Arab Malays (Malay: 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 <ref name="bi-racial">http://www.colorq.org/MeltingPot/Asia/ArabMalays.htm</ref>. 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 <ref name="islam">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_history</ref> and that Arabic is the lithurgical language of Islam <ref name="koran">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koran</ref>, 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) <ref name="brunei">http://www.brudirect.com/BruneiInfo/info/brudirect__History.htm</ref>. 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.

Notable Arab Malays

Syed Hamid Albar

See also

Arabs

Arab Singaporean

Turkish Malays

References

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