Little Arabia | |
---|---|
Nickname: Little Gaza | |
Coordinates: 33°49′30″N117°57′32″W / 33.825022026933816°N 117.95894576524432°W | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
County | Orange County |
City | Anaheim |
Time zone | UTC-8 |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-7 |
ZIP | 92804 |
Area codes | 714 and 657 |
Little Arabia is an ethnic enclave in western Anaheim, California, [1] the center for Orange County's Arab Americans, who number more than 24,000 (As of 2000 [update] ). [2] It has been referred to as "Little Gaza" which was a riff on the nearby Garza Island neighborhoods. [3] [4] Little Arabia grew significantly in the 1990s with the arrival of immigrants from the Middle East, and is the home to thousands of Arab Americans predominantly hailing from Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and Yemen. [5] [6]
The district is centered on Brookhurst Street in Anaheim, near the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) between La Palma Avenue and Katella Avenue. [7] Businesses include halal butcher shops, beauty salons, jewelry stores, Arabic and Islamic clothing, [8] travel agencies, bakeries, Arab and Armenian restaurants, and hookah cafes. [4] [9] [10] There are also numerous mosques and a few churches in the enclave.
Along with most of Anaheim, the area in which Little Arabia falls was mostly developed in the 1950s due to its proximity to Disneyland and the economic outgrowth it brought to the region that had long been used for orange groves. The neighborhood lost residents over time and fell into disrepair until the 1980s when the area was revived by the emigration and immigration of Arabs that make up much of the population today. [11]
In 2011, Little Arabia became the center of Arab American activities supporting the wave of Arab revolutions known as the "Arab Spring". On February 4 a demonstration in support of the Egyptian revolution took place on Brookhurst Street [12] followed by a celebration on February 11 after Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was ousted [13] and another one on February 12. [14] A series of pro democracy protests in support of the Syrian revolution were also held. [15] On October 20, local Libyan-Americans greeted the death of Moammar Gaddafi with joy. [16]
During the Hosni Mubarak trial, local restaurants, including Nara Bistro and Nubia Cafe, were packed with people glued to TV screens watching live coverage of the trial until 5 am. [17]
In August 2011, a restaurant named "Medan el-Tahrir" or "Tahrir Square" opened on Magnolia Avenue. The restaurant hosted an event for the Syrian American Council, an organization opposed to Bashar al-Assad's rule, on August 13. [18] The event featured a representative of the Syrian Local Coordinating Committee addressing the attendees via Skype, as well as Ausama Monajed, editor of the "Syrian Revolution News Round-up." [19] [20]
Arab American business owners and activists pushed for the area to be recognized as an official district of the city of Anaheim for decades. In 2021, a majority of registered voters in the neighborhood favored the notion of receiving official recognition by the city as well as official signage noting the ethnic enclave. [11] In 2022, the city officially recognized a mile-long stretch of Brookhurst Street. [21]
Little Arabia is known for its popular hookah lounges. More than a dozen businesses that serve hookah and/or sells hookah supplies exist in the district.
Anaheim made national news in 2005 when the city banned belly dancing in Little Arabia's hookah bars. [22]
In its annual "Best of OC" awards, the OC Weekly awarded Olive Tree Restaurant, the 2011 Best Middle Eastern Restaurant award. [23]
Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011.
Amr Moussa is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who was the Secretary-General of the Arab League, a 22-member forum representing Arab states, from 1 June 2001 to 1 July 2011. Previously he served in the government of Egypt as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1991 to 2001. On 8 September 2013, he was elected president of the committee of 50 that will amend the Egyptian constitution.
Ahmed Aboul Gheit is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who has been Secretary-General of the Arab League since July 2016. He was reappointed for a second term on 3 March 2021. Aboul-Gheit served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt from 11 July 2004 to 6 March 2011. Previously, between 1999 and 2004, he was Egypt's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He was succeeded as Minister of Foreign Affairs by ICJ judge Nabil Elaraby in March 2011, following the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. He was elected Secretary-General of the Arab League in March 2016, and his term commenced on 3 July 2016.
Muhammad Hussein Tantawi Soliman was an Egyptian field marshal and politician. He was the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces and, as chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, was the de facto head of state from the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak on 11 February 2011 until the inauguration of Mohamed Morsi as president of Egypt on 30 June 2012.
Omar Mahmoud Suleiman was an Egyptian army general, politician, diplomat, and intelligence officer. A leading figure in Egypt's intelligence system beginning in 1986, Suleiman was appointed to the long-vacant vice presidency by President Hosni Mubarak on 29 January 2011. On 11 February 2011, Suleiman announced Mubarak's resignation and ceased being vice president; governing power was transferred to the Armed Forces Supreme Council, of which Suleiman was not a member. A new head of intelligence services was appointed by the ruling Supreme Council. Suleiman withdrew from the political scene and did not appear in public after announcing Mubarak's resignation.
Tahrir Square, also known as Martyr Square, is a major public town square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political demonstrations. The 2011 Egyptian revolution and the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak occurred at the Tahrir Square.
Anaheim Island consists of several unincorporated neighborhoods located east of the city of Anaheim in Orange County, California, United States. Established between the 1910s and 1960s, the neighborhoods are bounded by the cities of Anaheim to the east, north and west, Stanton to the southwest, and Garden Grove to the south. The Orange County Board of Supervisors has referred to these unincorporated areas as "Anaheim Island" while Orange County LAFCO has referred to them variously as "Anaheim West" and "Southwest Anaheim". The Anaheim City Planning Commission refers to the entire area in the singular as the "Garza Island". Some local residents refer to the area as the "Gaza Strip".
The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January Revolution, began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police holiday" as a statement against increasing police brutality during the last few years of Hosni Mubarak's presidency. It consisted of demonstrations, marches, occupations of plazas, non-violent civil resistance, acts of civil disobedience and strikes. Millions of protesters from a range of socio-economic and religious backgrounds demanded the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Violent clashes between security forces and protesters resulted in at least 846 people killed and over 6,000 injured. Protesters retaliated by burning over 90 police stations across the country.
The Arab Spring or the First Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and economic stagnation. From Tunisia, the protests then spread to five other countries: Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain. Rulers were deposed or major uprisings and social violence occurred including riots, civil wars, or insurgencies. Sustained street demonstrations took place in Morocco, Iraq, Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and Sudan. Minor protests took place in Djibouti, Mauritania, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara. A major slogan of the demonstrators in the Arab world is ash-shaʻb yurīd isqāṭ an-niẓām!.
International reactions to the Egyptian revolution of 2011 refer to external responses to the events that took place in Egypt between 25 January and 10 February 2011, as well as some of the events after the collapse of the government of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, such as Mubarak's trial. The reactions have generally been either measured or supportive of the Egyptian people, with most governments and organisations calling for non-violent responses on both sides and peaceful moves towards reform. Whilst the protesters called for Mubarak to step down immediately, most foreign governments stopped short of this demand, at least during the early phases of the protests, due to realpolitik concerns about the consequences of a power vacuum on the stability of Egypt specifically and to the wider Middle East as a whole. Some Middle Eastern leaders expressed support for Mubarak. Meanwhile many governments issued travel advisories and evacuated their citizens from the country.
Asmaa Mahfouz is an Egyptian activist and one of the founders of the April 6 Youth Movement. She has been credited by journalist Mona Eltahawy and others with helping to spark a mass uprising through her video blog posted one week before the start of the 2011 Egyptian revolution. She is a prominent member of Egypt's Coalition of the Youth of the Revolution and one of the leaders of the Egyptian revolution.
Wael Ghonim is an Internet activist and computer engineer with an interest in social entrepreneurship.
Events from the year 2011 in Egypt
The Revolutionary Socialists (RS) are a Trotskyist organisation in Egypt originating in the tradition of 'Socialism from Below'. Leading RS members include sociologist Sameh Naguib. The organisation produces a newspaper called The Socialist.
The following is a chronological summary of the major events that occurred during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, after Hosni Mubarak's resignation. Protests and riots led to the deaths of hundreds, injuries of thousands and the arrests of tens of thousands. Millions have mobilised the streets since the revolution.
Abdel Latif Fouad El-menawy "عبد اللطيف المناوي" is an author, columnist, and multimedia journalist who covered war zones and conflicts around the world. He is the author of "Tahrir- the last 18 days of Mubarak ". He wrote the book as an eyewitness to events happened during the 18 days before the stepdown of Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa al-Ayyat was an Egyptian politician, engineer, and professor who served as the fifth president of Egypt, from 2012 to 2013, when General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi removed him from office in a coup d'état after protests in June. An Islamist affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood organization, Morsi led the Freedom and Justice Party from 2011 to 2012.
Women played a variety of roles in the Arab Spring, but its impact on women and their rights is unclear. The Arab Spring was a series of demonstrations, protests, and civil wars against authoritarian regimes that started in Tunisia and spread to much of the Arab world. The leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen were overthrown; Bahrain has experienced sustained civil disorder, and the protests in Syria have become a civil war. Other Arab countries experienced protests as well.
Rawya Rageh is an Egyptian journalist and Senior Crisis Adviser for Amnesty International based in New York City. She was previously a broadcast journalist known for her in-depth coverage of notable stories across the Middle East and Africa, including the Iraq War, the Darfur crisis in Sudan, the Saddam Hussein trial, the Arab Spring, and the Boko Haram conflict in Northern Nigeria. Working as a correspondent for the Al Jazeera English network her contribution to the Peabody Award-winning coverage the network provided of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 and the Arab Spring was documented in the books 18 Days: Al Jazeera English and the Egyptian Revolution and Liberation Square: Inside the Egyptian Revolution and the Rebirth of a Nation. The news story she broadcast on 25 January, the first day of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, was selected by Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism as one of the "50 Great Stories" produced by its alumni in the past 100 years. In addition to her broadcast reporting, Rageh is an active social media journalist, recognized by the Washington Post as one of "The 23 Accounts You Must Follow to Understand Egypt" and by Forbes Middle East Magazine as one of the "100 Arab personalities with the most presence on Twitter."