Arabs in Germany
العرب في المانيا
Distribution of citizens of Arab countries in Germany (2021)
Total population
1,401,950[1]
Regions with significant populations
Berlin, Bochum, Bonn, Bremen, Cologne, Dortmund, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Hanover, Leipzig, Munich, Offenbach, Wuppertal, Mainz
Languages
Arabic, German
Religion
Majority Islam (mainly Sunni Islam, minorities Twelver Shia Islam, Alevism, Alawites, Sufism, Isma'ilism, Zaidiyyah, Ibadi)
Christianity (mainly Syriac Orthodox Church, minorities Eastern Catholic Churches, Oriental Orthodoxy, Syriac Maronite Church, Coptic Orthodox Church)
Druze[2]
Mandaeans
Atheism
Related ethnic groups
Arabs (Arab diaspora)

Arab Germans, also referred to as German Arabs or Arabic Germans (German: Araber in Deutschland/Deutsch-Araber; Arabic: العرب في المانيا), are ethnic Arabs living in Germany. They form the second-largest predominantly Muslim immigrant group in Germany after the large Turkish German community.

There is an estimated number of 400,000 to 500,000 people of Arab origin residing in Germany in 2013.[3] In the following years, the numbers doubled as they are an estimated 1,000,000+ people.[3] As of 2020, the total number of people from Arab League countries reached 1,401,950.[1] Most Arabs moved to Germany in the 1970s, partly as Gastarbeiter from Morocco, the Turkish Province of Mardin (see: Arabs in Turkey) and Tunisia. Later many came from Kuwait, Lebanon, Egypt, and recently many came from Syria and Iraq. The majority of Arabs are refugees of the conflicts in the Middle East.

The first notable Arab-German was Emily Ruete, born 1844, originally Salama bint Said, a Princess of Zanzibar who became pregnant by a German man who was her neighbor.[4] Fearing retaliation, she eloped with him to Germany, converted to Christianity, and married him. She later published her autobiography, “Memoirs of an Arabian Princess”.[5]

Geographical distribution

The largest concentration of Arab people in Germany, can be found in Berlin, where they make up 2%–3% (100,000 people) of the population. The percentage is significantly higher in the Berlin neighborhoods of Neukölln, Kreuzberg and Gesundbrunnen. Other significant centres of Arab populations in Germany can be found in the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, Frankfurt, Munich, Hanover and Hamburg.[3] Most Arabs reside in urban areas and cities in former West-Germany. The only place in former Eastern Germany with a sizeable number of Arabs is Leipzig, where people of any Arab descent make up 0.8% of the total population (4,000 out of 522,800).[6] Among the German districts with the highest shares of Arab migrants in 2011 were especially cities in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region (Frankfurt, Offenbach) and the Rhineland (Bonn, Düsseldorf) with large groups of Moroccan migrants.[7]

No Country of birth Population (2015)[1] Population (2016)[1][8] Population (2017)[1] Population (2020)[1]
1.  Syria 366,556 637,845 698,950 818,460
2.  Iraq 136,399 227,195 237,365 259,500
3.  Morocco 72,129 75,855 75,620 79,725
4.  Lebanon 37,160 41,445 41,375 41,090
5.  Somalia 23,350 33,900 38,675 47,495
6.  Tunisia 30,696 32,900 34,140 38,405
7.  Egypt 22,979 26,915 29,600 37,430
8.  Algeria 20,505 21,320 19,845 19,160
9.  Libya 13,123 14,265 14,805 14,900
10.  Jordan 10,041 10,755 11,520 13,340
11.  Sudan 7,145 7,715 7,760 7,605
12.  Yemen 4,150 4,870 5,540 7,845
13.  Saudi Arabia 6,207 5,835 5,350 4,665
14.  Palestine 2,531 3,470 3,770 4,540
15.  UAE 3,551 4,185 3,715 2,260
16.  Kuwait 3,043 3,845 3,310 2,525
17.  Qatar 1,047 1,085 1,060 1,025
18.  Mauritania 704 750 740 770
19.  Oman 620 600 540 435
20.  Bahrain 390 435 480 545
21.  Djibouti 104 125 135 160
22.  Comoros 68 80 70 70
Σ 22 Total 762,498 1,155,390 1,234,635 1,401,950

Families involved in crime

Main article: Immigration and crime in Germany

Clans of Middle Eastern descent have organised parallel societies in Berlin and Bremen where they sustain themselves by crime.[9][10][11][12] In Berlin, 20 extended families with each having up to 500 members are established according to estimates of the police, but not all family members are involved in crime. According to the Landeskriminalamt, a third of all court proceedings against organized crime concerns members of the clans. About half of the clan suspects had a German passport.[12]

In January 2019, 1300 police took part in an effort against Arab crime families in Essen, Duisburg, Bochum, Dortmund, Recklinghausen and Gelsenkirchen. It was the largest police operation in the history of North Rhine-Westphalia.[13]

Notable Germans of Arab descent

Film, television, acting
Music
Sports

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Anzahl der Ausländer in Deutschland nach Herkunftsland in den Jahren 2015 und 2016". statista (in German).
  2. ^ "Drusentum - Die geheime Religion (2020)". Deutschlandfunk. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Arabische Christen in Deutschland — Christliches Zentrum Herborn". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2014-09-27.
  4. ^ "The Runaway Princess".
  5. ^ Women Imagine Change p. 411
  6. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-27. Retrieved 2011-10-31.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Kartenseite: Marokkaner in Deutschland - Landkreise". kartenseite.wordpress.com. 2017-03-26. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
  8. ^ "Bevölkerung und Erwerbstätigkeit" (PDF). Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). 20 June 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  9. ^ Büscher, Wolfgang (2018-03-04). "Arabische Großfamilien: Null-Toleranz-Strategie soll kriminelle Clans zerschlagen". DIE WELT. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  10. ^ WELT (2017-12-25). "Berlin befreit Straßen von Schutzgeld-Erpressungen – "Ergeben uns nicht"". DIE WELT. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  11. ^ Behrendt, Michael (2016-04-10). "Organisiertes Verbrechen: In Berlin regieren arabische Clans". DIE WELT. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  12. ^ a b Schmalz, Alexander. "20 Großfamilien in Berlin: Clans haben die Straßen aufgeteilt". Berliner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  13. ^ Schwerdtfeger, Christian (13 January 2019). "Groß-Razzia gegen Clans im Ruhrgebiet: "Wir haben eine klare Botschaft gesendet"". RP ONLINE (in German). Retrieved 2019-01-15.
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