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The Arab world today is a rich
composite of many and diverse influences.
Various ethnic, linguistic and religious
groups inhabit the region. Yet, Islam and
the Arabic language constitute its two
predominant cultural features. The Arab
people, spread over a vast area, enjoy
common bonds of history and tradition.
Members of twenty-two different
countries, the Arabs consider themselves
to be part of one nation. The Arab people are further
united through their membership and
participation in the League of Arab
States. One of the oldest regional
organizations in the world, the Arab
League was founded on March 22, 1945,
even before the formal establishment of
the United Nations. The primary
objectives of the Arab League, as it is
commonly called, are maximum integration
among the Arab countries through
coordination of their activities in the
political sphere as well as in the fields
of economics, social services, education,
communications, development, technology
and industrialization.
The headquarters of the
Arab League is in Tunis, Tunisia, which
also hosts some of the League's
specialized agencies-some of which are
based in other Arab capitals. The
twenty-two member states of the League,
in alphabetical order, are: Algeria,
Bahrain, [Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania,
Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia,
United Arab Emirates, Yemen Arab Republic
and Yemen Peoples Democratic Republic.
The Arab world in the
twentieth century is a region in
transition-developing, modernizing and
building the foundation for its own
renaissance. Its great and ancient
cities-Cairo, Damascus and Baghdad-with
populations well into the millions, are
rapidly expanding their municipal
services, communications and other
facilities. New construction is evident
everywhere as high-rise buildings replace
the covered bazaars of former times.
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