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Arab Uruguayans

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arab Uruguayans
Uruguayo árabe
عرب أوروغواي
Total population
over 50,000 descendants (2% of total population)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Montevideo, Chuy
Languages
Uruguayan Spanish, Arabic
Religion
Christians (majority) and Islam (minority)

Arab Uruguayans (Arabic: عرب أوروغواي) are residents or citizens of Uruguay of Arab ethnicity, whose ancestry predominantly traces back to any of various waves of immigrants from the Arab world, especially Lebanon and Syria.

Overview

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Arab Uruguayans originated mainly from what is now Lebanon (of which there may be over 50,000 descendants[1][2]); a notable trend was immigration during Ottoman times; for this reason, Arab Uruguayans are traditionally (and wrongly) denominated "turcos" (Turks). There are also individuals from other Arab countries such as Egypt, Syria, Morocco and Palestine.

Most Uruguayans of Arabic descent are Christians (Maronites), with some Muslim minorities.[1] There was also a small influx of Arab Jews, who have since lost their Arab cultural identity.

Arab Uruguayans are among the smallest Arab diaspora groups in the world. There are some 500 Arab-speaking people in the border towns of Chuy and Rivera.[1]

Lately there are two noticeable trends:

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Arocena, Felipe (September 2009). "La contribución de los inmigrantes en Uruguay" [The contribution of immigrants in Uruguay] (PDF). Papeles del CEIC (in Spanish). 2009/2 (47). University of the Basque Country. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  2. ^ Renzo Pi Hugarte. "La asimilación cultural de los siriolibaneses y sus descendientes en Uruguay" (PDF). Retrieved 2 February 2015. (in Spanish)
  3. ^ "Uruguayan-Arab Chamber". Archived from the original on 2018-11-29. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
  4. ^ "Alberto Abdala's official files" (PDF). AGN. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2017. (in Spanish)
  5. ^ Interview with Christian Mirza