Arab Malays (Melayu Arab) are referred to people with mixed Arab and Malay parentage. It is believed that the history of Arab-Malay intermarriage began in 4th century AD with many Arab merchants and traders doing business and settling down in the Malay World ^[1]. This practise became more widespread ever since the Malaccan Raja Parameswara converted to Islam and changed his hereditary title to Sultan and that his subjects followed his lead and also embraced Islam. Since that the Malays are predominantly Muslims (in the case of Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, southern Thailand and southern Philippines), the Arabs find it a first preference to marry Malays if an Arab cannot be found. Unlike their Jewish cousins, a child of mixed parentage is defined as an Arab through paternal lineage rather than maternally. The majority of Arabs in Malaysia and Singapore originated from Hadramaut, Yemen. In Malaysia, the Arab Malays find it an advantage for them to categorise themselves under the ethnic term "Malays" because they get government support and easily get accessed to scholarship. However, since that the Arabs are considered to be the first Muslims ^[2] and that Arabic is the lithurgical language of Islam ^[3], many Arab Malays tend to consider themselves more superior and look down on the pure Malays (yet in reality there is no definition of the superior race in Islam - all races are equal to God's (Allah) eyes). They are more proud of their Arab heritage more than their Malay traditions. For instance, unlike the European Malays, the Arab Malays do not mix their Arab wedding traditions with those of the Malays'. The royal family of Brunei and some royal families in Malaysia are said to have Arab lineage in them (yet they are proud to retain their Malayness) ^[4]. Other well-known Arab Malays are Sharifah Aini, Sharifah Aleya, Tuan Syed Ahmad Alwee Alsree (a Board of Directors member in CMS) and some other recent Malaysian singers and actors. The Malay World or Nusantara refers to the Malay cultural and linguistic sphere of influence, covering the archipelago of modern-day Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei, and East Timor. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Arabic ( or just ), is the largest member of the family of Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic. ... The Malay language, also known locally as Bahasa Melayu, is an Austronesian language spoken by the Malay people who reside in the Malay Peninsula, southern Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, central eastern Sumatra, the Riau islands, and parts of the coast of Borneo. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian and Urdu: مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ... Three-quarter scale bronze sculptures 19th C. Malay people, Indonesia, Borneo. ... The Malay World or Nusantara refers to the Malay cultural and linguistic sphere of influence, covering the archipelago of modern-day Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei, and East Timor. ... A Raja (sometimes spelled Rajah) is a king, or princely ruler from the Kshatriya / Rajput lineages. ... Sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the Quran, its principal scripture, whose followers, known as Muslims (مسلم), believe God (Arabic: الله ) sent through revelations to Muhammad. ... The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... A father is the male parent of a child. ... Mother with her child (Sculpture) A mother is typically the biological or social female parent of a child or offspring while the male parent is the father. ... Hadhramaut, (also Hadramawt) now part of Yemen, is the coastal region of the south Arabian peninsula on the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea, extending eastwards from Yemen to the Dhofar region of Oman. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Allah (disambiguation). ... European-Malays is a term used to describe Eurasians with Malay and European parentage (not to be confused with Serani, which is referred to those of European and Asian parentage regardless of whatever the Asian background is). ...

See also

• Arabs
• Arab Singaporean

The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ) are an ethnic group found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

References

1. ^ http://www.colorq.org/MeltingPot/Asia/ArabMalays.htm
2. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_history
3. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koran
4. ^ http://www.brudirect.com/BruneiInfo/info/brudirect__History.htm