The Original Black African Arabs of Arabia (Part 1)
By:
Ogu Eji-Ofo Annu
“If one understood Arab Culture it is immediately apparent that Blackness is highly cherished conceptually and in reality. In Arab culture the best camel is the black one the best Fig is the blackest, the best eyes are black, the best olives are black, the most beautiful rock is the Black Kaaba. Any Bedouin Arab that is asked his color, would undoubtedly respond Asmar or Aswad which means Black/Brown. No Arab ever describes himself as Bidan which means White. ”
Who are the Arabs:
In today’s world, one is seducively led by the racist western media to believe that the Arabs of Arabia and Africa represent a peculiar phenotype with all other non-conforming types being somewhat alien to that concept. In this way they impose a certain central Asian phenotype as the “racial Arab” and the almost ubiquitous Black Arabs of the modern times as either descendants of slaves or immigrants.
In this way, they attempt to disconnect the linkage between the ancient Kushitic Black Arabs globally celebrated in antiquity (now reclassified as some “caucasoid” “semitics”) and their Kushitic African roots. This article is therefore another blow against the citadel of falsehood erected by the western intelligensia used to discourage, dis-empower dissipate and diffuse the energy of the Black nation. Again one notes and deplores the unrelenting effort by non-continental peoples to appropriate the history and the achievements of brilliant Black African luminaries as their own.
Much confusion attends the word “Arabs”, because it has not always been used with rigourous consistency. Moreover, in the wake of the global dominance of the Arab culture and Islamic political power in the between 7AD and 14 AD, the number of Arabs increased exponentially by the addition of many non Arab Arabized people, because acculturation and assimilation were delibrately fostered by state policy.
Today, the word Arabs does not strictly imply or designate any known racial category of people. It is an ethnic identification that has several aspect including liguistics, politics and genealogy. Its meaning is nuanced depending on the particular context.
As an ethnic identity, an Arab is someone who considers himself to be an Arab regardless of racial or ethnic origin. This definition encompasses many Africans, Indians, Indonesians and Chinese who describe themselves as Arabs.
Usually the first language of persons who claim to be Arab is Arabic. There are over 200 million people worldwide whose first language is Arabic. Again these peoples spread over a large portion of the globe spanning from central Africa to central Asia. More than 70% of the so-called Arabs in the world live physically in Africa.
Given that the Arabic language is a Semitic language, which forms part of the Afro-Asia language family, which originated in Africa, one can rightly view Arabic as an African language. Of the official languages of the African Union that include English, French, Spanish, Portugese, and Arabic, Arabic language is the only Afro-Asiatic language spoken. The rest are Euro-Aryan English, French, Spanish and Portugese. See Uwechia Jide; Hamito-Semitic Africa: http://www.africaresource.com/rasta/2006/04/10/hamito-semitic-africa-semites-of-africa-ii/. See also Peter T. Daniels, Origin of Semitic: https://listhost.uchicago.edu/pipermail/ane/2004-January/011842.html.
Viewed from a political perspective, someone who is a resident or citizen of a country where Arabic is an official or national language, or is a member of the Arab League or is part of the wider Arab world is an Arab. This definition would cover more than 300 million people. Under this definition, there are more Arabs in Africa than anywhere else in the universe. Most of those Arabs that live in Africa are Black Africans, from Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, Eriteria, Kenya Tanzannia, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco. Many of them trace their ancestry to Yemen.
On its formation in 1946, the Arab League defined an “Arab” as: “… a person whose language is Arabic, who lives in an Arabic speaking country, who is in sympathy with the aspirations of the Arabic speaking peoples.” The Arab League’s definition of an Arab leaves no room for any racialist twist on the meaning of Arab and Arabic. These words simply denote ethnicity. Yet again, based upon this definition, there are more Black Africans who have a legitimate claim to the Arabic ethnicity than anywhere else in the world.
According to Habib Hassan Touma (1996, p.xviii), “An ‘Arab’, in the modern sense of the word, is one who is a national of an Arab state, has command of the Arabic language, and possesses a fundamental knowledge of Arabian tradition, that is, of the manners, customs, and political and social systems of the culture.” Here again, one finds that there more Black African Arabs based on this definiton than any other regional phenotype that lays claim to that heritage.
A hadith related by Ibn Asakir in Tarak Dimashq and attributed to Islam’s prophet Muhammad states that :”Being an Arab is not because of your father or mother, but being an Arab is on account of your tongue. Whoever learns Arabic is an Arab.” Islam Today.
Genealogically, an Arab is someone who can trace his or her ancestry back to the original inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula. Different groups estimate the relative importance of these factors differently. Most people who consider themselves Arabs do so on the basis of the overlap of the political and linguistic definitions.
Since there are so many different phenotypes all considered as Arabs, the query posed and answered by this paper then is: who are the original Arabs? Were they Black or White or Black and White? It is posited here that the original Arabs were Black African Kushites from the Nile valley who had settled in southwest Asia in the Arabian Peninsula in ancient times.
They were Kushitic-Ethiopians, speakers of an African prototypical Semitic language who had left from an area falling between the regions bordered by modern day Dafur in Sudan and Asmara in Eriteria. They took their African genes, their African intelligence, their African culture, their African language and their African love and built the ancient and the modern civilization known as Arabic civilization. In the paragraphs that follow, one is gradually introduced to the original Black Kushitic Arabs. See Uwechia Jide; Hamito-Semitic Africa: http://www.africaresource.com/rasta/2006/04/10/hamito-semitic-africa-semites-of-africa-ii/. See also Peter T. Daniels, Origin of Semitic: https://listhost.uchicago.edu/pipermail/ane/2004-January/011842.html.
Black Arabs and Classical Literature
Up to a century and a half ago our information concerning Arabia was based mainly on Greek and Latin writers, such as Herodotus (Histories), Diodorus Siculus (Bibliotheca Historica), Strabo (Geography, Book XVI), Pliny, Ptolemy, and others. All those writers reported without any equivocation that Arabia was part of the ancient Kingdom of Ethiopia Kush, extending from Africa into Solomon Islands.
Later Arabic writers and geographers, such as Hamadani’s “Arabian Peninsula,” Bekri and Yaqut’s geographical and historical dictionaries, and similar works also provide extremely valuable. However, those works are to be treated with caution because they contain fabulous and legendary traditions, partly based on native popular legends and partly on Jewish and rabbinical fancies.
From the available literature and authorities, historians have broadly divided Arabs into three classes according to their different great ancestors. They are:
The original Black Arabs who were supposedly punished by destruction and deluge because, as legend has it in the book of Quran, they disobeyed their Prophets and flouted God’s instructions; they were: Ad, Thamud, Tasam, Jadeis, Imru.
The classical Black Arabs, who are believed to have descended from Yaarub ibn Yashjub ibn Ghatan and thus called Ghataniyun. They had lived in the Yemen; they included a number of tribes and sub-tribes, two of which became historically prominent viz., Himyar and Kahlan (al’arab al’ariba).
The Arabized Arabs: These tribes immigrated into Arabia from different sections of central Asia. Many of them intermarried with the desert dwelling nomadic blemmyes – the Bejas (original Bedouin Arabs) and the Somali, Kenyan and Ethiopian tribes of Africa. Their mix -blood children who adopted a mingled form of their parents cultures are known as the Arabized Arabs (al ‘arab al musta ‘riba).
Today, upon the dictates of the western intelligensia, this banch is the so-called prototypical Arabs. They are the picture boys of the white-semitic theories which seek to claim that some white or at the very least some off-white people were and remain the original and only Arabians. By employing vague and non-categorical semantics with words like “Semites,” ‘Hamites,” Ishmaelites,” “caucasiods,” the western negro-phobic intelligensia and educational establishment seek to erase every trace of black Africa from Arabia.
Nonetheless, if one understood Arab culture it is immediately apparent that Blackness is highly cherished conceptually and in reality. In Arab culture the best camel is the black one the best fig is the blackest, the best eyes are black, the best olives are black, the most beautiful rock is the Black Kaaba. Any Bedouin Arab that is asked his color, would undoubtedly respond Asmar or Aswad which means Black/Brown. No Arab ever describes himself as Bidan which means White because they all understand instinctively if not consciously that Africa is their root.
The Black Arabs as described in “Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews”:
Josephus was a soldier, priest and scholar who was born in 37 AD. His written works are seminal in western history and for many centuries were some of the most widely read and influential books of the western civilization. In the paragraphs that immediately follow, excerpts of Josephus’ commentary on the Arabs and near easterners who were contemporary to his period are reproduced. See The Catholich Encyclopadia http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08522a.htm.
According to Josephus:
“The children of Ham (note: Ham is the archetypal ancestor Black people according to Hebrew, Arabic and Jewish legends) possessed the land from Syria and Amanus (modern Jordan), and the mountains of Libanus (modern Lebanon); seizing upon all that was on its sea-coasts, and as far as the ocean, and keeping it as their own.
Some indeed of its names are utterly vanished away; others of them being changed, and another sound given them, are hardly to be discovered; yet a few there are which have kept their denominations entire. For of the four sons of Ham, time has not at all hurt the name of Chus; for the Ethiopians, over whom he reigned, are even at this day, both by themselves and by all men in Asia, called Chusites. The memory also of the Mesraites is preserved in their name; for all we who inhabit this country [of Judea] called Egypt Mestre, and the Egyptians Mestreans.
Phut also was the founder of Libya, and called the inhabitants Phutites, from himself: there is also a river in the country of Moors which bears that name; whence it is that we may see the greatest part of the Grecian historiographers mention that river and the adjoining country by the apellation of Phut: but the name it has now has been by change given it from one of the sons of Mesraim, who was called Lybyos. We will inform you presently what has been the occasion why it has been called Africa also.
Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, inhabited the country now called Judea, and called it from his own name Canaan. The children of these [four] were these: Sabas, who founded the Sabeans (Editor’s note: the Black Arabs, the Yemenites,); Evilas, who founded the Evileans, who are called Getuli; Sabathes founded the Sabathens (Editors note: the Black Hadramutians, Sabatha was the ancient capital of Hadramut), they are now called by the Greeks Astaborans; Sabactas settled the Sabactens (note: the Black Southern Arabians also called Omanites); and Ragmus the Ragmeans (note: a Black Arab section of south western Arabia mentioned frequently in Sabean inscriptions); and he had two sons, the one of whom, Judadas, settled the Judadeans, a nation of the western Ethiopians, and left them his name; as did Sabas to the Sabeans: but Nimrod, the son of Chus (the Black ancient Iraqi Arabs), staid and tyrannized at Babylon, as we have already informed you.
Now all the children of Mesraim, being eight in number, possessed the country from Gaza to Egypt, though it retained the name of one only, the Philistim; for the Greeks call part of that country Palestine. As for the rest, Ludieim, and Enemim, and Labim, who alone inhabited in Libya, and called the country from himself, Nedim, and Phethrosim, and Chesloim, and Cephthorim, we know nothing of them besides their names; for the Ethiopic war which we shall describe hereafter, was the cause that those cities were overthrown. The sons of Canaan were these: Sidonius, who also built a city of the same name; it is called by the Greeks Sidon.”
November 26, 2006
To Be Continued in Part 2.
it seems a nice discussion we are having here. i would just like to chip in as, a black man from nigeria of both yoruba abd fulani ancestory that the link between black africa ( recognized s bilad -e- sudan) and the middle east goes on from time immemorial. the yorubas, for a fact, traced their ancestory to the middle east and the fulanis have features in keeping with the “so-called” caucasoid stereotype. The fact of continous migrations and attendant intermingling of races is phenotypically evident through out africa. well, to say arabs are light or dark skinned is not in any way going to redress the biting poverty, backwardness and dissillussionment bedevilling both africa and the middle east. i rather think its time we start seeing ourselves like japanese (better yet, koreans) and make moves to emerge from this state of retrogression and then, really then.. even nordic types will “remember” that they were actually descended from “noble” BLACK cro-magnons.
As Salaamu Alaikum,
In the Name of Allah the Most Compassionate and Merciful.
I found this article very informative. Great to read beautiful academic writing that aims towards the re-education of the real Semites. For everyone else “don’t hate”! Obviously enough damage has been done by the Romans and their slaves. As the old saying goes “truth knocks the bottom out of falsehood”. It is somewhat difficult to change the hearts of the ignorant and those who are cursed with having a veil pulled over their hearts.
What is projected as a “so-called” Arab today is not the Arab of yesterday. The “Classical Arabs” had a distinct culture and a very complex linguistical format, which is contrary to today’s Arabs (generally speaking) who have adopted many western values and have forgotten much of true Arab history, not to mention adulterated the Arabic language. As a student in the Arabic language department of a well known Big Ten university I became aware of the political/racial conspiracy to separate Arabic language from Africa. I even made the comment “Since Arabic is in the Afro-Asiatic language family then shouldn’t the Arabic Department be listed under the African Studies Dept?” The fact is that the Westerners/Romans would like to divide and conquer all the peoples of the world and make them think that they were the originators of civilization. They brainwash people into thinking that the current geo-political maps and educational systems made by the them is also historically accurate as well (Definately an Orwelian concept). Bottom line, if Arabic was in the African Studies Dept. then many Blacks will come to know who they truly are. The Semitic languages are in fact African (Sudanese). Sudan meaning the two lands of the Blacks, situated between the “Red Sea”, which encompass the present day African continent as well as the Arabian Peninsula. Historical evidence has proven that the Ethiopian/Habasha empire included southern Arabia.
Another point to consider would be the term “Genuine Arab”, which is the Arab of the south, with a Semitic language distinct from Arabic called “Old Arabian”. This languge existed amongst the people of the Southern Arabian Gulf (Oman/Bahrain/Qatar/UAE/Yemen/East Africa). Linguistical evidence has proven that Ethiopian/Somali words and cultural norms were prevalent in the traditions of the “Genuine Arab”. The Genuine Arabs were not Roman-Mulattoes and I have personally mistaken many of them to be African Americans or Morrocans (who the two are genetically tied themselves).
In returning to the topic of the Black Arab lets understand our discussion in another light: An American of today and an American of 1000 years ago are totally different. The classical American inhabitant who was Black and/or Brown has been virtually wiped out through the means of genocide.
If anyone has had the opportunity to view ancient Egyptian(Misrean) sculptures, They definately don’t look like the people who dominate that landmass (Egypt) in modern times. They were clearly Black people.
I won’t go into details, but this interview (available on google video) made me reflect on the Kiss FM interview with Farrakhan discussing the situation in Darfur when he touched on the subject of racism and (let’s face it) the Roman Judeao-Christian’s ongoing attempts at denying Blacks their right as the teachers and originators of civilization. Not to mention all the precious metals and fertile soil that exist in Africa. Black people have a right to self determination, including the right to accurately state their history when others do not. As we now many other ethnic groups have not been historically accurate in the dipiction of the original Arab peoples. Peace
I am Christian and an Indian American (originally from India). I hope that everyone will read my article “Negro Slavery and The Myth of Ham’s Curse” on my website at http://www.religionscience.com.
I loved this information, may Allah reward you for the research and make you apart of the inheritance that is and is to come. I believe muslims who happen to be black can rejoice in this revealed info that has been surpressed and hidden from the masses of people, thank you. I hope u uncover more and more that enlightens the people and help black people understand who they are in the who symphony of things. I also hope that you will pull back the covers of the true Identity of the Isrealites. Not those who claim the lineage in Isreal today, because we know the hebrews of Ethopia who were airlifted there some years back are being oppressed much like the blacks in America and other Western Nations. Please uncover that and dispell the myths, I appreciate u so much, thank you..
What is missing from the history of slavery is the Arab slave traders’ extensive role. The Arabs enslaved African way before the arrival of the white man to the African shores. In Saudi Arabia slavery was practiced until early 1900. The Sultan of Oman, with the help of the British, made Zanzibar his own farm, enslaved the population, and transformed the city into a big plantation for cloves, cardamom, and spices that was desired by British and many others. In the Persian Gulf and Yemen, if you visit the small villages, one can’t help but see the descendants of the African slaves every where you turn. In modern day Arabia, many live in slumps, poor and at the bottom of the social scale. One good note is that one can hear the African drums in the Persian Gulf music; in fact, most of the drummers are those of darker complexion. I can say that the west acknowledged it and to some degree is coming to terms with it. In Arabia however, there is a total silence. I recommend the book “Islam’s Black Slaves: The Other Black Diaspora”, by Ronald Segal
I don’t wish to insult or harm anybody’s feelings around here, so I’ll try to be as careful as possible when replying to this article. First of all, I’m an Arab Muslim who currently resides in the Arabian Peninsula. I think some of you may be mis-informed about Arabs and where they originate from. To put simply, Arabs originate from the Arabian Pensinula and no other place. That’s the furthest we could ever trace an Arab person. Contrary to common scientific beliefs, Africa is not the homeland of the Arab people. Regularly you’d find a group of people who claim that all world populations originally come from Africa, including White Caucasians, Oriental Asians, White Slavics, Celtics, Germanics, etc. Africa, as seen by various scientists, is the homeland of all human beings. Personally, I only think this is a way to keep African-Americans happy especially after all the racism they had to put through in the United States for hundreds of years. It’s just a way to shut them up, or so to speak. I know this comment might hurt some of you, but believe me my intentions are not racist. I am only here to speak the truth. Truthfully speaking, thousands of politically-correct “white” scientists felt guilty of all the sufferings that black Africans had to go through around the world, particularly in western countries. So they come up with this scheme to appraise the black people, by claiming that human beings originated from Africa.
Here’s my view. Unfortunately, black Africans have been accredited to almost every single civilization on Earth. First, they seek the glory of Ancient Egyptians and Ancient Libyans. Second, they seek the glory of the Aztec people. Third, and now, they are seeking the glory of Semitic Arabs who lived in a peninsula somewhere off the coast of Ethiopia. Let’s be honest, shall we? Arabs are not black and were never black. If you see a black Arab then it could only mean one thing, his or her family interracially mixed with African tribes which might explain why he or she has a darker skin colour than the rest of the Arabs. In truth, Arabs are originally white. In fact, if you go to extreme cases you would find out that some researchers have linked them to the Caucasoid race. We know that in this world there are 3 major races: Caucasoid, Mongloid, Negroid races. Black Africans and Blacks from the Indian sub-continent or the Australian continent are part of the Negroid race. Aztecs, native North American tribes, Chinese, Mongolians and other slant-eyed people belong to the Mongloid race. People with fair skin, fair facial expressions and appearances belong to the Caucasoid race, this includes Arabs.
Although an Arab might call himself an “Asmar”, it doesnt necessarily mean “black”. Arabic is such a complicated language. For example, blacks are often offended when an Arab calls them “abeed” because the word “abeed” means “slave” in Arabic. Thats not true, however. “Abeed” actually means “worshipper”. Take the name “Abdullah”, it means “Worshipper of God” or “Servant of God”. Slave has another Arabic word, which isnt “abeed”. Similarly, people have mistakenly suggested that “Asmar” means black. “Asmar” means tan, neither white or black; call it brown! “Aswad”, on the other hand, means black. I assure you, not a single Arab will call himself Aswad because its highly unlikely you’d find a black Arab. Most Arabs are tanned or white. Arabs don’t like calling themselves white because they know that there are “whiter” people out there in this world. So they prefer calling themselves brown, which is an intermediate colour. As for the Arabic language, Arabic originates from the Semitic language family, which is MIDDLE EASTERN. Arabic is NOT an African language. Don’t be fooled by the term “AFRO-ASIATIC”. Afro-Asiatic is simply a term given to us by westerners who didn’t give a rat’s behind about the differences between some group of people across the red sea. Afro-Asiatic is an intermediate term describing someone who speaks a language which originates BETWEEN Asia and Africa, i.e. the Middle East. It, in no way, corresponds to the fact that Arabic has African OR Asian origins. It simply means that it is an intermediate of the two. The Semitic language family originated from Iraq, Mesapotamia to be more specific. This brings me to my final point.
Arabs, Jews, Assyrians, etc form the Semitic race, which is a race native to the Arabian Peninsula and Levant. It is a Middle Eastern race, non-affiliated to Africa or Asia.
As for Ancient Egyptians, it goes without saying that the FIRST known civilization on Earth was the Sumerian Civilization that originated in Iraq (Middle East). Historians dated that after the collapse of the First Iraqi civilization, people migrated to the east and west, Iran and Egypt respectively. The ones who went to the East became later known as “Elam”, and the ones in the West became later known as “Egypt”. So this concludes that Ancient Egyptians actually go back to Middle Eastern origins. Ancient Egyptians were never black to begin with. Again, they were fair-skinned groups of people.
So with all due respect my fellow friends, do not steal the glory of other people. I don’t think people would find it funny if I as an Arab claim that the Chinese civilization belonged to my own. That would mean I am discrediting the Chinese of their accomplishments and taking it on my own behalf.
Mohammad
Interesting and bold claim you make given that you have not cited one authoritative source to back up your mythologies and fake legends. When you attempt to refute a sourced article, you must provide your own sources to counter the claims.
Since Black Arabs in your lame view are mixed with “white Arabs”, then surely by the same logic one can claim that any white Arab in Arabia is just a mulatto.
The koran tells us about the Black peoples of Tamud and Ad. The original Arabs of Arabia before the advent of your forefathers the Jecanites. But the Adites and Tamudites of Arabia …those were not your forefathers, those were the original Black Kushitic Arabs as stated in the Koran. If you can contradict the koran then bring it on.
Arabia is and will always remain a part of Africa. Yemenis, Omanis, Saudis (Prince bandar Saud), Jordanians, Palestinians, Iraqis and southern Iranians are all living Black Arabs that we see today.
Black Arab Yemenis:
http://www.hansrossel.com/fotos/fotografie/yemen/ye_s27.htm
http://www.hansrossel.com/fotos/fotografie/yemen/ye_s25.htm
http://www.hansrossel.com/fotos/fotografie/yemen/ye_s29.htm
http://www.blackjadeworld.com/
Black Arab Omanis:
http://www.omanet.om/english/culture/images/Fold15.JPG
http://www.foodmuseum.com/images/siffomanicook.jpg
http://www.collectorsprints.co.uk/images/stock/susan_crawford/omani_boy_on_his_arab.jpg
Black Arab Iranians (from the Ethnic Arab provinces of Iran)
Black Iranians from the Region of Bandar Abbas
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/worldmusic/onlocation/media/iran21.jpg
http://pr.sv.net/aw/2005/March/english/images/Pagea3.jpg
http://www.payvand.com/news/07/jun/Gonu-BandarAbbas1.jpg
Black Iranians from Baluchistan and Sistan Province
http://www.persiatours.com/woman_herds_baluch-iran.jpg
Black iranian from Chabahar Province
http://www.moezsoft.com/images/chabahar.jpg
So ‘hammad, read somemore and you will soon realize that the rambling tales of your Jecanite grandfathers are simply tales that would steal Black people’s history if they could.
Jahdey