Encyclopedia of Islam

Arabs are not necessarily Muslim, and indeed
there are many Christian Arabs. Moreover, the
majority of Muslims (about 80 percent) do not
consider themselves to be Arab, and some people
who do consider themselves to be Arab—espe-
cially the children of migrants—do not neces-
sarily speak Arabic. Like all ethnic categories,
the definition of Arab is somewhat flexible and
depends on context.
See also arabic langUage and literatUre; arab
leagUe.

David Crawford

Further reading: Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab

Peoples (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,

1991); Maxime Rodinson, The Arabs (Chicago: Univer-

sity of Chicago Press, 1981).

arabesque

Arabesque is a term meaning à l’arabe, or in the

arab mode, a European designation for ornamen-

tal passages in mUsic, dance, poetry, and visual

art. First used by 17th-century European travel-

ers as an adjective, it began to function as a noun

by the later 19th century, when it entered debates

Carved stucco arabesque designs decorate arches in the Court of the Lions in the Alhambra, Granada, Spain
(13th/14th century). (Federico R. Campo)

K 50 arabesque