I have seen a lot of pro-Palestine protesters in all over Latin America in recent years, so i am wondering if Arabs aren’t viewed negatively in Latin America like how we are viewed in the US and Europe.
I have seen a lot of pro-Palestine protesters in all over Latin America in recent years, so i am wondering if Arabs aren’t viewed negatively in Latin America like how we are viewed in the US and Europe.
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lebanese people are viewed positively they are model minorities in LATAM but the rest of arabs aren’t
There are a lot of Arab Latin Americans. They are often part of the upper middle class.
arab christians are positively viewed, we received quite a bit of them
I love Arab culture, food, and people. I see a lot of similarities between Mexican and lots of Arab cultures, specifically Lebanese
In Brazil there are millions of Lebanese and they are often wealthy and accomplished politicians, although some quite corrupt, but at the local average.
They are nice and bring amazing food with them. Most are rich people that came here a long time ago (there are Syrian-Lebanese clubs in every large city), but there are many recent refugees too. Usually they come and open some shop or restaurant, and we thank them. Very polite people. Our current Minister of Economy is the son of Arab immigrants, we had a president also with the same origin, so they are all over Brazil.
Edit: we don’t fall for every American or European fancy, thankfully, so not much prejudice around here. And our country recognised Palestine and voted for the creation if Israel, so that’s a moot point. We mostly support the two-state thing and hate what the current Israeli government is doing there.
Many Latin Americans are unaware of the difference between Latin Americans of Arab ancestry and Immigrant Muslims that don’t integrate into society.
Venezuela received like a million or more of Arab inmigrants at one point, they were well-received and were big enough in numbers for our street food and culture to be influenced (I love shawarma).
Many or most of them came from an upper-class background.
Neither Arabs not Latin Americans are a monolith. I’d avoid anyone who had any kind of generalised opinion about either.
They gave us Al pastor tacos so I like them
Arab immigrants are very well received and welcome in Brazil, a situation in Syria a few years ago and now in Palestine. Right-wing politicians say they are in favor of Israel because they are evangelicals, but the majority of the population thinks the genocide against the Palestinian people is absurd
Mostly with the eyes.
generally pretty well? There is a lot of syrian-lebanese influence in São Paulo particularly, and arab food is quite popular in the cosmopolitan areas of Brazil. However, most of these were either christians all along, or kind of went away from practicing islam with the passage of time. There is a big and famous mosque in Foz do Iguaçu – PR, however, and in general people are more indiffrent to islam than in europe/NA because Brazil doesn’t really have a history of islamic terrorism.
Own European football club, is called sheikh
Has 5 wives dressed like Jasmine from Aladdin or Niqab, long beard
Blows themselves up
You can see its a balance of gulf monarchies and the rest of the middle east for the average person.
Many of the people who like to talk about Palestine do not speak or know of the rest of the Arah nations or muslim world, they will say its bad women need to cover up if it comes up but they are not seeking to talk about it either.
I’ll go ahead and say I probably haven’t been exposed to the most charitable side of Arab culture so I may not exactly have a positive bias, but, that doesn’t mean it’s OK to do ethnic cleansing against Palestinians – that would be a crazy thing to condone
The stereotype of westerner countries has reached here even if most arabs in Latin america are de nationalized and integrated. And LATAM countries have not seen any real immigration in the last few generations
Islam is viewed negatively but Arabs here are mostly christians and we don’t think it’s fair whats going on
They are well off and assimilated but the ones that came to Latin America were mostly Christians.
What Arabs? Arabs from the whole Middle East or third/fourth generation Arabs whose ancestors migrated to Latin America?
The caribbean region of Colombia received a lot of arab immigrants and they shaped part of our culture, best example of this is Shakira. Of course you’ll see the stereotypes and jokes that Arabs face all over the world, but you’ll see lots of Arab names and last names here.
Being against genocide is simply the right thing to do. I feel like being pro-Palestine is treated as a left wing ideology therefore the Colombian right love to be against our president in that aspect just for the sake of being against him.
They’re usually businessmen & politicians, some of the most powerful families here are from Lebanese & Palestine descent.
But these families have fully integrated into our society, so I can’t really say I see them as I would see someone from Palestine today if that makes sense, like to me they’re just as Honduran as me.
I don’t think they’re viewed as negatively as in other places, but our situation is very different immigration wise as it is in EU.
We do dis
I cannot speak for all Brazilians, as we are a country with a huge population with many different points of view. I can comment my point of view.
I particularly see the Arabs as a conservative and religious people, who are cousins of the Jews and children of Abraham. I see the Arabs as a people who have their good and bad sides like any other people. It’s true that for a long time I consumed a lot of North American propaganda about Islamic extremism, etc., leading me to think that the Arabs were a people who still lived with the same outdated ideals from centuries ago, but nowadays, I consider this to be nonsense, because the same also happens with Christians. I personally consider Arabs to be more conservative than Christians, which leads them to be more closed-minded when it comes to social changes. In my opinion, the Arabs are a people who need to be better understood by Western society, and who also need to resolve many internal and religious problems to prevent a small portion of the population from having radical ideas, and thus not affect others as a whole.
In the case of the Palestinians, as you mentioned. I think it’s a problem that has no solution, because the more we try to solve it, the more the problem grows, and the good portion of the population on both sides, which is the majority, just suffers because of it.
Here are view as Europpean. People dont discriminate them like in Europe.All are highclass and tend to be part of the economic Elite
In Argentina we have a lot of Arab communities but it’s mostly from older generations and really integrated. Arab food it’s a classic in Buenos Aires. We even probably have more Arab restaurants that Mexican o Brazilian… I myself I’m an Arab descendant from Egypt and Palestine but from 1940 long before this nonsense genocide and islamophobia. Also most Arab descendant friends are actually from catholic families o atheist
With our eyes
Jokes aside I’ve never seen anyone having any problems with them
Besides what have been said about Lebanese arabs (we indeed love Kibbeh (also Shakira wooh!!))
I would say our perspective change on the context.
Religiously we view it as more radical probably because religious differences and probably influenced by american media but generally i would say we view them just like people as diverse as in our countries.
Some rich, some poor, some good, some with devious government, etc.
edit: poor inglish
Lebanese people are widely respected. Specially Christian Arabs. Also Muslim Lebanese have always contributed a lot to Latin America. It’s the new generations that have more “radical views” but not the ones who born in LATAM
We don’t have a ton but what we do have are Christian and they integrate really well, so they are of course welcomed. But if Muslims want to come and impose sharia law and refuse to adapt to our way of life, then no they will not be welcome.
Arabs aren’t viewed negatively around here.
I’ve never met any arabs personally, but arab food is quite popular and delicious
Aside from the millions of people in Arab-Latin communities, there’s the fact that all of us in Latin America are descendants of Spanish Arabs, since a substantial, massive number of the earlier waves of colonists were from Andalucía and elsewhere in Southern Spain, which in turn, though they were forced to convert, brough their own cultural heritage and it became part of Latin America’s culture at large. Like Mo Amer said in his TV show to his Latina girlfriend “take a DNA test and you have a grandma’s worth of Arab”. And though that cultural strain would’ve been suppressed by the colonial white(r), Hispanic elites, it endured and we acknowledge those deep cultural links.Just a tiny example: Have you noticed how some reggaeton singers will sing with affectations very similar to cantejondo?
Our current president is of Lebanese descent. In the Dominican Republic we received a lot of immigration from Lebanon who happened to be Christians, they integrated very well into the Dominican society, so they are just like any other Dominican just tend to have arab features or slightly lighter complexion than the average Dominican.
Objectively, we are descendants of Arabs. Most of the initial European migration to the Americas was from Andalusia, at a time in which it had JUST been conquered by the Castillians.
We even have a great fusion of Arab-Venezuelan food. There are so many Lebanese and Arab people in Venezuela and honestly, I don’t have anything negative to say about them. They are hard working people and blend well with Venezuelan culture. Love them.
It depends, American propaganda runs deep, but day to day experience is normally good.
I saw more cultural issues in Europa than in Latinoamerica.
Like always, generalizing a whole group of people gets you nowhere.
Most of them that emigrate are christians, that’s what I heard
Catholic/Christian arabs were and are welcomed here, it depends in the case of muslim arabs because their religion is not viewed favorably by the general population, but I have no doubt most of them are good people.
Shawarma
A lot of Arabs that came to Latam are Christians-Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian Christians.
Tbh, they fit in very easily.
In Brazil they fit well and nobody will care that you are Arab because millions are integrated also Brasil had presidents with Arab background , it’s a non factor
Chile has the largest Palestinian diaspora outside of the Middle East, and they are viewed very positively.
The vast majority that came were Christian, and there is more Christian Palestinians in Chile than there are anywhere else in the world.
They have been around for ages — the earliest migrants came in the mid 1850s! 🇵🇸
This thread seems to overall convey a message of positivity towards Arabs in LATAM when (at least in Brazil) that is NOT the case, Lebanese Brazilians aren’t seen as “model minorities”, we are seen as Brazilian because we have at this point fully integrated, kibbeh eating is common etc. But the average Muslim from the middle east is viewed by most Brazilians as the stereotype of a terrorist in white robes, people genuinely feel scared around women with hijabs and such.
In Regards to the Israel-Palestine conflict I feel like the average Brazilian does not care at all, maybe some slight support to Palestine or Israel depending on if they are center left or centre right, but you will see Israeli flags in Bolsonaro related events and Palestine flags in leftists related events, it’s something that concerns more the extremes of our politics, I’ve even heard irl that the concern for Palestine our left has undermines Brazilian related issues because it’s “the adoption of an overseas issue we have nothing to do with”
TLDR: Are Arabs viewed positively? No, are Assimilated/Christian Arabs viewed positively? Well… No, because there’s no significant difference between them and the average Brazilian
We make them presidents (Menem had syrian parents and he was raised muslim, he later converted to catholicism to be able to be president).
jesus ok dont kill me but ir varies from good neighbor to boom people to put it lightly
All I know is i don’t want islam in latin America. Idk if it’s not PC to say so but after looking into the beliefs of this religion I hope to God that it never takes root in LA
Quite positevely. Arabs have a reputation of being business-minded, serious people (maybe too serious) who don’t cause troubles. Like a lot of “model minorities,” they give the impression of being wealthy because people don’t understand that a family business isn’t necessarily run like a coop and most don’t get paid their fare share
Lebanese Arabs are cool, specifically the Christian/ Catholic ones. The rest are not viewed as positively.
When over here, I don’t know that much. I just regret that I can’t in good conscience go to places like Dubai due to how their laws over there are, regarding equality.
My city has a lot of arabs. Cool people with pernaps the best food
Generally very well regarded. You should be mindful that we don’t have a representative sample of Arabs. The majority of the Arabs in Latam are Christians or Druze, while Muslims are almost completely nonexistent here.
With that in mind, they tend to be model minorities in our countries, with many millionaires, politicians (lots of Latam presidents of Arab descent!) and celebrities.
I’d say there’s always going to be some degree of local resentment toward immigration in any country and Mexico was no exception. While Mexico was relatively open to Middle Eastern immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there were eventually discussions about limiting immigration from Middle Eastern and Asian countries. Those restrictions, however, never fully materialized at a national level.
Back then, Arab immigrants often faced stereotypes of being opportunistic or engaging in shady business practices. You could compare it to the tension some people feel today toward Chinese merchants in areas like Mexico City’s Centro Histórico . They are paying well above market rent, months in advance, operating cash only businesses to avoid paying taxes, and sometimes using unregulated commercial spaces. That said, while there have been isolated reports of other illegal activities like drugs and human trafficking, it would be unfair to generalize.
In countries like El Salvador, during the early waves of Middle Eastern immigration, there were laws that specifically restricted them from owning businesses.
As for your question about ProPalestine sentiment in Latin America it’s less about ethnicity and more connected to shared histories of colonization, foreign intervention, and the struggle for sovereignty and independence. Most people in Latin America tend to view each other as part of the same regional identity, regardless of ethnicity.
A good example of this is Ibrahim Salem, he was born in Palestine raised in Colombia and I think now lives in Mexico. While he looks Middle Eastern, everything about his humor, mannerisms, and identity is Latino. Showing how people in Latin America often embrace and absorb different backgrounds into a shared cultural space.
We have a lot of people of Lebanese descent, and a lot of our culture has Arab influence, either from recent migrants or through Spain from when they were under Arab rule. Personally, I feel that they have been unfairly maligned by western media. They wanted an “other” to pit people against once they saw the Soviets crumble, so they were a convenient enemy.
It’s funny how you hear people say horrible things about Arabs and where they come from, but anytime you speak to someone that’s been Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan or Palestine, they always come back expressing how warm and friendly they are. The Gulf and North African countries seem less friendly, tbh.
I understand very well what it means to have your entire country and culture smeared over some bad apples who are put under the microscope because idiots need someone to be angry at. I hope with time, Mexico learns to reach out more to your region.
Idk never met one they are just Mexicans and don’t care about race or religion just like many other Mexicans who don’t care about race or religion only Mexican Americans for some reason
arabs are viewed positively in argentina (we had an arab descendant president, menem), muslims on the other hand, perhaps not so much.
Latin Americans are too concerned about bringing money to the house to give a fak about others beliefs. I was taught to respect others and I do. Plus them shawarmas are delicious.
Most that came over were Maronites/Orthodox/etc christians and integrated quickly. They are seen as industrious, and many are business owners. They do have a certain reputation around here for being closed off from the general population, with many families strongly preferring their kids marry other Lebanese descendants. There is even a private social club called “Club Palestino-Libanés” where in practice only Lebanese/middle eastern families are accepted as members (I say in practice because I’m pretty sure they can’t legally bar any other groups from entering).
At least in Monterrey Libanés and Árabe are used pretty much interchangeably.
The very few muslim immigrants I’ve met have all mostly integrated into existing mexican-lebanese communities. For example a friend of mine’s father is a Lebanese Muslim who came over in the 90’s and married his mother, a Lebanese-Mexican catholic woman. As far as I can tell no real discrimination has been directed towards them, other than ocasional jokes (Eres terrorista etc), which are very normal in Mexican social interactions and are never said by anyone outside close friends.
Like many coments say, there is a large Arab diaspora in my city, many of them are important politicians, so they aren’t bad regarded… but the pro-palestinian protestors… to be honest, I think that’s more related to the fact that wokes in Latam just copy whatever is trendy in the US. Most people don’t realy care that much about wars in the middle east
My personal view is that if they are Muslim, that means that their view of the world is pretty sick and backwards compared to any other religion
The chavas love Bukele despite being total dog shit.
the tacos al pastor are descendants of kebabs… I’d say we have in Mexico an eternal gratitude with the Arab world
Argentina had one of the largest siryan-lebanese immigration waves in South America so their descendants have been contributing to the country’s culture for at least two centuries and some of them are influential or belong to the political and economic elite (Menem and Awada families).
The way people view middle east and arabs in general is pretty ignorant (according to what I’ve heard). ME is seen as a distant región where there’s constant war and religious fanatism because those have been the news that people get to see in mainstream media. Middle class, people with university degrees or geography nerds are the ones that might have an informed opinion.
What I’ve noticed in the last few years is that young men/teens online are having pretty islamophobic opinions and 100% sure that those ideas are learnt from american/european influencers or social media circles.
Well I don’t know if this counts but I’m a Latino who actually speaks a little bit of Arabic because I went to Morocco and just decided to learn the language the last 5 years. I specialize in the Levantine dialect. Learning Arabic can be really stressful at times because I have experienced discrimination and just perplexity about why I’m learning the language from native speaker s. However, I’ve been trying to have a more positive attitude about the language and I have noticed some changes with some of my interactions.
I actually think high key Arab women are beautiful from all over the Middle East but wow they are so hard to date because of tribalism as well as their interpretation of Islam is not very pleasant in my experience.
Out of all the Asians I think South Asians and Arabs are most similar to Latinos. I have met some Spanish speaking Arabs who have no connection to Latin America nor Spain.
There are losts of people who has a negative view on them here. Just that reddit censors them.
I dont like them at all
Like Shakira Shakira?
Your question is kinda broad, but if the gist is “are muslim arabs discriminated against in Latin America”, then the answer is gonna vary a lot by country or even by region. But in general the discriminations is likely less than what the same person would probably run into in Europe or the US, well especially the US now. There are a lot of latinos with with arab descent, and skin color is generally less a factor in discrimination.
i’m from lebanese descent
can’t really speak for other LATAM countries, but as for Brazil, arab people are mostly viewed as white (especially since most people from arab descent here don’t have the same facial traits as the “steriotypical arab”), so no real segregation of any sort (though the jewish community don’t really vibe with us that much, but only if they hear your surname, but not in a hateful way tbh, just an initial distrust, from my experience)
the arab community in Brazil is not very close with each other nowadays, or even has that many roots with the country of origin, but if you’re of arab descent and learn that someone has an arab surname, you kinda go “oh, okay, i think i can trust this mate”
in general, arabs are seen in a simmilar way as the jewish, as “business owners”, entrepreneurs and stuff, but with the added bonus of being involved in politics (Temer was president, but we also have Haddad, Maluf, Alkmin, and many, MANY others, more than you can imagine)
Arabs are liked in the United States, but often live in upper middle or elite class lifestyles.
Here in Paraguay we’re like “Fuck Palestine”
In Haiti they are the super upper classe wealthy Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinians. The richest man who controls Haiti is Haitian Syrian Jew Gilbert Bigio and he pays all the gangs. And the biggest haitian band is Haitian Lebanese T-Vice
Same in Dominican Republic the president is arab and in El Salvador
I’ve meet many Arabs. Palestinians and Iraquis are my favorite!
I can only speak for Argentina. We received a large amount of Syrian-Lebanese immigrants, mainly Christians. Since they came here when the Ottomans controlled the Levant, they are generally nicknamed “turcos” (Turks), and not as a slur by the way.
We had a Muslim president in the 90s from this community, Carlos Menem, who died a few years ago after evading the law for numerous crimes thanks to his position as a Senator, which gave him a special legal immunity.
When it comes to the Israeli-Palestine conflict, there’s not a clear support for any of the two sides, because as big as our Levantine community may be, we also have one of the largest Jewish communities in the world (the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and the second largest in the Americas, after the USA). Our current government is pro-Israel.
i like some of their culture, cuisine and aesthetics, but it’s hard to be 100% on the positive side when people from my religion gets persecuted so hard in the Middle East
They’re very well integrated in Argentina because we had a huge influx of Arabs immigrants like last century or so and I haven’t heard anything bad about them, the only negative opinions I hear come from ignorant people on twitter, they don’t even know their own history tbh. I still haven’t tried shawarma tho but one day!
I’ve never seen anyone having any problems with you guys. I don’t see you negatively. I guess people can get confused about muslims and arabs and maybe we have some opinion if you talk about “taleban” or “being xiita” (by the way, in Brazil, it’s a way to call out somebody’s extremism “oh, he’s such a xiita on that topic”). And that’s it.
I mean, they’re the owners of Central America, so we think of them as rich dudes. Very, very rich dudes.
Not sure but you can ask Salvadoreños. Their president is one.
Unfortunately, it generally depends on religion and skin colour. Lebanese are considered to be the role model.