Why Arab states are silent about Iran's unrest

https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2026/01/13/why-arab-states-are-silent-about-irans-unrest

24 15 6 months ago

Pet_Ant4• 6 months ago

Haven't read because of paywall, but for anyone who might not know:

Ira_n_ is not Arab. They are Persian and speak an Indo-European language.

Ira_q_, is Arab. Neighbors, some of the same religion^, similar name, same-ish alphabet, similar skin tones... very different language. Arabic is semitic language, think Hebrew.

Most Muslim middle-east countries are Arab... Iran is an exception (as is Turkey who come from Central Asia, eg Turkmenistan)

Most Arab countries are predominantly Muslim. Malta is the exception, Lebanon is complicated.

^ The biggest split amongst Muslims is Sunni vs Shia (think protestants vs catholics), Saudi Arabia is Sunni, Ira_n_ is Shia, Iraq is mixed.

ThrowawayR2• 6 months ago

Paywall bypass: https://archive.is/Mlhfk

xenospn2• 6 months ago

I've never heard anyone refer to Malta as Arab before.

Pet_Ant4• 6 months ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese_language

Maltese is a Central Semitic language derived from late medieval Sicilian Arabic with Romance superstrata. It is the only Semitic language officially written in the Latin script. It is spoken by the Maltese people and is a national language of Malta, and is the only official Semitic and Afroasiatic language of the European Union

Maltese is the official language of Malta and 77% of people in Malta are Maltese. Now, what's the definition of Arab is debateable, but I think it's reasonable. I think they are sort of like Romanians where they are surrounded by Slavs, but their bretheren are on the other side of the continent. This is a simplification and as primer, I'm sure people have more nuanced takes.

BXLE_1-1-BitIs1• 6 months ago

Arabic speakers are not necessarily Arabs. Indigenous populations became Arabic speakers during the spread of Islam.

We saw the same in Latin America with Spanish and Catholicism.

Steven420• 6 months ago

They may not be genetically Arab but are probably culturally Arab

Pet_Ant4• 6 months ago

Quick research, but it appears that the population are descendents of the Emirate of Sicily from 1000 AD, which was colonised by people from Tunisia, who would be considered Arabs generally. So a splinter group cut off from the main body for a thousand years (if my reading is correct).

Are they still Arabs? That's subjective.

I'd consider America and England two capitals of the Anglo empire much like Roman and Constantinople, but there is lots of room for nuance. (Romans & Byzantines saw themselves as the same, whereas Americans and English see themselves as different... but I chalk that up to the tyranny of small differences, just look at how the elites jump back and forth across the pond and how their politics harmonise, Trump/Farage, Reagan/Thatcher, Clinton/Blair).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese_people#History

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Relationship

x______________• 6 months ago

Why did you need to break the spelling of Iraq and Iran?

EricBetts• 6 months ago

I believe they're trying to highlight the character to make clear the difference in the two similar names

doron• 6 months ago

curiously western campuses are silent on Iranian unrest as well

csb6• 6 months ago

Do any Western universities have significant investments/connections to Iranian institutions? If not, then what would their students be pressuring the universities to do? I am pretty sure virtually every university administration has long ago cut ties due to sanctions and would gladly condemn Iran’s government.

ahurmazda• 6 months ago

Once the Iranian “autocrats” are dealt with who do you think is next? Many of these Arab states have absolute monarchy fwiw

jjk166• 6 months ago

In bi-polar systems like the decades-long standoff between Saudi Arbia and it's coalition against Iran and theirs, you don't actually want your opponent to collapse. They serve as a boogeyman that keeps your alliance cohesive and justifies immense efforts to counter them which typically are enriching your key friends. At the very least, they are the devil you know - you have spent considerable resources developing the infrastructure to predict and observe their movements, you know how to talk to them at the negotiating table, you have gentleman's agreements with your counterparts on their side. You want to be the dominant power, so the opportunity to bloody their nose, to embarrass them, is always good, and you want to do everything to stop them from getting an advantage over you. But if they are in serious trouble, you want to ease off the pressure or even help them, because if they fall you're suddenly going to be playing a very different game which you may not be any good at.

Even if some Arab states legitimately do want the Iranian regime to collapse, they don't necessarily want it to randomly collapse right now with no clear indication of what will take it's place. Add in the fact that the major driver of this unrest, high inflation and excessive corruption, are probably not flames they want to fan domestically. Best to watch closely and cautiously keep their options open.

Why Arab states are silent about Iran's unrest

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