{{Short description|Brazilians of Arab ancestry}} {{more citations needed|date=February 2016}} {{Use British English|date=July 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}} {{infobox ethnic group | group = Arab Brazilians | image = Lebanese immigrants Nova Friburgo.jpg | image_caption = [[Lebanese Brazilians]] in [[Nova Friburgo]], late 19th century | pop = 1 million<ref>''Inside Brazil's vast Lebanese community'' https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/inside-brazils-vast-lebanese-community </ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6822:syrian-arabic-republic&catid=155&lang=en&Itemid=478|title=Syrian Arabic Republic|website=www.itamaraty.gov.br|access-date=2015-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813011020/http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6822:syrian-arabic-republic&catid=155&lang=en&Itemid=478|archive-date=2017-08-13|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>''Embaixada do Líbano no Brasil'' https://web.archive.org/web/20101112211835/http://www.libano.org.br/olibano_geografia.htm</ref><ref> ''Lebanese Republic'' https://web.archive.org/web/20150923004630/http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7223:lebanese-republic&catid=155&lang=en&Itemid=478</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Arabs, descendants are 6% of Brazil's population: Survey - ANBA News Agency | date=22 July 2020 | url=https://anba.com.br/en/arabs-descendants-are-6-of-brazils-population-survey/#:~:text=An%20unprecedented%20study%20commissioned%20by,A%20and%20B%20income%20brackets }}</ref> | popplace = [[São Paulo (state)|São Paulo]], [[Minas Gerais]], [[Rio de Janeiro (state)|Rio de Janeiro]], [[Goiás]], [[Rio Grande do Sul]], [[Ceará]], [[Pernambuco]] | langs = [[Brazilian Portuguese]] • [[Arabic]] | rels = Predominantly [[Christians|Christian]]<br> with [[Islam|Muslim]], [[Druze]], and [[Jewish]] minorities | related = Other [[Arabs]], [[Asian Brazilians]], [[Arab Americans]], [[Arab Canadians]], [[Lebanese Canadians]], [[Lebanese Australians]], [[Arab Argentine]]s | native_name = | native_name_lang = | flag = }}
'''Arab Brazilians''' are [[Brazilians|Brazilian]] citizens of [[Arab]] ethnic, [[Arab culture|cultural]], [[Arabic|linguistic heritage]] and [[Arab identity|identity]]. The majority of Arab Brazilians trace their origin to the [[Levant]]ine region of the [[Arab World]], known in [[Arabic]] as ''[[Bilad al-Sham]]'', primarily from [[Lebanon]] and [[Syria]], as well as [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Carvalho-Silva|first1=Denise R.|last2=Santos|first2=Fabrício R.|last3=Rocha|first3=Jorge|last4=Pena|first4=Sérgio D. J.|title=The Phylogeography of Brazilian Y-Chromosome Lineages|pmc=1234928|journal=American Journal of Human Genetics|pages=281–286|date=2000|volume=68|issue=1|doi=10.1086/316931|pmid=11090340}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Cole |first=Juan |author-link=Juan Cole |date=24 September 2007 |title=Escobar on Palestinian Refugees in Brazil |url=https://www.juancole.com/2007/09/escobar-on-palestinian-refugees-in.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007130954/https://www.juancole.com/2007/09/escobar-on-palestinian-refugees-in.html |archive-date=2008-10-07 |website=Informed Comment}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2005-07-11 |title=Arab roots grow deep in Brazil's rich melting pot |url=https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/jul/11/20050711-092503-1255r/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220073825/https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/jul/11/20050711-092503-1255r/ |archive-date=2016-12-20 |work=[[The Washington Times]] |location=[[São Paulo]]}}</ref> [[Christians]] are the majority of the Arab Brazilians.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Origem e destino dos imigrantes |trans-title=Origin and destination of the immigrants |url=http://brasil500anos.ibge.gov.br/territorio-brasileiro-e-povoamento/arabes/origem-e-destino-dos-imigrantes |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331061558/https://brasil500anos.ibge.gov.br/territorio-brasileiro-e-povoamento/arabes/origem-e-destino-dos-imigrantes |archive-date=2013-03-31 |access-date=11 April 2016 |publisher=[[Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics]] |language=pt-BR}}</ref> The first [[Syrians]] and [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]] arrived in [[São Paulo]] 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 [[São Paulo (state)|state of São Paulo]]. 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 [[Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics|IBGE]] census has not questioned the ancestry of the Brazilian people for several decades, considering that immigration to Brazil declined almost to zero 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, [[Iraqis|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]], 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 960,000 people.
== History == === Immigration to Brazil === Arab immigration to Brazil started in the 1890s as [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] and [[Syria]]n people fled the political and economic instability caused by the collapse of the [[Ottoman Empire]]; the majority were Christian but there were also many Muslims. Immigration peaked around [[World War II]].<ref name="divinity">{{cite web |title=Islam in Brazil |url=https://rlp.hds.harvard.edu/faq/islam-brazil |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311231055/https://rlp.hds.harvard.edu/faq/islam-brazil |archive-date=2016-03-11 |access-date=15 February 2018 |website=Harvard Divinity School Religious Liberty Project |publisher=[[Harvard Divinity School]]}}</ref> Arab immigrants were among the largest non-European immigrant groups to Brazil. Groups in Brazil who may have protested against the immigration of non-Europeans were less concerned, since many of the immigrants from Syria, Lebanon and [[North Africa]] were Christians. Fewer than 200,000 [[Middle East|Middle Eastern]] and Arab immigrants arrived in Brazil, who eventually dispersed in many different cities.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Meade |first=Teresa A. |author-link=Teresa Meade |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJknVaqYYm4C&pg=PA114 |title=A Brief History of Brazil |date=2014-05-14 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-0821-6 |pages=114 |language=en}}</ref>
By the 19th century, most of the immigrants arrived from Lebanon and Syria,<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Abusidu |first=Eman |date=2020-10-26 |title=The integration of the Arabs in Brazil is at the expense of their language and culture |url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201026-the-integration-of-the-arabs-in-brazil-is-at-the-expense-of-their-language-and-culture/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030174343/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201026-the-integration-of-the-arabs-in-brazil-is-at-the-expense-of-their-language-and-culture/ |archive-date=2020-10-30 |access-date=2024-07-20 |work=[[Middle East Monitor]]}}</ref> and later from other parts of the [[Arab world]]. When they were first processed in the ports of Brazil, they were counted as [[Turkish people|Turks]] because they carried passports issued by the Turkish [[Ottoman Empire]] that ruled the present day territories of [[Lebanon]] and [[Syria]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Recopilaron casi 200 años de los sirio libaneses en Argentina |trans-title=Almost 200 years of Syrian Lebanese presence in Argentina has been collected |url=http://www.elindependiente.com.ar/papel/hoy/archivo_2004/noticias_v.asp?39074 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908043743/http://www.elindependiente.com.ar/papel/hoy/archivo_2004/noticias_v.asp?39074 |archive-date=2014-09-08 |work=[[El Independiente (Colombian newspaper)|El Independiente]] |location=[[Buenos Aires]] |language=es-AR}}</ref> There were many causes for Arabs to leave their homelands in the Ottoman Empire; overpopulation in Lebanon, [[conscription]] in Lebanon and Syria, and religious persecution by the Ottoman Turks. Arab immigration to Brazil grew also after [[World War I]] and the rest of the 20th century, and concentrated in the states of [[São Paulo (state)|São Paulo]], [[Mato Grosso do Sul]], [[Minas Gerais]], [[Goiás]], and [[Rio de Janeiro]].
Most Arab immigrants in Brazil were [[Christians]], Muslims being a minority.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sousa |first=Thais |date=2020-07-22 |title=Arabs, descendants are 6% of Brazil's population: survey |url=https://anba.com.br/en/arabs-descendants-are-6-of-brazils-population-survey/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512133559/https://anba.com.br/en/arabs-descendants-are-6-of-brazils-population-survey/ |archive-date=2021-05-12 |access-date=2024-07-20 |work=Brazil-Arab News Agency |location=[[São Paulo]]}}</ref> 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]] 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 language|Portuguese]] as a first language.<ref name=":1" />
The Brazilian and Lebanese governments claim there are 7 to 10 million Brazilians of Lebanese descent.<ref name="itamaraty1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7223:lebanese-republic&catid=155&lang=en&Itemid=478 |title=Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affaires |access-date=22 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923004630/http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7223:lebanese-republic&catid=155&lang=en&Itemid=478 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="libano1">{{cite web|url=http://www.libano.org.br/olibano_geografia.htm |title=Lebanon: Geography |language=pt |work=Embassy of Lebanon in Brazil |date=1996 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529005221/http://www.libano.org.br/olibano_geografia.htm |archive-date=29 May 2008}}</ref> Also, the Brazilian government claims there are 4 million Brazilians of Syrian descent.<ref name="itamaraty1"/> However, those numbers might be an overestimate, given that an official survey conducted by the [[Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics]] (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]]).<ref name="IBGE2008">IBGE. [http://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/biblioteca-catalogo?view=detalhes&id=263405 ''IBGE: Características Étnico-Raciais da População''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120100807/http://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/biblioteca-catalogo?view=detalhes&id=263405 |date=20 January 2016 }}.</ref>
Arab immigration to Brazil, which had declined during the mid-20th century, saw new movements after 2011 related to the Syrian Civil War. In 2013, the National Committee for Refugees (CONARE) issued Normative Resolution No. 17, which established a legal framework to facilitate visas for individuals affected by the conflict in Syria for humanitarian reasons. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Itamaraty), this resolution allowed for the "flexibilization of requirements regularly demanded for the issuance of visas."[https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/canais_atendimento/imprensa/notas-a-imprensa/siria-contribuicoes-humanitarias-do-brasil]
This period also involved financial allocations from the Brazilian government toward international humanitarian efforts. Official records indicate that approximately $1.8 million was provided through agencies such as UNHCR and the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF-OCHA) to address the humanitarian situation. In the years following these measures, individuals arriving under this framework established a presence in several urban centers, including São Paulo and Curitiba.
== Arabic influence in Brazil == [[File:Beirute sande.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Beirute, an Arab-Brazilian sandwich.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mundoestranho.abril.com.br/materia/como-surgiram-os-sanduiches-beirute-americano-e-cheeseburger |title=Como surgiram os sanduíches beirute, americano e cheeseburger? |language=pt |publisher=Mundoestranho.abril.com.br |date=16 May 2011 |access-date=26 December 2015}}</ref>]] Arab immigration has influenced many aspects of [[Culture of Brazil|Brazil's culture]] – besides and beyond the Arabic influence inherited via Portugal, as, for instance, some Portuguese words of Arabic origin.
In many cities across the country, it is easy to find restaurants that cook Arab food; and Arab dishes, such as [[sfiha]]s (Portuguese ''esfirra''), [[tabbouleh]] (Portuguese ''tabule''), [[kibbeh]] (Portuguese ''quibe''), [[hummus]], [[tahina (food)|tahina]] and [[halwa]] 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.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} 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.<ref name="Karam2008">{{cite book|author=John Tofik Karam|title=Another Arabesque: Syrian-Lebanese Ethnicity in Neoliberal Brazil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N5n6C_6c4goC&pg=PA44|access-date=26 December 2015|year=2008|publisher=Temple University Press|location=Philadelphia|isbn=978-1-59213-541-7|page=44}}</ref>
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 [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] speakers.<ref name=":1" />
Many important [[Demography of Brazil|Brazilians]] are of Arab descent, including important [[politician]]s such as [[Paulo Maluf]], [[Geraldo Alckmin]], [[Gilberto Kassab]], former [[President of Brazil|President]] [[Michel Temer]], [[José Maria Alkmin]], artists, writers (for instance [[Raduan Nassar]]) and [[Model (person)|models]].
==Notable Arab Brazilians== {{Unreferenced section|date=May 2018}} *[[Adib Domingos Jatene]], physician *[[Amyr Klink]], sailor *[[Antônio Houaiss]], writer and philologist *[[Arnaldo Jabor]], film director, screenwriter and producer *[[Alfredo Saad-Filho]], economist *[[Tania Khalill]], actress *[[Fernando Haddad]], politician and former mayor of [[São Paulo]] *[[Branco (footballer)|Branco]], [[football (soccer)|football]] world champion *[[Carlos Ghosn]], businessman (former CEO of [[Renault]] and [[Nissan]]) *[[Bruna Abdullah]], Hindi and Tamil language film actress *[[Alberto Dualib]], businessman *[[Beatriz Haddad Maia]], tennis player *[[Rafael Leitão]], Brazilian chess grandmaster *[[Guilherme Afif Domingos]], politician *[[Paulo Maluf]], politician and former governor of [[São Paulo]] *[[Geraldo Alckmin]], current [[Vice President of Brazil]] and former [[Governor of São Paulo]] *[[Gilberto Kassab]], politician and former mayor of [[São Paulo]] *[[João Bosco]], musician *[[José Maria Alkmin]], politician, former [[Vice-President of Brazil]] under [[Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco|Castelo Branco]] *[[Juliana Paes]], actress *[[Grag Queen]], singer, drag queen, [[Queen of the Universe (season 1)|Queen of the Universe]] winner, and host of ''[[Drag Race Brasil]]'' *[[Luciana Gimenez|Luciana Gimenez Morad]], model and TV entertainer *[[Malu Mader]], actress *[[Marcelle Bittar]], model *[[Mário Zagallo]], [[football (soccer)|football]] player and coach world champion *[[Michel Temer]], politician, former [[President of Brazil]] *[[Beto Carrero]], entertainer, creator of the [[Beto Carrero World]] Park *[[Raduan Nassar]], writer *[[Raimundo Fagner|Fagner]], singer *[[Sabrina Sato|Sabrina Sato Rahal]], model and TV entertainer *[[Leda Nagle]], journalist, writer and television presenter *[[Farid Zablith Filho]], olympic swimmer *[[Tony Kanaan]], race car driver *[[Wallid Ismail]], martial artist, World class Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, famous for choking [[Royce Gracie]] unconscious *[[Felipe Nasr]], F1 Driver. *[[Ibrahim Abi-Ackel]], politician *[[Murder of Tina Isa|Tina Isa]], [[honour killing]] and [[filicide]] victim
==See also== {{Portal|Brazil|Middle East}} *[[Asian Brazilians]] *[[Arab diaspora]] *[[Demographics of Brazil]] *[[White Latin Americans]] *[[Lebanese Brazilians]]
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
{{Arab diaspora}} {{Ancestry and ethnicity in Brazil}}
[[Category:Arab diaspora in Brazil|Arab Brazilian]] [[Category:Brazilian people of Arab descent| ]] [[Category:Ethnic groups in Brazil]] [[Category:Arab diaspora in South America]]