The Lebanese people of Egypt are people 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 ...

or those of Lebanese descent who live or have lived in the country 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 ...

. Many prominent figures that have emerged in Egypt were of Lebanese origin, such as the world-famous actor,

Omar Sharif Omar Sharif ( ar, عمر الشريف ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub , 10 April 193210 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the ...

(born Michel Chalhoub), and the highly acclaimed Egyptian filmmaker,

Youssef Chahine Youssef Chahine ( ar, يوسف شاهين, Yūsuf Shāhīn ; 25 January 1926 – 27 July 2008) was an Egyptian film director. He was active in the Egyptian film industry from 1950 until his death. He directed twelve films that were listed ...

. Most Lebanese who resided in Egypt were highly educated, and the community as a whole contributed to both Egypt's cultural and financial well being, especially during the era of the Muhammad Ali dynasty. Since the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, most of Egypt's Lebanese community left the country immigrating to the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, as well as many returning to their native Lebanon (especially

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

). The height of Lebanese immigration into Egypt occurred between the 19th and early 20th centuries. As Lebanon was part of

Ottoman Syria Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and sout ...

during this time, Christians from all over 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 ...

(modern-day

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 ...

, and Palestine) were immigrating to Egypt as one "Shawam" (شوام), or "Levantine" group. Hence, an umbrella term for their community is " Syro-Lebanese". The number of Lebanese Christians in Egypt grew drastically during the 1860 Lebanon conflict, in which thousands of Christians were killed along with hundreds of their villages destroyed. The vast majority of Lebanese and other Levantine migrants who arrived in Egypt were well-educated and

French-speaking French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in No ...

. The historic Lebanese community of Egypt, especially during the 19th and early 20th centuries, was almost exclusively

Christian 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'' (Χρι� ...

(

Melkite Greek Catholic el, Μελχιτική Ελληνική Καθολική Εκκλησία , image = Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Damascus, Syria.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = , abbreviatio ...

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

, and

Maronite Catholic The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The current head of the ...

), with small numbers of

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

among them.

References

{{Lebanese diaspora Ethnic groups in Egypt Egyptian people of Lebanese descent Lebanese diaspora in Africa

Asian diaspora in Egypt Greek Orthodoxy in Egypt Eastern Catholicism in Egypt

See also

References