Let me help you there...

SO I've been wanting to compile some info about the Middle East, because I feel like Westerns are really confused. Obviously, we view the world from the American Standpoint, but there are some interesting things that often people dont know about Arabs and Arab society in General. So, with that being said.... I just thought I'd give you all some facts.

Basics:

1.Arabs are part of an ethnic group, not a religion. Arabs were around long before Islam, and there have been (and still are) Arab Christians and Arab Jews. In general, you’re an Arab if you 1) are of Arab descent (blood), or 2) speak the main Arab language (Arabic).

2.Not all Arabs are Muslim. There are significant populations of Arab Christians throughout the world, including in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Northern Africa and Palestine/Israel.
Islam is a religion. A Muslim (roughly pronounced MOOSE-lihm) is someone who follows the religion. So you wouldn’t say someone follows Muslim or is an Islam, just as you wouldn’t say someone follows Christian or is a Christianity.

3.Shia Muslims are similar to Roman Catholics in Christianity. They have a strong clerical presence via Imams and promote the idea of going through them to practice the religion correctly. Sunni Muslims are more like Protestant Christians. They don’t really focus on Imams and believe in maintaining a more direct line to God than the Shia.

4.People from Iran are known as Persians, and they are not Arabs. Iran is NOT considered the Middle East.

5.Arabs are Semites. We’ve all heard the term anti-Semitism being used — often to describe Arabs. While antisemitism does specifically indicate hatred for Jews, the word “Semite” comes from the Bible and referred originally to anyone who spoke one of the Semitic Languages.
According to the Bible, Jews and Arabs are related [Genesis 25]. Jews descended from Abraham’s son Isaac, and Arabs descended from Abraham’s son Ishmael. So not only are both groups Semitic, but they’re also family.

6.Sunni Muslims make up most of the Muslim world (roughly 90%).

7. The country with the world’s largest Muslim population is Indonesia. WOW thats not part of the middle east?!?!?!

8.The rift between the Shia and Sunni started right after Muhammad’s death and originally reduced to a power struggle regarding who was going to become the authoritative group for continuing the faith.

9. The "middle east" is not equal to the "arab world" -Afghanistan, Iran, Israel and Turkey, to name just four countries, are in the Middle East, but except for Israel’s Palestinian-Arabs, the majority of their populations are not Arabs.

10. Not all arabs are oil billionaires, bombers or bellydancers. haha

I found this great article that I hope people will read if they have some free time.... Please, please, please, realize not everything you see on TV or read is the exact truth, often times stuff is fabricated or left out to spin something a certain way.... http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=Artamp;Culture&article=1188