Christians range from a huge minority in Lebanon to being non-existent in the Arabian peninsula. In those nations with Arab Christians, do they share many customs with Muslim Arabs? Many Lebanese Christian people I know of seem closer to Greek or Mediterranean Europeans than Saudis or Kuwaitis in culture. Are they openly pro-western (not necesarily pro-American but close to Europe), or do they simply keep a low profile and not make an issue of their religion.
Do many Muslim Arabs see Christian Arabs as un-Arab, or an affront to their religion - or does ethnic identity cross sectarian lines. I do know Lebanon had a very nasty civil war - but I believe it was far more complex than a simple Christian versus Muslim conflict - Shi’ite Muslims, Druses, and Palestinian refugees were also factions.
I recently heard a reporter toss off that Tariq Aziz was Saddam Hussein’s “Token Christian” in government. I don’t know if that is true at all, but do most Arab governments where there are Christians take in account the Christian minority? Are Christian Iraqis a separate constituency of sorts?
Well, the part about Tariq Aziz’s religion, at least, is true. Of course, assuming media reports are correct, Mr. Aziz is as much a Christian as Saddam Hussein is a Muslim, which is to say not very much of one at all.
Having never visited the Middle East, I can’t answer the rest of your questions. Sorry. Perhaps after Spring Break is over I can ask some of the Arabs I go to school with.
Many Lebanese Muslims are closer to Greek or Mediterranean Europeans than Saudis or Kuwaitis in culture :D.
Lebanese Christians ( and it must be noted that there are different Christian groups in Lebanon, the Maronites are numerically dominant, but there also a fair number of Greek Orthodox and even some Armenians I believe ) were at one time the majority, due to the fact that Lebanon was artificially created by France specifically for that task. As such they dominated the culture and tended to be fairly prosperous, western-oriented, and sophisticated. More European or Francophone in outlook, you might say, as the Maronites tended to look to Europe for inspiration ( not always with charming results - the right-wing Phalange militia got their inspiration from Franco’s Falange ). In contrast the Shi’ites in the south were poor peasant farmers and were the traditional downtrodden ( of course now they are the numerically dominant group ). However the urbanized Lebanese Sunni community was also fairly sophisticated in many respects and many were rather more similar to the Maronites culturally, than the Shi’a Muslims. It’s less religion, than class.
While some Christian groups in Lebanon for example have put forth fanciful notions that they are descended from the Phoenicians and therefore distinct from Muslim Arabs, that’s just a bunch of bullcrap. Muslim Arabs in Lebanon or Egypt or most places are usually pretty much descended from the exact same people as their Christian neighbors - Their ancestors just converted at some point.
Varies too widely to make a definitive statement. Palestinian Christians are mostly ferociously anti-Israel and thus less inclined to be pro-western. Whereas the afore-mentioned Maronites do tend to have closer ties to the west.
I don’t think any Muslim Arabs consider Christian Arabs, un-Arab. Arab is a linguistic identity, not necessarily a cultural one and depending how define ethnicity, not necessarily even an ethnic one, either ( i.e. the the Ma’dan in the marshes of southern Iraq are Shi’ite Arabs, but are quite culturally distinct from the vast majority of Iraq’s Shi’ite Arab population ). In the broadest sense if you speak Arabic as your first language, you’re an Arab.
However tolerance, again, varies widely. Again, traditionally Christian and Muslim Palestinians have been pretty closely aligned. However the recent rise of fundamentalist Islamism in certain radicalized sections of the Palestinian population has created tensions.
Complex, yes. As with many of these conflicts, religion was often incidental to tribal, class and power-politic conflicts.
Varies widely. Lebanon had ( probably still has, I haven’t checked lately ) a complex quota of who gets what office based on religious demography. Other countries have no particular rules. For instance Egypt’s former Foreign Minister ( I think that was his title ) and later Secretary-General of thne U.N., Boutros-boutros Gali, was a Copt .
In Iraq, as I mentioned in another thread, Christians make up 3-5 % ( perhaps a bit more ) of the population and the great majority are Assyrians, who consider themselves a separate ethnic group from Arabs ( though I think only a minority speak Syriac as their primary language anymore ). They have had a very troubled history with not only the government, but also with other groups like the Kurds.
So much of the view depends on the place. There is no one monolithic “Arab view”:
There are 10-12 Million Copts in Egypt. They face various levels of discrimination and violence by fundamentalists. The Government officially recognizes and protects them in a half-assed manner.
There are about 7 Million Christians in Sudan. Though they live in an Arab Country these Xtains are not typically ethnic Arabs & have a long bloody civil war with their Arab countrymen.
There are about a million and a half Xtians in Syria including ethnic Aramaics, Armenians, Melkites and Orthodox. AFAIK they get no special harassment from the regime based on religion.
Tamerlane is right about the Chaledean Catholics in Iraq --I’d add to the OP Q: they are mostly in the North. Saddam used them as a catspaw vs. the Kurds but also made sure they grew no separate political leadership.
There are circa 130K Arab XTians in Israel. They are treated like other Arabs in the country
As for Lebanon one point not already covered is the ‘Diaspora’. For a number of reasons (among them: the civil war, politics, colonialism, better educational chances & better understanding of the West) There are circa 6 million Lebanese Xtians, since the mid-80’s the majority of Leb.Xtians, who no longer live in Lebanon. This tends to give the entire group an ex-patriate’s scent (e.g. Foreign influence/resources with the resentments that stirs).