born 27 March 1988) is a British rower. He is a three-time Olympian and Olympic medal winner. He won a gold medal in the coxless four at 2016 Rio Olympics, and at the 2012 London Olympics he was in the British crew that wo ...
, (
MBE), (British-Moroccan), rower and twice Olympic medal winner.
*
Naseem Hamed, (British-Yemeni), professional boxer who held multiple
featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Boxing
Professional boxing
History
A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, th ...
world championships.
*
Elyes Gabel
Elyes Cherif Gabel (; born 8 May 1983) is an English actor. He gained recognition for his portrayal of Dr Gurpreet "Guppy" Sandhu in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty'' (2004–2007), computer genius Walter O'Brien in the CBS series ''Scorpion' ...
, (British-Algerian), actor known for his role in Seasons 1 and 2 of the ''
Game of Thrones
''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the fir ...
''.
*
Faysal Bettache
Faysal Bettache (born 7 July 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club St. Louis City SC 2.
Club career Queens Park Rangers
Born in Westminster, Bettache joined Queens Park Rangers from Watford in March ...
, (British-Algerian), professional footballer.
*
Tarik O'Regan
Tarik Hamilton O'Regan (; born 1 January 1978) is a British and American composer. His compositions number over 100 and are partially represented on 43 recordings which have been recognised with two Grammy nominations. He is also the recipien ...
, (British-Algerian), composer and recipient of two British Composer Awards.
*
Mika (singer), (British-Lebanese), singer and songwriter.
*
Amal Clooney (née Alamuddin), (British-Lebanese) barrister specialising in international law and human rights and special envoy on media freedom by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
*
Peter Medawar - (British-Lebanese Father), 1960 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine.
*
Layla Michelle Moran
Layla Michelle Moran (; born 12 September 1982) is a British Liberal Democrat politician serving as the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and International Development since 2020, and serving as the Member of Parliament for ...
, (British-Palestinian), member of Parliament, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon.
*
Eugene Cotran, (British-Palestinian), Circuit judge in England.
*
Jade Thirlwall, (Egyptian/Yemeni), musician, part of
Little Mix
Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British v ...
.
*
Adam El-Abd
Adam Mohamad El-Abd ( ar, آدم العبد; born 11 September 1984) is a retired professional footballer who plays as a defender. El-Abd made over 500 first team appearances in his professional career and also played for the Egypt national t ...
, (British-Egyptian), semi-professional footballer and played Egypt national team.
*
Joe El-Abd, (British-Egyptian), rugby union player.
*
Khalid Abdalla, (British-Egyptian), actor and activist from
Maida Vale
Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale ...
.
*
Mike Bishay
Mike Bishay (born 8 February 1993) is an English rugby league footballer who plays for the London Skolars in the Betfred League 1.
Bishay spent 7 years at the London Broncos after joining from Hemel Stags. He spent the 2013 at Championship ...
, (British-Egyptian), rugby league footballer of Greek and Sri Lankan descent.
*
Ben Bland
Benjamin Mark Bland (), known professionally as Ben Boulos, is an English presenter and journalist for the BBC News, specialising in business for UK and global audiences on programmes including '' Business Live'', ''Talking Business'' and ''Wor ...
, (British-Egyptian), presenter and journalist for the BBC News of Lithuanian-Jewish and Russian-Jewish descent.
*
Fady Elsayed, (British-Egyptian), actor.
*
Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, (British-Egyptian), former rapper and
*
Amir El-Masry, (British-Egyptian), actor known for ''
The Night Manager
''The Night Manager'' is an espionage novel by British writer John le Carré, published in 1993. It is his first post- Cold War novel, detailing an undercover operation to bring down a major international arms dealer.
Plot summary
Jonathan Pin ...
'' and ''
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan
''Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan'' (also known simply as ''Jack Ryan'') is an American political action thriller television series, based on characters from the fictional "Ryanverse" created by Tom Clancy, that premiered on August 31, 2018, on Amazon ...
''
* Sir
Magdi Yacoub OM FRS: (British-Egyptian) Cardiothoracic surgeon celebrated as the surgeon that carried out UK's first heart and lung transplant in the 1980s.
See also
*
Arab diaspora
Arab diaspora (also known as MENA diaspora, as a short version for the Middle East and North Africa diaspora) refers to descendants of the Arab emigrants who, voluntarily or as refugees, emigrated from their native lands to non-Arab countries ...
*
Arabs in Europe
Arabs in Europe are people of Arab descent living in Europe today and over the centuries. Several million Arabs are residents in Europe. The vast majority form part of what is sometimes called the "Arab diaspora", i.e. ethnic Arabs or people d ...
*
British Arab Commercial Bank
The British Arab Commercial Bank PLC (BACB) is an international wholesale bank incorporated in the United Kingdom that is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and regulated by the PRA and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ...
*
List of British Muslims
This is a list of notable British Muslims.
Academia and education
* Haroon Ahmed Emeritus Professor of Microelectronics at the Cavendish Laboratory, the Physics Department of the University of Cambridge
* Sara Ahmed – Professor of Race a ...
References
External links
National Association of British ArabsArab British Centre British Arabs Resource CentreBroken link
Arab British Chamber of Commerce (ABCC)BBC Arab LondonReassessing what we collect website – Arab LondonHistory of Arab London with objects and images - Broken link
{{UK census ethnic groups
Muslim communities in Europe