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There are three factors which may assist to varying degrees in determining whether someone is considered Arab or not:

• Political: whether they live in a country which is a member of the Arab League (or, more vaguely, the Arab World); this definition covers more than 300 million people.
• Linguistic: whether their mother tongue is Arabic; this definition covers more than 200 million people.
• Genealogical: whether they can trace their ancestry back to the original inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula.

The relative importance of these factors is estimated differently by different groups. Most people who consider themselves Arabs do so on the basis of the overlap of the political and linguistic definitions, but some members of groups which fulfill both criteria reject the identity on the basis of the genealogical definition. Not many people consider themselves Arab on the basis of the political definition without the linguistic one—thus, Kurds or Berbers usually identify themselves as non-Arab—but some do (for instance, some Berbers do consider themselves Arabs and Arab nationalists saw the Kurds as Arabs).

On its formation in 1946, the Arab League defined an "Arab" as follows:

"An Arab is 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 genealogical definition was widely used in medieval times ( Ibn Khaldun, for instance, does not use the word Arab to refer to "Arabized" peoples, but only to those of originally Arabian descent), but is usually no longer considered to be particularly significant.

Most, but not all, Arabs are Muslims. Most American Arabs (about two-thirds) are Christian Arabs, particularly from Syria, PalestineFor varying definitions, see definitions of Palestine. Palestine ( Latin: Syria Palaestina Hebrew: Palestina Eretz Yisrael Arabic: Filasin , is a region in the Middle East extending inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Its political sta, and LebanonAlternate uses: see Lebanon (disambiguation The Lebanese Republic or Lebanon is a country in Southwest Asia, bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It is considered to be one of the fifteen lands that comprise the so-called " Cradle of Humanity". Lebanon is bor.

During the 8th7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. Sometime this century, Beowulf is proba and 9th8th century 9th century 10th century other centuries) Events Beowulf might have been written down in this century, though it could also have been in the 8th century Viking attacks on Europe begin Oseberg ship burial around 813-around 915 period of serious centuries, the Arabs (specifically the UmayyadThe Umayyad Dynasty (Arabic / ''umawiyy was the first dynasty of caliphs of the Prophet Muhammad who were not closely related to Muhammad himself, though they were of the same Meccan tribe, the Quraish. The first dynasty reigned from 661 to 750. Ironicalls, and later Abbasids) forged an empire whose borders touched southern FranceThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. in the west, ChinaThis article is on the geographic and cultural entity. For other meanings, see China (disambiguation). China ( Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: , Hanyu Pinyin: Zhongguo, Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo) is a country in continental East Asia with some oute in the east, Asia Minor in the north, and the Sudan in the south. This was one of the largest land empires in history. Throughout much of this area, the Arabs spread the religion of Islam and the Arabic language (the language of the Qur'an) through conversion and assimilation, respectively. Many groups came to be known as "Arabs" not through descent but through Arabisation. Thus, over time, the term Arab came to carry a broader meaning than the original ethnic term. Many Arabs in Sudan, Morocco, Algeria and elsewhere became Arab through cultural diffusion.