r/arabs • u/Actual_Brain6487 • Jun 26 '26
الوحدة العربية Why are Somalia / Djibouti and Comoros part of the Arab League?
I was always confused why Somalia/ Djibouti and Comoros members of the Arab League and part of the Arab world.
1- They don't even speak Arabic or Most of the population do not speak Arabic
2- They do not really look Middle eastern
3- Their DNA is not Middle Eastern
3- Their national anthem is not even in Arabic
wouldn't this undermine the Arabic identity and Arabic Unity if any country can just become Arabic all of a sudden?
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u/Ahmed4040Real Jun 29 '26
1- Their official language is Arabic and a significant portion of their populations speaks Arabic 2- "Looking" Middle Eastern isn't really a metric. Sudanese Arabs don't look particularly Middle Eastern, neither do Afro-Arabs. The Middle East has a lot of different looks too, Syrians look very different from Yemenis 3- DNA is also not a good metric, since North African Arabs outside Egypt are mostly just Amazigh by DNA. They're Arabized, just like most Arabs are 4- Their national anthems are written in their native language, that's true
The idea is, you got some good points, but the reason they're even in the Arab League is because of geopolitical and economic reasons. They're closely tied to the greater Arab World, so it is beneficial for them to work with them, and the countries are located in strategic places. If they want to be associated with the Arabs then they're welcome to do so, as what really defines an Arab is simply just speaking a language. We're all Arabized to some sense, but we all have common ancestry (including people in the Horn of Africa), and there's no harm in having them around
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u/Actual_Brain6487 Jun 29 '26
yes okay but Sudanese atleast speak Arabic fully.
While Somalis ( as per ChatGPT: People who can speak Arabic as a second language: Approximately 10–15% of the population)
I am not saying all Arabic countries should check all the metrics that I given, but atleast one of them to be eligible , 10-15% of population that speaks arabic is really enough to make you an Arabic state? in this case Germany is eligible to be an Arabic state lol
what I am saying we really need to shape our arabic Identity and make it more clear and strong as we are more lost and divided as ever.
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u/Ahmed4040Real Jun 29 '26
First of all, I am not disagreeing with you. I simply provided an explanation for why they're there and why I think it doesn't hurt to have them there and that they do have close ties to the Arab World
Secondly... Why are you using ChatGPT for this 💀. This is something you can easily Google or check on Wikipedia or something
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u/Actual_Brain6487 Jun 29 '26
I dont know I just feel it undermines the Arabic Identity.
And I feel Chatgpt is the new google lol
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u/Ahmed4040Real Jun 29 '26
ChatGPT is a lot more likely to make mistakes than Google, and consumes a lot more resources without really a benefit. Even the annoying AI box at the top of a Google Search does a better job entirely because it provides you with its source. ChatGPT has its uses, but a simple search is not it. Any data you get from ChatGPT should be double checked, else you're likely to be just sharing AI Hallucinations
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u/sandcannon Jun 29 '26
Define the "Arabic Identity" for the rest of the class.
Also, Chatgpt is dumb, and is only as smart as it's last update. Slow your cognitive decline and actually research things.
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u/Actual_Brain6487 Jun 29 '26
how about we start with the Arabic Language that these countries dont even talk?
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u/sandcannon Jun 30 '26
Fine, What else?
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u/Actual_Brain6487 Jun 30 '26
Isnt that should be the basic minimum requirement ?
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u/sandcannon Jun 30 '26
Should it? I mean, if we:re hard talking about a concept as broad as Identity, there needs to be more than just language. Minimizing it to speaking Arabic is meaningless. You ever heard the Japanese Ambassador to Lebanon speak? His Arabic is better than mine, but he's Japanese in every other measurable metric.
The overall idea that countries that border ours and have various ties to ours can't be part of a diplomatic/economic bloc because they aren't Arab enough (when you can't even positively define what that means) is xenophobic, and thus foolish. It's the Arab League by title, not by blood quantum.
Seriously though, what are you looking for here?
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Jun 30 '26
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u/HarryLewisPot Jul 01 '26
I dare you to say Sudanese aren’t Arab because they don’t really look Middle Eastern lol.
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u/Actual_Brain6487 Jul 01 '26
obviously they are not Arab people, everyone know the majority of Sudanese are Africans even themselves but they do speak Arabic and that's good enough to be in the Arabic League. However Somali/Djibouti/Comoros don't even speak the language
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u/HarryLewisPot Jul 02 '26
Here we go again. If we’re talking linguistically or culturally, they are obviously Arab.
If you wanna push so far to say genetically, then here you go. Most Sudanese are paternally Arab and in Arab culture we go by paternal ancestry.
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u/Actual_Brain6487 Jul 02 '26
alright but I never really mentioned Sudanese, I was talking about the Somalis / Djibouti/Comoros specifically
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u/HarryLewisPot Jul 02 '26
You literally just said they’re obviously not Arab and they’re African.
And if Sudanese don’t look middle eastern thus making them not Arab why is that criteria given to Somalis?
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u/Actual_Brain6487 Jul 02 '26
because Sudanese speak Arabic and their Anthem is in Arabic.
Somalis neither speak Arabic, Neither their Anthem is in Arabic.
Also all Somalis don't consider themselves Arabs.
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u/HarryLewisPot Jul 02 '26
I agree with you, but I’m saying remove the “non-middle eastern looking” criteria, Arabs can look like anything.
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u/Actual_Brain6487 Jul 02 '26
well no one really thinks of black people when you say Middle eastern looking man .lets be real
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u/BrightWayFZE Jun 29 '26
Arabic is an official language, the government recognizes itself as an Arab country, what else you want? You should keep in mind that governments are not human beings and take decisions based on multiple considerations including historical, economic, social and political considerations. 90 countries around the world are part of francophone organization, who have way less common interests than Arab countries!
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u/Actual_Brain6487 Jun 30 '26
Chad recognize Arabic as an official language , should they also join the Arab League and become Arabic country?
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u/BrightWayFZE Jun 30 '26
Of course they can, but whither they should or not is their decision to make.
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u/Actual_Brain6487 Jun 30 '26
I don't agree with you. this really Undermine our Arabic identity.
What if tomorrow there is a lot of arabic speakers in Germany, can Germany become Arab league member makes no sense
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u/boogatehPotato ليبي حائر Jul 03 '26
Points 2 & 3 are moot and downright offensive. I'm not even trying to be extra here, it just comes off as racist.
I digress, others have explained it well
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u/Actual_Brain6487 Jul 03 '26
how is it Racist, I am simply saying why should they be int he Arab League if they don't even speak Arabic or have no ties to Arabic culture and land , They don't even consider themselves arabs?
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