Britain and the Arab world have been trading partners since
medieval times, with merchants travelling to London on business.
Yemeni sailors lived around the docks from the second half of
the 19th century. Iraqis have been settling in London since the
1930s, most recently to escape political oppression. In the
1970s, owing to war in the Lebanon, London became the centre of
the Arab press. Today the largest Arab communities in London
come from Somalia, Iraq, Egypt and Morocco. The Arab League
currently includes 22 Near and Middle Eastern and North African
countries. Most Arabs are Muslims, speak Arabic, and are
descended from the original settlers of the Arabian peninsula.
Modern Standard Arabic is the official written language of the
Arab world. However, Egyptian Arabic is the most universally
understood spoken version, since Egypt produces the majority of
Arab films and television programmes. Iran is not an Arab
country, as Persians are of a different ethnic origin and
Persian is their official language. Ther