April is Arab American Heritage Month – a celebration of Arab peoples in the United States.
Arab American Heritage Month (AAHM) celebrates the history, contributions, and culture of the diverse populations of Arab Americans – people with ancestry in any of the world's 22 Arab nations across the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoro Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and Yemen.
While the terms "Arab" and "Middle Eastern" are often conflated, they are not fully interchangeable. The Middle East includes non-Arab nations, such as Iran, Israel, and Turkey, while Arabic nations exist outside the Middle East, including Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco. Similarly, while many Arab Americans are Muslim, many are not. Information on Islam is included here to be inclusive of those Arab Americans who are Muslim.
AAHM was officially recognized in 2022 after an initiative launched in 2017 by Arab America and the Arab America Foundation. Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) introduced a resolution to honor AAHM in 2022.
This guide contains books and resources by and about Arab Americans to learn about their history, culture, and experiences. Contents of this guide are limited to the currently owned books and will be updated as books by and about Arab Americans are added to the collection. To suggest books for purchase, please fill out the Book and Media Suggestion Form.