Arabs

The Arabs, as a race, are of middle stature, of a powerful though slender build, and have a skin of a more or le brownish colour; in towns and the uplands often almost white. Their features are well cut, the nose straight, the forehead high. They are naturally active, intelligent, and courteous; and their character is marked by temperance, bravery, and hospitality. The first religion of the Arabs, the worship of the stars, was supplanted by the doctrines of Mahommedanism, which succeeded rapidly in establishing itself throughout Arabia. Besides the two principal sects of Islam, the Sunnites and the Shiites, there also exists, in considerable numbers, a third Mahommedan sect, the Wahabis, which arose in the latter half of the eighteenth century, and for a time po e ed great political importance in the peninsula. The mode of life of the Arabs is either nomadic or settled. The nomadic tribes are termed Bedouins (or Bedawins), and among them are considered to be the Arabs of the purest blood.