Map on Monday: SUNNI ARAB STATES

LINGUISTIC AND COMMUNAL LOYALTIES OF THE MIDEAST AND CENTRAL ASIA: A THREE-PART SERIES ON THE ARABS, PERSIANS, AND TURKS

PART I: THE ARAB STATES

by A. Joseph Lynch

The map above depicts the Arab world in terms of language rather than ethnicity or in terms of the Sunni-Shia division of Islam. While the term "Arab world" is often haphazardly used to connote the entire Islamic world, defining the actual geographic limits of the Arab world is difficult to determine. The nations of the Mashriq ("the place of sunshine"), or Islamic lands between the Mediterranean and Persia, may be Arab ethnically and linguistically but they are not all Sunni Arab states. Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Bahrain and Lebanon all boast either Shia majorities or large minorities. Given the recent turmoil in the region we may consider the following list as the Sunni Arab states of the Mashriq: Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Saudi Arabia.

The nations of the Maghreb ("where the sun sets") are considered "Arab" states despite their Berber ethnic ancestry. The Arabic language and Sunni Islamic faith, combined with its history in the first century of Islamic expansion between AD 632-732, roots the Maghreb firmly in the Arab world.
Sharing in a strong regional identity, the states of the Maghreb forged the Arab Maghreb Union in February 1989 (Algeria: 39 million pop.; Libya: 7 m; Mauritania: 3 m; Morocco: 32 m; Tunisia: 11 m.)  Although there are rivalries and conflicts within the union, particularly over the fate of Western Sahara (part of Morocco or an independent state?), the AMU boasts a collective population of 88.5 million, and significant amounts of phosphate, oil, and gas. Its geographic location near western Europe and past relationship to the former French colonial empire makes it an important connector to mainland Europe.

With a population of 86 million, Egypt is by far the largest Sunni Arab state (Algeria by comparison ranks #2 at a population of 38.7 million, less than half that of Egypt). Although it is geographically in the Maghreb, its cultural and history tie it more closely to the Mashriq. Rather than being identified with either half, however, Egypt is treated as the center or heart of the Sunni Arab world. It is for this reason that the Arab League - the regional organization of Arab states - is headquartered in Cairo.

MEMBER NATIONS OF THE ARAB LEAGUE

The Arab League was founded on March 22, 1945; it has grown steadily over the decades to include twenty-two member states (Syria, however, has been suspended since November 2011). The total population of the Arab League member states stands at about 366 million. Although the League has no official military body, its leaders in 2007 reactivated a joint defense and peacekeeping force (the former Arab Liberation Army) which had been dissolved since the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. This force includes over 3 million active duty men and another 2.2 million in reserve. While it is highly unlikely that this pan-Arab military force would be brought to bear as a unified whole, ten Sunni Arab nations of the Arab League have begun military operations in Yemen -- not against the Sunni Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula but, rather, against Shiite Muslims.

It is to these Shiites and to the Persian civilization that we shall turn in part two of this series.

See also our previous Map on Monday posts on the following nations comprised largely of Arab, Sunni Muslims: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria.

This article first appeared on Anthropology of Accord on April 27, 2015