ABSTRACT
Despite the long-standing relationship between the Arabs and sub-Saharan Africa (which goes back before Islam, in some West African countries), no one has so far conducted systematic and elaborate studies of communities of Arab descent in different African countries. Such studies should deal with the size of each community; its economic status; its relations with the African majority among which it lives; its relations with the native country (or countries); an analysis of its political directions; splits or solidarity within it, regarding the problems of the Arab homeland; a checklist of associations, clubs, newspapers, and broadcasts representing it; and exploring the prospects for a positive role for it (and other Arab communities throughout the continent) in reinforcing Afro-Arab relations.
