Arab Americans

By jamisonking

  • Wahab Family on Ocracoke Island, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina

    The first Wahab was an emissary of a “King of Arabia” who was sent to establish Islam in the New World. He was shipwrecked at the coast of Ocracoke with a load of Arabian horses. Even today, some wild horses run in various sections of the island. James Wahab purchased land on colonial Ocracoke and established a Wahab village

  • Hadj Philip Tedro

    Hadj Philip Tedro was a Lebanese Christian hired to work on the Camel Driver Experiment, a project attempting to establish transportation routes cross the desert between Texas and California to support the population moving West during the Gold Rush.

  • Ahmad Bin Na’man

    Ambassador of Sultan Sayyed Said, the ruler of Muscat (Oman) and Zanzibar. He landed in New York City harbor aboard the ship “Sultanah,” and the luxury of the expedition caused a sensation among New Yorkers

  • First wave of immigrants

    They were mostly Christians from Greater Syria (present-day Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Jordan and Syria), who came to flee the economic hardships they were facing as a result of decline in the silk industry, which had been the basis of their economy.

  • second wave - Arab Immigration to America from 1945 to modern times:

    The next wave of Arab immigration to America came from all parts of the Arab world, including North Africa. They were increasingly Muslims, were relatively well-off, highly educated professionals, engineers and doctors. They immigrated because of regional conflicts, such as the creation of Israel and its impact on the surrounding region, civil wars (Lebanon), and political or economic harassment.

  • Creation of an Arab-American Category:

    These Arab Americans are a more confident and established group who today seeks to unite the Arab-American community with less regard for country and regional orientation. They are politically active, vocal about their opinions, and more publicly engaged with their dual cultures and dual identity. They proudly assert their right to be both Arab and American.