Difference Between Muslims and Arabs

Table of Contents

Globally all the people are distributed into various religions and nationality. Two among them are Muslims and Arabs. Although Muslims and Arabs are confused many times, they are not synonymous terms. Muslims are those people who pursue Islam as their religion. Arabs are the ethnic and linguistic groups of people. Some Arabs are Muslim in religion, and some are not.

Neither most of the Muslims are Arabic, nor most of the Arabs are Muslims. The main confusion between the two terms Muslims and Arabs arise because Arabic is the primary native tongue of most Islamic religious people. Therefore, Muslims are generally known to speak a few phrases or at least keywords in the Arabic Language. In this article, we will differentiate Muslims and Arabs from each other.

Muslims vs Arabs

The main difference between Muslims and Arabs is that Muslim is religious, whereas Arab is ethnic. Muslim refers to a person who follows Islam as its religion and keeps faith in Allah. On the other hand, Arab refers to a type of nationality or ethnicity. Muslims are expected to follow Islam as its religion or faith. On the other hand, Arabs can follow any religion they wish to or born to. The population of Muslims is high. In contrast, the population of Arab is comparatively much lower than Muslims.

Muslim is religious. Muslims use different types of languages and not only Urdu or its Islamic language as they can settle anywhere globally. The origin of the Muslims is mainly from Asia and every corner of the other continents. Muslim refers to a person who follows Islam as its religion and keeps faith in Allah. The population of Muslims is high. Muslims have no restrictions on native tongues. They can speak any language from all over the world. Muslims are expected to follow Islam as its religion or faith.

Arab is ethnic. Arabs use the Arabic language for communication. The origin of the Arabs is from Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq or basically from the Middle East. Arab refers to a type of nationality or ethnicity. The population of Arab is comparatively much lower than Muslims. Arabs speak the Arabic language or Arabian. Arabs can follow any religion they wish to or born to, like they can be Muslims, Christian or even Jewish.

Comparison Table Between Muslims and Arabs

Parameters of ComparisonMuslimsArabs
NatureMuslim is religious.Arab is ethnic.
LanguageMuslims use different types of languages and not only Urdu or its Islamic language.Arabs use the Arabic language for communication.
OriginThe origin of the Muslims is mainly from Asia and every corner of the other continents.The origin of the Arabs is from Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq or basically from the Middle East.
FollowerMuslim refers to a person who follows Islam as its religion and keeps faith in Allah.Arab refers to a type of nationality or ethnicity.
PopulationThe population of Muslims is high.The population of Arab is comparatively much lower than Muslims.
Native TongueMuslims have no restrictions on native tongues. They can speak any language from all over the world.Arabs speak the Arabic language or Arabian.
ReligionMuslims are expected to follow Islam as its religion or faith.Arabs can follow any religion they wish to or born to, like Muslims, Christian or even Jewish.

What are Muslims?

The individuals who embrace Muslim as their sole religion and faith are called Muslims. The spread of Muslims is not limited to any place in the world. This is the third largest religion in the world. Muslims have no restrictions on native tongues. They can speak any language from all over the world. Muslims are expected to follow any language like English, Urdu, Arabic, etc. Muslims are concentrated mostly in Asia.

Around 60% of the total Muslim population is spread all over the Asian Continent. And the rest, around 40% of the population, are concentrated in Africa, Middle East, Australia, North and South America. Muslims are expected to follow Islam as its religion or faith. According to the last population count statistics globally in 2009, Muslims constitute around 25% of the world population accounting for 1.5 billion worldwide.

What are Arabs?

Arabs are considered as those people who are from the Middle East and settle in Arabian places like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Syria, etc. Thus, Arabs are a specific kind of nationality that is formed internationally. They are known to speak Arabian and free to follow any faith they want to. The population of Arabs can be the sum of only to certain Millions.

There are two types of Arabs. The original Arabs are those who been living in the Arabian Peninsula since time immemorial. And the other types of Arabs is the New Arabs. Apart from the majority groups, the minorities residing in Lebanon are called “Arab”. Their main focus is to retain their base ethnicities. Some Egyptians also consider themselves Arabs.

Main Differences Between Muslims and Arabs

  • Muslim is religious, whereas Arab is ethnic.
  • Muslims use different types of languages and not only Urdu or its Islamic language. As they can settle anywhere globally. On the other hand, Arabs use the Arabic language for communication.
  • The origin of the Muslims is mainly from Asia and every corner of the other continents. Whereas the origin of the Arabs is from Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq or basically from the Middle East.
  • Muslim refers to a person who follows Islam as its religion and keeps faith in Allah. On the other hand, Arab refers to a type of nationality or ethnicity.
  • The population of Muslims is high. Whereas the population of Arab is comparatively much lower than Muslims.
  • Muslims have no restrictions on native tongues. They can speak any language from all over the world. However, Arabs speak the Arabic language or Arabian.
  • Muslims are expected to follow Islam as its religion or faith. On the other hand, Arabs can follow any religion they wish to or born to, like they can be Muslims, Christian or even Jewish.
  • Conclusion

    Many times, Muslims and Arabs are confused and stereotyped as belonging to the same of each other’s category. Up to date also, the majority of people think that Arabs are Muslims and vice versa. However, this case keeps on changing. As the origin of the Muslims is mainly from Asia and every corner of the other continents. In comparison, the origin of the Arabs is from Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq or basically from the Middle East.

    The basic difference between Muslims and Arabs is that Muslims are expected to follow Islam as its religion or faith. On the other hand, Arabs can follow any religion they wish to or born to, like they can be Muslims, Christian or even Jewish. Thus, it is expected for anybody to never get confused between Muslims and Arabs after going through this article.

    References

  • https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/pad/vol4/iss2/1/
  • https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=rBgTCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=muslims+and+arabs&ots=lMzUexY_Ab&sig=zT028kaMJmKF1ra2w6WWxFjM2dk
  • ncG1vNJzZmiZo6Cur8XDop2fnaKau6SxjZympmeUnrOnsdGepZydXZeytcPEnqVmpaWouaq50maYp5xdlr%2BirtJo