title: Arab Christians

text: Arab Christians () are ethnic Arabs, Arab nationals, or Arabic-speakers who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who live in the Middle East is estimated to be between 10 and 15 million. Arab Christian communities can be found throughout the Arab world, but are concentrated in the Eastern Mediterranean region of the Levant and Egypt, with smaller communities present throughout the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa.


title: Arab Christians

text: The history of Arab Christians coincides with the history of Eastern Christianity and the history of the Arabic language; Arab Christian communities either result from pre-existing Christian communities adopting the Arabic language, or from pre-existing Arabic-speaking communities adopting Christianity. The jurisdictions of three of the five patriarchates of the Pentarchy primarily became Arabic-speaking after the early Muslim conquests – the Church of Alexandria, the Church of Antioch and the Church of Jerusalem – and over time many of their adherents adopted the Arabic language and culture. Separately, a number of early Arab kingdoms and tribes adopted Christianity, including the Nabataeans, Lakhmids, Salihids, Tanukhids, ʿIbādī of al-Hira, and the Ghassanids.


title: Arab Christians

text: In modern times, Arab Christians have played important roles in the Nahda movement, and they have significantly influenced and contributed to the fields of literature, politics, business, philosophy, music, theatre and cinema, medicine, and science. Today Arab Christians still play important roles in the Arab world, and are relatively wealthy, well educated, and politically moderate. Emigrants from Arab Christian communities also make up a significant proportion of the Middle Eastern diaspora, with sizable population concentrations across the Americas, most notably in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and the US. However those emigrants to the Americas, especially from the first wave of emigration, have often not passed the Arabic language to their descendants.


title: Arab Christians

text: The concept of an Arab Christian identity remains contentious, with some Arabic-speaking Christian groups in the Middle East, such as Assyrians, Armenians and others, rejecting an Arab identity. Individuals from Egypt's Coptic community sometimes assume a non-Arab identity.


title: Arab Christians

text: The history of Arab Christians coincides with the history of Christianity and the history of the Arabic language; Arab Christian communities result either from pre-existing Christian communities adopting the Arabic language, or from pre-existing Arabic-speaking communities adopting Christianity.


title: Arab Christians

text: The interests of the Arabs before the 9th century A.D. were focused primarily on the recording and translating of pre-Islamic poetry. The early Arab Christians recorded Syriac hymns, Arabic poetry, ecclesiastical melodies, proverbs, and ḥikam (rules of governance). They did not otherwise record religion, which gave way to conflicting accounts and weak evidence for specific practices over several centuries. From classic antiquity to the Islamic Golden Age and modern times, Arab Christians have played important roles contributing to the culture of the Mashriq, in particular those in the Levant, Egypt and Iraq.


title: Arab Christians

text: Arab Christians include the indigenous Christian communities of Western Asia who became majority Arabic-speaking after the consequent seventh-century Muslim conquests in the Fertile Crescent. The Christian Arab presence predates the early Muslim conquests and there were many Arab tribes that adhered to Christianity, beginning in the 1st century. The New Testament has a biblical account of Arab conversion to Christianity recorded in the Book of Acts. When Saint Peter preaches to the people of Jerusalem, they ask,And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? [...] Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. (Acts 2:8, 11 KJV)The first mention of Christianity in Arabia occurs in the New Testament as the Apostle Paul references his journey to Arabia following his conversion (Galatians 1: 15–17). Later, Eusebius discusses a bishop named Beryllus in the see of Bostra, the site of a synod c. 240 AD and two Councils of Arabia. The New Testament signals an early entry of Christianity among the Arabs; in addition to what was narrated by al-Tabari, Abu al-Fida, al-Maqrizi, Ibn Khaldun and al-Masoudi, the disciples of Christ (including Matthew, Bartholomew and Thaddeus) were the ones who went to Arabia as preachers of the religion. Sozomen of Gaza said that the Arabs converted to Christianity through the efforts of priests and monks who spread to Arab regions, and the strength of Christianity increased with the conversion of the major tribes. The religion was organised in many dioceses controlled by bishops and archbishops. The Arab bishops were divided into types: urban bishops residing in cities, and “tent bishops” who resided in tents and moved with their tribes from one place to another. The number of Arab bishops among the Nabataeans alone reached forty according to Ibn Duraid. The first Arab bishop of the Arabs, Saint Moses, spent many years in the 4th century as a hermit between Syria and Egypt. His piety impressed Mavia, Arab warrior-queen of the Tanukhids, and she made his consecration as a bishop over her people a condition to any truce with Rome.


title: Arab Christians

text: The Jordan Valley and the Balqa was under Arab Christian rule by the second century AD. The Nabataeans, natives of the southern Levant, also converted to Christianity in the Late Roman Period. In Palmyra and near al-Qaryatayn there are Christian monuments and the remains of churches and inscriptions that indicate the spread of the religion into Syria proper. The administration of Jordan under Roman rule was given to the Quda'a tribe. This tribe had embraced Christianity according to Ya'qubi, and were later succeded by the Christian Salihids and Ghassanid Kingdom. There are poetic verses by the pre-Islamic poet al-Nabigha in which he praises the kings of Ghassan, congratulating them on Palm Sunday. Bordering Syria, the Sinai was administratively affiliated with the Egyptian Church based in Alexandria. There are documents from the late third century of Dionysius, Pope of Alexandria, in which he mentions his Arab Christian subjects in the Sinai and the persecution they faced during the days of the pagan Roman emperor Diocletian. Later, forty martyrs fell in 309 in Mount Sinai during a raid by pagan Arabs on their hermitages. The monks fortified their new monasteries, and the most fortified is still in use today, Saint Catherine's Monastery, built by the commission of Roman emperor Justinian in 565. It has hosted a number of Church bishops and theologians, Ghassanid and Lakhmid kings, and pre-Islamic poets.


title: Arab Christians

text: The southern Arabian city of Najran was made famous by the religious persecution of Christians by one of the kings of Yemen, Dhu Nuwas, who was an enthusiastic convert to Judaism. The leader of the Arabs of Najran during the period, al-Ḥārith, was canonized by the Catholic Church as Arethas. Aretas was the leader of the Christians of Najran in the early 6th century and was executed during the massacre of Christians by the king in 523. Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Hisham and Yaqut al-Hamawi mentioned that Najran was entirely Christian when Dhu al-Nawas converted to Judaism, and that the people of Najran refused to convert to his faith, so he massacred them. The victims were mentioned by Ibn Ishaq and named in the Quran as the "People of the Ditch". The Byzantine emperor Justin I was enraged and encouraged Kaleb of Axum to occupy Yemen and eliminate the Jewish king. Dhu al-Nawas was later deposed and killed, prompting Kaleb to appoint a native Christian Himyarite, Sumyafa Ashwa, as his viceroy. The Aksumites thus conquered Himyar and their rule lasted until 575. The Abyssinians spread Christianity and their rulers built an extravagant building in honor of the Martyrs of Najran. It was known by its contemporaries for its beauty, adorned with ornaments, jewels, and prominent archways. Arabs called it the “Kaaba of Najran”. The Yemenis later rebelled against the Abyssinians and demanded independence. History records Christian influence from Ethiopia to Arab lands in pre-Islamic times, and some Ethiopian Christians may have lived in Mecca.


title: Arab Christians

text: Yemen had an important share in ancient Christianity. In the second century, the Greek theologian Pantaenus left Alexandria and headed towards Yemen as a missionary after his conversion. Historians such as Rufinus and Orosius mentioned that Matthew the Apostle was the missionary of Yemen and Abyssinia. A special relationship developed between the people of Yemen and the Syrian Church, as inferred by the works of Ephrem the Syrian, the biography of Simeon Stylites, and the historian Philostorgius, who said that some villages and settlements established in Yemen were Syriac-speaking. The famous Al-Qalis Church in Sana'a was built to serve aderents and to attract pilgrims travelling to the Kaaba of Mecca and Ghamdan Palace. On the organizational level, the Archbishop of Yemen held the title "Catholicos" which follows the "Patriarch""" in rank. The spread of Christianity amongst Arabs reached Upper Mesopotamia, where Banu Bakr and Banu Mudar lived, both famous for their staunch Christian beliefs and for honoring Sergius the Military Saint. Ibn Khallikan mentioned that all the Yemeni Arabs in Iraq converted to Christianity, including Taym al-Lat, Kalb, Lakhm and Tanukh, and many had moved towards Bahrain by the fourth century.


title: Arab Christians

text: Jubail Church is a 4th-century church building near Jubail, Saudi Arabia. In Medina there was a Christian sect that was rejected by the official church and considered heretical. They deified the Virgin Mary and gave her offerings. This sect was mentioned by a number of historians, including Epiphanius and Ibn Taymiyyah, who called them "The Marians" ("Al-Maryamiyyun"). Likewise, al-Zamakhshari and al-Baydawi referred to this sect in their interpretation of the Qur’an. Another sect called "The Davidians" ("Al-Dāwudiyyūn") were known for their exaggerations in honoring King David. Some contemporary historians classified it as a Judeo-Christian heresy. In Mecca, the Banu Jurhum embraced Christianity at the hands of their sixth king, Abd al-Masih ibn Baqia, and supervised the service of the Haram for a period of time. Banu Azd and Banu Khuza’a became Christians with them according to Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani. The earliest indications of Christianity in Mecca is the Christian cemetery outside the Medina towards the well of 'Anbasa, confirmed by al-Maqdisi, as well as the conversion to Christianity by some members of the Quraish.


title: Arab Christians

text: Following the fall of large portions of former Byzantine and Sasanian provinces to the Arab armies, a large indigenous Christian population of varying ethnicities came under Arab Muslim dominance. Historically, a number of minority Christian sects were persecuted as heretic under Byzantine rule (such as non-Chalcedonians). The Islamic conquests set forth two processes affecting these Christian communities: the process of Arabization, causing them gradually to adopt Arabic as a spoken, literary, and liturgical language (often alongside their ancestral tongues), and the much slower, yet persistent process of Islamization. As Muslim army commanders expanded their empire and attacked countries in Asia, North Africa and southern Europe, they would offer three conditions to their enemies: convert to Islam, pay jizya (tax) every year, or face war to death. Those who refused war and refused to convert were deemed to have agreed to pay jizya.


title: Arab Christians

text: As "People of the Book", Christians in the region were accorded certain rights under Islamic law to practice their religion (including having Christian law used for rulings, settlements or sentences in court). In contrast to Muslims, who paid the zakat tax, they paid the jizya, an obligatory tax. The jizya was not levied on slaves, women, children, monks, the old, the sick, hermits, or the poor. In return, non-Muslim citizens were permitted to practice their faith, to enjoy a measure of communal autonomy, to be entitled to Muslim state's protection from outside aggression, to be exempted from military service, and to be exempted from the zakat. Like Arab Muslims, Arab Christians refer to God as "Allah". As with the Christians of Malta, this practice is distinguished from the Islamic use of the word "Allah" which refers to the personal name of God in that faith. The use of the term Allah in Arab churches predates Islam.


title: Arab Christians

text: Arab Christians have always been the go-between the Islamic world and the Christian West, mainly down to mutual religious affinity. The Greek Orthodox share Orthodox ties with Russia and Greece; whilst Melkites and Maronites share Catholic bonds with Italy, Vatican and France. Scholars and intellectuals agree Christians in the Arab world have made significant contributions to Arab civilization since the introduction of Islam, and they have had a notable impact contributing the culture of the Mashriq. Many Arab Christians today are physicians, entertainers, philosophers, government officials and people of literature.


title: Arab Christians

text: Arab Christians throughout history have been noted for their impact on academia and literature. Arabic-speaking Christian scholars wrote extensive theological and philosophical works and treatises in Arabic in which they not only responded to the polemics of their Muslim adversaries, but they also provided systematic apologetic discussions of the Christian faith and practice. Notable Lebanese academics in the modern era include language reformer Said Akl, Carmelite linguist Anastas al-Karmal, novelist Tawfiq Yusuf 'Awwad, and philologist Ibrahim al-Yaziji, whose Bible translations were among the first in the modern Arabic language. There are many New Testament translations or portions into regional colloquial forms of Arabic. Noted Palestinian physician and ethnographer Tawfiq Canaan's academic work serves as valuable resources to researchers of Palestinian history. Jordainian historian Suleiman Mousa was the only author to write about Lawrence of Arabia and show the Arab perspective. Mousa noted that were many books written to praise Lawrence, and all of them exaggerated his part in the Arab Revolt and failed to do justice to the Arabs themselves. Syrian writers include scholar Francis Marrash and writer Hanna Mina, described in "Literature from the "Axis of Evil"" as the country's most prominent.


title: Arab Christians

text: Arab Christians were among the first Arab nationalists. As early as 1877, Maronite leader Youssef Bey Karam proposed to Emir Abdelkader the separation of the Arabic-speaking provinces from the Ottoman Empire using the terms "al-gins al-'arabi" ("Arab race") and "gaba'il al-arabiya" ("Arab tribes"). In the early 20th century, many prominent Arab nationalists were Christians, like the Syrian intellectual Constantin Zureiq, Ba'athism proponent Michel Aflaq, and Jurji Zaydan, who was reputed to be the first Arab nationalist. Khalil al-Sakakini, a prominent Palestinian Jerusalemite, was Arab Orthodox, as was George Antonius, Lebanese author of "The Arab Awakening." The first Syrian nationalists were also Christian. Although both Lebanese, Antoun Saadeh was the founder behind the Syrian Social Nationalist Party and Butrus al-Bustani is considered to be the first Syrian nationalist. Sa'adeh rejected Pan-Arabism and argued instead for the creation of a "United Syrian Nation" or "Natural Syria". George Habash, founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was Arab Orthodox, and so was Wadie Haddad, the leader of the PFLP's armed wing. Influential Palestinian Christians such as Tawfik Toubi, Daud Turki, Emile Touma and Emile Habibi became leaders of the Israeli and Palestinian communist party. Nayif Hawatmeh is the founder and leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Kamal Nasser and Hanan Ashrawi were members of the PLO Executive Committee. In Lebanon, Maronites and Melkites looked to France and the Mediterranean world, whereas most Muslims and Greek Orthodox Christians looked to the Arab hinterland as their political lodestar.


title: Arab Christians

text: Christians developed Arabic-speaking Christian media, including various newspapers, radio stations, and television networks such as Télé Lumière, Aghapy TV, CTV, and SAT-7, which is a Christian Arab broadcasting network that was founded in 1995; it targets primarily Christian Arabs in North Africa and the Middle East. These media networks produce dozens of Arabic-language Christian films, musical works, as well as radio and television programmes. Syro-Lebanese Melkite Saleem Takla and his brother Beshara founded the "Al-Ahram" newspaper in 1875 in Alexandria; now the most widely circulated Egyptian daily newspaper. In Palestine, Najib Nassar's newspaper "Al-Karmil" was the first anti-Zionist weekly newspaper. It appeared in Haifa in 1908 and was shut down by the British in the 1940s. Similarly, the Arab Orthodox El-Issa family from Jaffa founded the "Falastin" newspaper in 1909. The paper was Palestine's most consistent critic of the early Zionist movement. Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh worked as a reporter for Al Jazeera for 25 years. In Lebanon, the influential Greek Orthodox Tueni family founded the "An-Nahar" newspaper in 1933, one of the leading newspapers today. Popular Lebanese singer Fairuz has over 150 million records sold worldwide, making her the highest selling Middle-Eastern artist of all time. Other Lebanese singers include Majida El Roumi, legendary folk veteran Wadih El Safi, 'Queen of Arab pop' Nancy Ajram, and Lydia Canaan. Syrian notables include George Wassouf and Nassif Zeytoun. Palestinians include Lina Makhul, Fadee Andrawos, and Israeli singer Mira Awad.


title: Arab Christians

text: The Nahda (meaning "the Awakening" or "the Renaissance") was a cultural renaissance that began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It began in the wake of the exit of Muhammad Ali of Egypt from the Levant in 1840. Beirut, Cairo, Damascus and Aleppo were the main centers of the renaissance and this led to the establishment of schools, universities, theater and printing presses. This awakening led to the emergence of a politically active movement known as the "association" that was accompanied by the birth of Arab nationalism and the demand for reformation in the Ottoman Empire. This led to the calling of the establishment of modern states based on Europe. It was during this stage that the first compound of the Arabic language was introduced along with the printing of it in letters, and later the movement influenced the fields of music, sculpture, history, humanities, economics and human rights.


title: Arab Christians

text: This cultural renaissance during the late Ottoman rule was a quantum leap for Arabs in the post-industrial revolution, and is not limited to the individual fields of cultural renaissance in the nineteenth century, as the Nahda only extended to include the spectrum of society and the fields as a whole. Christian colleges (accepting of all faiths) like Saint Joseph University, American University of Beirut (Syrian Protestant College until 1920) and Al-Hikma University in Baghdad amongst others played a prominent role in the development of Arab culture. It is agreed amongst historians the importance the roles played by the Arab Christians in this renaissance, and their role in the prosperity through participation in the diaspora. Given this role in politics and culture, Ottoman ministers began to include them in their governments. In the economic sphere, a number of Christian families like the Greek Orthodox Sursock family became prominent. Thus, the Nahda led the Muslims and Christians to a cultural renaissance and national general despotism. This solidified Arab Christians as one of the pillars of the region and not a minority on the fringes.


title: Arab Christians

text: The Massacre of Aleppo of 1850 often referred to simply as The Events was a riot perpetrated by Muslim residents of Aleppo, largely from the eastern quarters of the city, against Christian residents, largely located in the northern suburbs of the predominantly Christian neighbourhood Judayde (Jdeideh) and Salibeh. The Events are considered by historians to be particularly important in Aleppian history, for they represent the first time disturbances pitted Muslims against Christians in the region. The patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church Peter VII Jarweh was fatally wounded in the attacks and died a year later. 20–70 people died from rioting and 5,000 died as a result of bombardment.


title: Arab Christians

text: The relationship between the Druze and Christians has been characterized by harmony and peaceful coexistence, with amicable relations between the two groups prevailing throughout history, with the exception of some periods. The 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus was a civil conflict and later massacre started in Mount Lebanon during Ottoman rule in 1860–1861, fought mainly between the local Druze and Maronite Christians. Following decisive Druze victories and massacres against the Christians, the conflict spilled over into other parts of Ottoman Syria, particularly Damascus, where thousands of Christian residents were killed by Druze and Muslim militiamen. With the connivance of the military authorities and Turkish soldiers, Druze and Muslim paramilitary groups organised pogroms in Damascus which lasted three days (9–11 July). By the war's end, around 20,000 people, mainly Catholic Christians, had been killed in Mount Lebanon and Damascus, and many Christian villages and churches were destroyed. Historian Mikhail Mishaqas' memoir of the massacre is valuable to historians, as it is the only account written by a survivor in Damascus.


title: Arab Christians

text: Melkite Greek Catholic and Maronite Christians suffered negligence from the Ottoman authorities and a naval blockade from France and Britain, resulting in the Great Famine of Mount Lebanon (1915–1918) during World War I, which ran in conjunction with the Armenian genocide, the Assyrian genocide and the Greek genocide. The Mount Lebanon famine caused the highest fatality rate by population during World War I. Around 200,000 people starved to death when the population of Mount Lebanon was estimated to be 400,000 people. The Lebanese diaspora in Egypt funded the shipping of food supplies to Mount Lebanon, sent via the Syrian Island town of Arwad. On 26 May 1916, Lebanese-American writer Khalil Gibran wrote a letter to Mary Haskell that read:


title: Arab Christians

text: "The famine in Mount Lebanon has been planned and instigated by the Turkish government. Already 80,000 have succumbed to starvation and thousands are dying every single day. The same process happened with the Christian Armenians and applied to the Christians in Mount Lebanon."


title: Arab Christians

text: During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, a number of Palestinian Greek Orthodox and Melkite communities were ethnically cleansed and driven out of their towns, including al-Bassa, Ramla, Lod, Safed, Kafr Bir'im, Iqrit, Tarbikha, Eilabun and Haifa. Many Christian towns or neighborhoods were ethnically cleansed and destroyed during the period between 1948 and 1953. All the Christian residents of Safed, Beisan, Tiberias were removed, and a big percentage displaced in Haifa, Jaffa, Lydda and Ramleh. Arab Christian Constantin Zureiq was the first to coin the term "Nakba" in reference to the 1948 Palestinian exodus.


title: Arab Christians

text: In 1975, the Lebanese Civil War occurred between two broad camps, the mainly Christian 'rightist' Lebanese Front consisting of Maronites and Melkites, and the mainly Muslim and Arab nationalist 'leftist' National Movement, supported by the Druze, Greek Orthodox and the Palestinian community. The war was characterized by the kidnap, rape and massacre of those caught in the wrong place as each side eliminated 'enemy' enclaves – mainly Christian or Muslim low-income areas. In 1982 Israel invaded Lebanon with the aim of destroying the PLO, which it besieged in West Beirut. Israel was later obliged to withdraw as a result of multiple guerrilla attacks by the Lebanese National Resistance Front and increasing hostility across all forces in Lebanon to their presence.


title: Arab Christians

text: With the events of the Arab Spring, the Syrian Arab Christian community was heavily hit in line with other Christian communities of Syria, being victimized by the war and specifically targeted as a minority by Jihadist forces. Many Christians, including Arab Christians, were displaced or fled Syria over the course of the Syrian Civil War, however the majority stayed and continue to fight with the Syrian Armed Forces and the allied Eagles of the Whirlwind (armed wing of the SSNP) against insurgents today. When the conflict in Syria began, it was reported that Christians were cautious and avoided taking sides, but that due to the increased violence in Syria and ISIL's growth, Arab Christians have shown support for Assad, fearing that if Assad is overthrown, they will be targeted. Christians support the Assad regime based on fear that the end of the current government could lead to instability. The Carnegie Middle East Center stated that the majority of Christians are more in support of the regime because they fear a chaotic situation or to be under the control of the Islamist Western and Turkish backed armed groups.


title: Arab Christians

text: Millions of people are descended from Arab Christians and they live outside the Middle East, in the Arab diaspora. They mainly reside in the Americas, but many people of Arab Christian descent also reside in Europe, Africa and Oceania. Among them, one million Palestinian Christians live in the Palestinian diaspora and 6–7 million Brazilians are estimated to have Lebanese ancestry. Mass Arab immigration started in the 1890s as Lebanese and Syrian people fled from the political and economic instability which was caused by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. These early immigrants were known as Syro-Lebanese, Lebanese and Palestinians, or Turks. The majority of Arab Americans are Christians.


title: Arab Christians

text: Historical events that caused the mass-emigration of Arab Christians include: 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus, 1915–1918 Great Famine of Mount Lebanon, 1948 Palestinian exodus, 1956–57 exodus and expulsions from Egypt, Lebanese civil war, and the Iraq war.


title: Arab Christians

text: The Mahjar (one of its more literal meanings being "the Arab diaspora") was a literary movement that succeeded the Nahda movement. It was started by Christian Arabic-speaking writers who had emigrated to America from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine at the turn of the 20th century. The writers of the Mahjar movement were stimulated by their personal encounter with the Western world and participated in the renewal of Arabic literature, hence their proponents referred to as writers of the "late Nahda".


title: Arab Christians

text: The Pen League was the first Arabic-language literary society in North America, formed initially by Syrians Nasib Arida and Abd al-Masih Haddad. Members of the Pen League included: Kahlil Gibran, Elia Abu Madi, Mikhail Naimy, and Ameen Rihani. Eight out of the ten members were Greek Orthodox and two were Maronite Christians. The league dissolved following Gibran's death in 1931 and Mikhail Naimy's return to Lebanon in 1932. Naimy was made famous internationally for his spiritual writings, most notably "The Book of Mirdad".


title: Arab Christians

text: Notable diaspora figures include Swiss businessman of Lebanese Greek Orthodox descent Nicolas Hayek, and Mexican business magnate of Maronite descent, Carlos Slim. From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world by the "Forbes" magazine. Figures in entertainment include actors Omar Sharif (Melkite-born), Salma Hayek, Tony Shalhoub, Vince Vaughn, Danny Thomas, Oscar award winner F. Murray Abraham and film director Youssef Chahine. Figures in academics include plant biologist Joanne Chory, scholar Nassim Nicholas Taleb, cardiac and vascular surgeon Michael DeBakey, inventor of the iPod and co-inventor of the iPhone Tony Fadell, mathematician Michael Atiyah, professor Charles Elachi, intellectual Edward Said, and Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry Elias James Corey and Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine Peter Medawar. Other notables include legendary White House reporter Helen Thomas, activist and presidential candidate Ralph Nader, judge Rosemary Barkett, and US governor and academic administrator Mitch Daniels.


title: Arab Christians

text: The "Arab Christian" label largely belongs to followers of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Maronite Church and Oriental Orthodox Churches, though there are also adherents to other churches, including Latin Catholic Church and Protestant Churches.


title: Arab Christians

text: The issue of self-identification arises regarding specific Christian communities across the Arab world. A significant proportion of Maronites claim descent from the Phoenicians, whilst a significant proportion of Copts claim that they descend from the Ancient Egyptians.


title: Arab Christians

text: The designation "Greek" in the Greek Orthodox Church and Melkite Greek Catholic Church refers to the use of Koine Greek in liturgy, used today alongside Arabic. As a result, the Greek dominated clergy was commonplace serving the Arabic speaking Christians, the majority who couldn't speak Greek. Some viewed Greek rule as cultural imperialism and demanded emancipation from Greek control, as well as the abolishment of the centralized structure of the institution via Arab inclusion in decision-making processes.The struggle for the Arabization of the Eastern Orthodox Church against the Greek clerical hegemony in Palestine led Orthodox Christian intellectuals to rebel against the Church's Greek dominated hierarchy. The rebellion was divided between those who sought a common Ottoman cause against European intrusions and those who identified with Arab nationalism against pan-Turkic (Ottoman) nationalism. Its main advocates were well known community leaders and writers in Palestine, such as Ya'qub Farraj, Khalil al-Sakakini, Yusuf al-Bandak (publisher of "Sawtal-Sha'b") and cousins Yousef and Issa El-Issa (founders of "Falastin"). The cousins were among the first to elucidate the Arab struggle against the Greek clerical hegemony of the Church of Jerusalem. Both Sakakini and El-Issa argued that the Palestinian and the Syrian (Antiochian) community constituted an oppressed majority, controlled and manipulated by a minority Greek clergy.


title: Arab Christians

text: There have been numerous disputes between the Arab and the Greek leadership of the church in Jerusalem from the Mandate onwards. Jordan encouraged the Greeks to open the Brotherhood to Arab members of the community between 1948 and 1967 when the West Bank was under Jordanian rule. Land and political disputes have been common since 1967, with the Greek priests portrayed as collaborators with Israel. Land disputes include the sale of St. John's property in the Christian quarter, the transfer of fifty dunams near Mar Elias Monastery, and the sale of two hotels and twenty-seven stores on Omar Bin Al-Khattab square near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. A dispute between the Palestinian Authority and the Greek Patriarch Irenaios led to the Patriarch being dismissed and demoted because of accusations of a real estate deal with Israel. It was later ruled uncanonical by Patriarch Bartholomew.


title: Arab Christians

text: The homeland of the Antiochian Greek Christians, known as the Diocese of the East, was one of the major commercial, agricultural, religious, and intellectual areas of the Roman Empire, and its strategic location facing the Persian Sassanid Empire gave it exceptional military importance. They are either members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch or the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, and they have ancient roots in the Levant; more specifically, the territories of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Hatay, which includes the city of Antakya (ancient Antioch). Antiochian Greeks constitute a multi-national group of people and thus construct their identity in relation to specific historical moments. Analyzing cultural identity as a conscious construction is more helpful than a simple labelling of ethnicity, thus the identity is assumed to accentuate the separate origin unique to the Christian Rūm (literally "Eastern Romans") of the Levant. Some members of the community also call themselves Melkite, which means "monarchists" or "supporters of the emperor" (a reference to their past allegiance to Macedonian and Roman imperial rule) although in the modern era, that term tends to be more commonly used by followers of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church.


title: Arab Christians

text: The Orthodox Christian congregation was included in an ethno-religious community, Rum Millet ("Roman nation"), during the Ottoman Empire. Its name was derived from the former Eastern Roman (Byzantine) subjects of the Ottoman Empire, but all Orthodox Greeks, Bulgarians, Albanians, Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians and Serbs, as well as Georgians and Middle Eastern Christians, were considered part of the same millet in spite of their differences in ethnicity and language. Belonging to this Orthodox commonwealth became more important to the common people than their ethnic origins.


title: Arab Christians

text: The former Patriarch of the Chaldean Church, Emmanuel III Delly, made the following comment in a 2006 interview:"Any Chaldean who calls himself an Assyrian is a traitor and any Assyrian who calls himself Chaldean is a traitor."The Chaldean Church—which had been part of the Nestorian Church, or Church of the East, until 1552–3—began in earnest to distance itself from the Nestorians who were now seen as the 'uncouth Assyrians'. During this period, many Chaldeans began identifying themselves solely by their religious community, and later as Iraqis, Iraqi Christians, or Arab Christians, rather than with the Assyrian community as a whole. The first split for the two groups came in 431, when they broke away from what was to become the Roman Catholic church over a theological dispute. The reverberation of religious animosity between these communities still continues today, a testament to the machinations of power politics in the nation-building of the Middle East. The Iraqi Chaldeans positioned themselves deliberately as a religious group within the Arab Iraqi nation. The Arab identity of the state was not only acceptable to them, but was even staunchly endorsed. The Arab nationalism they supported did not discriminate according to religion and was therefore also acceptable to them. Today, due to both forced and accepted Arabization, many Chaldeans identify themselves situationally as Arabs.


title: Arab Christians

text: The Assyrians/Syriacs (including Chaldeans) form the majority of Christians in Iraq, northeast Syria, south-east Turkey and north-west Iran. They are specifically defined as "non-Arab" indigenous ethnic group, including by the governments of Iraq, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Israel, and Turkey.


title: Arab Christians

text: Christianity in the Middle East represents a large part of the region's diverse culture mosaic. The region includes the oldest Christian monuments in addition to the liturgy and hymns that have spread since the second century AD throughout the region. Christian Arabs have played a significant cultural, political, economic and scientific role in the Arab world, from the Islamic Golden Age to the modern era. Translations of the Bible into Arabic are known from the early Christian churches in Syria, Egypt, Malta and Al-Andalus. Christian Arabs celebrate various holy days, which include the Feast of the Cross, Eid il-Burbara, the Feast of St. George, and the Feast of the Prophet Elijah. In Christian traditions, Sergius and Bacchus are considered the patron saints of the Arabs.


title: Arab Christians

text: There are no major cultural differences between Christian Arabs and the general Arab environment. Some differences arise from religious differences, for example customs and traditions related to marriage or burial. Also, in social events in which the participants are Christians, alcoholic beverages are often served (apart from those denominations that encourage teetotalism), unlike what is prevalent in most Arab societies because Islamic law forbids strong drink. Christian cuisine is similar to other Middle Eastern cuisines, unlike in Jewish cuisine and Islamic cuisines in the region, pork is allowed among Arab Christians, though it is not widely consumed. Male circumcision is near-universal among Christian Arabs, and they practice it shortly after birth as part of a rite of passage, though the practice of circumcision was dropped in the New Testament, meaning that the mainstream Churches do not oblige their followers to do so. While in some Eastern Christian denominations, such as Coptic Christianity, male circumcision is an established practice, and require that their male members undergo circumcision shortly after birth as part of a rite of passage.


title: Arab Christians

text: Christianity came to Algeria in the Roman era, and declined after the arrival of Islam in the 7th century. A notable Berber Christian of Algeria was Saint Augustine (and his mother Saint Monica), important saints in Christianity. Prior to independence from France in 1962, Algeria was home to 1.4 million "pieds-noirs" (ethnic French who were mostly Catholic). Arguably, many more Maghrebi Christians live in France than in North Africa, due to the exodus of the "pieds-noirs" in the 1960s.


title: Arab Christians

text: In 2009, the percentage of Christians in Algeria was less than 2%. In this same survey, the United Nations counted 100,000 Catholics and 45,000 Protestants in the country. A 2015 study estimates 380,000 Muslims converted to Christianity in Algeria. Conversions have been most common in the Kabylie. Charles de Foucauld was renowned for his missions in Algeria among Muslims, including Arabs.


title: Arab Christians

text: Native Christians who hold Bahraini citizenship number approximately 1,000 persons. The majority of Christians are originally from Iraq, Palestine and Jordan, with a small minority having lived in Bahrain for many centuries; the majority have been living as Bahraini citizens for less than a century. There are also smaller numbers of native Christians who originally hail from Lebanon, Syria, and India. The majority of Christian Bahraini citizens tend to be Orthodox Christians, with the largest church by membership being the Greek Orthodox Church. They enjoy many equal religious and social freedoms. Bahrain has Christian members in the Bahraini government.


title: Arab Christians

text: The Copts in Egypt constitute the largest Christian community in the Middle East, as well as the largest religious minority in the region, accounting for an estimated 10% of Egyptian population.


title: Arab Christians

text: Since antiquity, there has always been a Levantine presence in Egypt, however they started becoming a distinctive minority in Egypt around the early 18th century. The Syro-Lebanese Christians of Egypt were highly influenced by European culture and established churches, printing houses and businesses across Egypt. Their aggregate wealth was reckoned at one and a half billion francs, 10% of the Egyptian GDP at the end of the 20th century. They took advantage of the Egyptian constitution that established the juridical equality of all citizens and granted the Syro-Lebanese Christians the fullness of civil rights, prior to the Nasser reforms.


title: Arab Christians

text: The Arab Christian community in Iraq is relatively small, and further dwindled due to the Iraq War to just several thousand. Most Arab Christians in Iraq belong traditionally to Greek Orthodox and Catholic Churches and are concentrated in major cities such as Baghdad, Basra and Mosul. The vast majority of the remaining 450,000 to 900,000 Christians in Iraq are Assyrian people.


title: Arab Christians

text: Significant persecution of Iraqi Christians in Mosul and other areas held by ISIS occurred from 2014 onwards, with Christian houses identified as "N" for "Nasrani" (Christian).


title: Arab Christians

text: In December 2009, 122,000 Arab Christians lived in Israel, as Arab citizens of Israel, out of a total of 151,700 Christian citizens. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, on the eve of Christmas 2013, there were approximately 161,000 Christians in Israel, about 2 percent of the general population in Israel. 80% of the Christians are Arab with smaller Christian communities of ethnic Russians, Ukrainians, Greeks, Armenians, and Assyrians/Syriacs. As of 2014 the Melkite Greek Catholic Church was the largest Christian community in Israel, where about 60% of Israeli Christians belonged to the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, while around 30% of Israeli Christians belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. The Christian communities in Israel run numerous schools, colleges, hospitals, clinics, orphanages, homes for the elderly, dormitories, family and youth centers, hotels, and guesthouses.The city of Nazareth has the largest Arab Christian community in Israel, followed by the cities of Haifa, Jerusalem and Shefa-Amr. The Christian Arab communities in Nazareth and Haifa tend to be wealthier and better educated compare to other Arabs elsewhere in Israel. Christians live in a number of other towns in Galilee either singly or mixed with Muslims and Druze, such as Abu Snan, Arraba, Bi'ina, Daliyat al-Karmel, Deir Hanna, Eilabun, Hurfeish, I'billin, Isfiya, Jadeidi-Makr, Jish, Kafr Kanna, Kafr Yasif, Kisra-Sumei, Maghar, Mazra'a, Muqeible, Peki'in, Rameh, Ras al-Ein, Reineh, Sakhnin, Shefa-Amr, Tur'an, Yafa an-Naseriyye and others have a presence of Arab Christian communities too as do other mixed cities, especially Jerusalem and Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Ramleh, Lod, Acre, Nof HaGalil, and Ma'alot Tarshiha. It is reported that all the inhabitants of Fassuta and Mi'ilya are Melkite Christians.


title: Arab Christians

text: Arab Christians are one of the most educated groups in Israel. Maariv has described the Christian Arabs sectors as "the most successful in education system". Statistically, Christian Arabs in Israel have the highest rates of educational attainment among all religious communities. According to a data by Israel Central Bureau of Statistics in 2010, 63% of Israeli Christian Arabs have had college or postgraduate education, the highest of any religious and ethno-religious group. Christian Arabs also have one of the highest rates of success in the matriculation examinations "per capita", (73.9%) in 2016 both in comparison to Muslims, Druze, Jews and all students in the Israeli education system as a group. Arab Christians were also the vanguard in terms of eligibility for higher education. They have attained a bachelor's degree and academic degree more than Jewish, Muslims and Druze "per capita". The rate of students studying in the field of medicine was also higher among the Christian Arab students, compared with all the students from other sectors. Despite the fact that Arab Christians only represent 2.1% of the total Israeli population, in 2014 they accounted for 17.0% of the country's university students, and for 14.4% of its college students. Socio-economically, Arab Christians are closer to the Jewish population than to the Muslim population. They have the lowest incidence of poverty and the lowest percentage of unemployment which is 4.9% compared to 6.5% among Jewish men and women. They have also the highest median household income among Arab citizens of Israel and second highest median household income among the Israeli ethno-religious groups. According to study the majority of Christians in Israel (68.2 per cent) are employed in the service sector, i.e. banks, insurance companies, schools, tourism, hospitals etc. Among Arab Christians in Israel, some emphasize pan-Arabism, whilst a small minority enlists in the Israel Defense Forces.


title: Arab Christians

text: Jordan contains some of the oldest Christian communities in the world, their presence dating back to the first century AD. Today, Christians today make up about 4% of the population, down from 20% in 1930. This is due to high immigration rates of Muslims into Jordan, higher emigration rates of Christians to the west and higher birth rates for Muslims. Christians in Jordan are exceptionally well integrated in the Jordanian society and enjoy a high level of freedom. Christians are allotted nine out of a total of 130 seats in the Parliament of Jordan, and also hold important ministerial portfolios, ambassadorial appointments, and positions of high military rank. All Christian religious ceremonies are publicly celebrated in Jordan.


title: Arab Christians

text: Jordanian Arab Christians (some have Palestinian roots since 1948) number around 221,000, according to a 2014 estimate by the Orthodox Church. The study excluded minority Christian groups and the thousands of western, Iraqi and Syrian Christians residing in Jordan. Another estimate suggests the Orthodox number 125–300,000, Catholics at 114,000 and Protestants at 30,000 for a total 270–450,000. Most native Christians in Jordan identify themselves as Arab, though there are also significant Assyrian and Armenian populations in the country. There has also been an influx of Christian refugees escaping Daesh, mainly from Mosul, Iraq, numbering about 7000 and 20,000 from Syria. King Abdullah II of Jordan has made firm statements about Arab Christians:"Let me say once again: Arab Christians are an integral part of my region's past, present, and future."


title: Arab Christians

text: Kuwait's native Christian population exists, though is essentially small. There are between 259 and 400 Christian Kuwaiti citizens. Christian Kuwaitis can be divided into two groups. The first group includes the earliest Kuwaiti Christians, who originated from Iraq and Turkey. They have assimilated into Kuwaiti society, like their Muslim counterparts, and tend to speak Arabic with a Kuwaiti dialect; their food and culture are also predominantly Kuwaiti. They makeup roughly a quarter of Kuwait's Christian population. The rest (roughly three-quarters) of Christian Kuwaitis make up the second group. They are more recent arrivals in the 1950s and 1960s, mostly Kuwaitis of Palestinian ancestry who were forced out of Palestine after 1948. There are also smaller numbers who originally hail from Syria and Lebanon. This second group is not as assimilated as the first group, as their food, culture, and Arabic dialect still retain a Levant feel. However, they are just as patriotic as the former group, and tend to be proud of their adopted homeland, with many serving in the army, police, civil, and foreign service. Most of Kuwait's citizen Christians belong to 12 large families, with the Shammas (from Turkey) and the Shuhaibar (from Palestine) families being some of the more prominent ones.


title: Arab Christians

text: Lebanon holds the largest number of Christians in the Arab world proportionally and falls just behind Egypt in absolute numbers. About 350,000-450,000 of Christians in Lebanon are Orthodox and Melkites, while the most dominant group are Maronites with about 1 million population, whose Arab identity is contentiously disputed. Lebanese Christians are the only Christians in the Middle East with a sizable political role in the country. In accordance with the National Pact, the President of Lebanon must be a Maronite Christian, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament and Deputy Prime Minister a Greek Orthodox Christian and Melkites and Protestants have nine reserved seats in the Parliament of Lebanon. The Maronites and the Druze founded modern Lebanon in the early eighteenth century, through the ruling and social system known as the "Maronite-Druze dualism" in Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate.


title: Arab Christians

text: Christians constituted 60% of the population of Lebanon in 1932. The exact number of Christians in modern Lebanon is uncertain because no official census has been made in Lebanon since 1932. Lebanese Christians belong mostly to the Maronite and Greek Orthodox Churches, with sizable minorities belonging to the Melkite Greek Catholic Church and Armenian Apostolic Church. The community of Armenians in Lebanon is politically and demographically significant.


title: Arab Christians

text: Christianity had a presence in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica in Roman times. A 2015 estimates some 1,500 Christian believers from a Muslim background residing in the country.


title: Arab Christians

text: Christianity in Morocco appeared during the Roman times, when it was practiced by Christian Berbers in Roman Mauretania Tingitana, although it disappeared after the Islamic conquests. Morocco was home to half a million Christian Europeans (mostly of Spanish and French ancestry) prior to Moroccan independence. The U.S. State Department estimates the number of Arab and Berber Christians in Morocco as more than 40,000. Pew-Templeton estimates the number of Moroccan Christians at 20,000. The number of the Moroccans who converted to Christianity (most of them secret worshippers) are estimated between 8,000–50,000.


title: Arab Christians

text: Most of the Palestinian Christians claim descent from the first Christian converts, Arameans, Ghassanid Arabs and Greeks who settled in the region. Between 36,000 and 50,000 Christians live in Palestine, most of whom belong to the Orthodox (Including Greek, Syriac and Armenian Orthodox), Catholic (Roman and Melchite) churches and Evangelical communities. The majority of Palestinian Christians live in the Bethlehem and Ramallah areas with a less number in other places. In 2007, just before the Hamas takeover of Gaza, there were 3,200 Christians living in the Gaza Strip. Half the Christian community in Gaza fled to the West Bank and abroad after the Hamas take-over in 2007. However, Palestinian Christians in Gaza face restrictions on their freedom of movement by the Israeli blockade, which has been cited as one of the reasons contributing to their dwindling numbers.


title: Arab Christians

text: Many Palestinian Christians hold high-ranking positions in Palestinian society, particularly at the political and social levels. They manage the high ranking schools, universities, cultural centers and hospitals, however, Christian communities in the Palestinian Authority and the Gaza Strip have greatly dwindled over the last two decades. The causes of the Palestinian Christian exodus are widely debated and it started since the Ottoman times. Reuters reports that many Palestinian Christians emigrate in pursuit of better living standards. The Vatican saw the Israeli occupation and the general conflict in the Holy Land as the principal reasons for the Christian exodus from the territories. The decline of the Christian community in Palestine follows the trend of Christian emigration from the Muslim-dominated Middle East. Some churches have attempted to ameliorate the rate of emigration of young Christians by building subsidized housing for them and expanding efforts at job training.


title: Arab Christians

text: Some parts of modern Saudi Arabia, such as Najran, were predominantly Christian until the 7th to 10th century, when most Christians were expelled or converted to Islam or left the region via the Sea route to Asia, with which merchant trade already existed, others migrated north to Jordan and Syria. Some Arab Christians who remained living as crypto-Christians. Some Arabian tribes, such as Banu Taghlib and Banu Tamim, followed Christianity.


title: Arab Christians

text: Today, Saudi Arabia's Arab Christian population consists mostly of Lebanese and Syrians living in diaspora.


title: Arab Christians

text: There were approximately 1.1 million Catholics in Sudan, about 3.2 percent of the total population. Sudan forms one ecclesiastical province, consisting of one archdiocese (the Archdiocese of Khartoum) and one suffragan diocese (the diocese of El Obeid). The vast majority of Sudan's Catholics ended up in South Sudan after the partition.


title: Arab Christians

text: The Arab Christians of Syria are Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic (Melkites) as well as some Latin Rite Roman Catholics. Non-Arab Syrian Christians include Assyrians/Syriacs (mainly in the northeast), Greeks and Armenians. Assyrian Iraqi Christian refugees fled to Syria after massacres in Turkey and Iraq during and after WWI and then post-2003. Due to the Syrian civil war, a large number of Christians fled the country to Lebanon, Jordan, and Europe, though the major share of the population still resides in Syria (some being internally displaced). Western Aramaic is spoken by Arab Christians and Muslims alike in remote villages in Syria, including Maaloula, Jubb'adin and Bakhah.


title: Arab Christians

text: The largest Christian denomination in Syria is the Greek Orthodox church, most of whom are Arab Christians, followed in second place by the Syriac Orthodox, many of whose followers espouse an Assyrian identity. The combined population of Syria and Lebanon in 1910 was estimated at 30% in a population of 3.5 million. According to the 1960 census in Syria which recorded just over 4.5 million inhabitants, Christians formed just under 15% of the population (or 675,000). Since 1960 the population of Syria has increased five-fold, but the Christian population only 3.5 times. Due to political reasons, no newer census has been taken since. Most recent estimates prior to the Syrian civil war suggested that overall Christians were about 10% of the overall population of Syrian 23 million citizens, due to having lower birth rates and higher emigration rates than their Muslim compatriots.


title: Arab Christians

text: Although religious freedom is allowed in the Syrian Arab Republic, all citizens of Syria including Christians, are subject to the Shari'a-based personal status laws regulating child custody, inheritance, and adoption. For example, in the case of divorce, a woman loses the right to custody of her sons when they reach the age of thirteen and her daughters when they reach the age of fifteen, regardless of religion.


title: Arab Christians

text: Christianity came in Tunisia during Roman rule. However, after the arrival of Islam, the population of Christians decreased in the country. Prior to Tunisian independence, Tunisia was home to 255,000 Christian Europeans (mostly of Italian and Maltese ancestry). The International Religious Freedom Report of 2007 reported that the Christian community numbered 50,000 people, 20,000 of whom were Catholics. In the Annuario Pontificio of 2018, the number of Catholics is estimated to have risen to 30,700. However, the number of Tunisian Christians is estimated to be around 23,500.


title: Arab Christians

text: The Roman Catholic Church in Tunisia operates 12 churches, 9 schools and several libraries throughout the country. In addition to holding religious services, the Catholic Church opened a monastery, freely organized cultural activities, and performed charitable work throughout Tunisia. According to church leaders, there are 2,000 practicing Protestant Christians, most of them are Tunisians who converted to Christianity. There is also a small community of Jehovaha's Witnesses numbering around 50, only half of which identify as Arab.


title: Arab Christians

text: Today, there are more than 120,000–320,000 people of various Christian denominations in Turkey. Antiochian Greeks who mostly live in Hatay Province, are one of the Arabic-speaking communities in Turkey, their number approximately 18,000. They are Greek Orthodox. However, they are sometimes known as Arab Christians, primarily because of their language. Antioch (capital of Hatay Province) is also the historical capital of Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. Turkey is also home to a number of non-Arab Armenians (who number around 70,000), Greeks (who number around 5,000 not including Antiochian Greeks) and Assyrian Christians in the southeast (who number more than 25,000). The village of Tokaçlı in Altınözü District has an entirely Arab Christian population and is one of the few Christian villages in Turkey.


title: Arab Christians

text: Christianity was a widespread religion on the territory of contemporary Yemen as early as in 6th century before arrival of Islam in Yemen. Today it is a minority religion in Yemen with only a few thousand followers which has greatly been reduced amid the Yemeni Civil War.


title: Beechcraft Model 18

text: The Beechcraft Model 18 (or "Twin Beech", as it is also known) is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 to November 1969 (over 32 years, a world record at the time), over 9,000 were built, making it one of the world's most widely used light aircraft. Sold worldwide as a civilian executive, utility, cargo aircraft, and passenger airliner on tailwheels, nosewheels, skis, or floats, it was also used as a military aircraft.


title: Beechcraft Model 18

text: During and after World War II, over 4,500 Beech 18s were used in military service—as light transport, light bomber (for China), aircrew trainer (for bombing, navigation, and gunnery), photo-reconnaissance, and "mother ship" for target drones—including United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) C-45 Expeditor, AT-7 Navigator, and AT-11 Kansan; and United States Navy (USN) UC-45J Navigator, SNB-1 Kansan, and others. In World War II, over 90% of USAAF bombardiers and navigators trained in these aircraft.


title: Beechcraft Model 18

text: In the early postwar era, the Beech 18 was the pre-eminent "business aircraft" and "feeder airliner". Besides carrying passengers, its civilian uses have included aerial spraying, sterile insect release, fish stocking, dry-ice cloud seeding, aerial firefighting, air-mail delivery, ambulance service, numerous movie productions, skydiving, freight, weapon- and drug-smuggling, engine testbed, skywriting, banner towing, and stunt aircraft. Many are privately owned, around the world, with 240 in the U.S. still on the FAA Aircraft Registry in August 2017.


title: Beechcraft Model 18

text: By the late 1930s, Beechcraft management speculated that a demand would exist for a new design dubbed the Model 18, which would have a military application, and increased the main production facilities. The design was mainly conventional for the time, including twin radial engines, all-metal semimonocoque construction with fabric-covered control surfaces, and tailwheel undercarriage. Less conventional was the twin-tailfin configuration. The Model 18 can be mistaken for the larger Lockheed Electra series of airliners, which closely resemble it. Early production aircraft were powered either by two 330-hp (250-kW) Jacobs L-6s or 350-hp (260-kW) Wright R-760Es. The 450-hp (336-kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985 became the definitive engine from the prewar C18S onwards. The Beech 18 prototype first flew on January 15, 1937.


title: Beechcraft Model 18

text: The aircraft has used a variety of engines and has had a number of airframe modifications to increase gross weight and speed. At least one aircraft was modified to a 600-hp (447-kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1340 powerplant configuration. With the added weight of about 200 lb (91 kg) per engine, the concept of a Model 18 fitted with R-1340 engines was deemed unsatisfactory due to the weakest structural area of the aircraft being the engine mounts. Nearly every airframe component has been modified.


title: Beechcraft Model 18

text: In 1955, deliveries of the Model E18S commenced; the E18S featured a fuselage that was extended higher for more headroom in the passenger cabin. All later Beech 18s (sometimes called Super 18s) featured this taller fuselage, and some earlier models (including one AT-11) have been modified to this larger fuselage. The Model H18, introduced in 1963, featured optional tricycle undercarriage. Unusually, the undercarriage was developed for earlier-model aircraft under an STC by Volpar, and installed in H18s at the factory during manufacture. A total of 109 H18s was built with tricycle undercarriage, and another 240 earlier-model aircraft were modified with this.


title: Beechcraft Model 18

text: Construction of the Beechcraft Model 18 ended in 1970 with a final Model H18 going to Japan Airlines. Through the years, 32 variations of the basic design had flown, over 200 improvement modification kits were developed, and almost 8,000 aircraft were built. In one case, the aircraft was modified to a triple tail, trigear, humpbacked configuration and appeared similar to a miniature Lockheed Constellation. Another distinctive conversion was carried out by Pacific Airmotive as the PacAero Tradewind. This featured a lengthened nose to accommodate the tricycle nosewheel, and the Model 18's twin tailfins were replaced by a single fin.


title: Beechcraft Model 18

text: Production got an early boost when Nationalist China paid the company US$750,000 for six M18R light bombers, but by the time of the U.S. entry into World War II, only 39 Model 18s had been sold, of which 29 were for civilian customers. Work began in earnest on a variant specifically for training United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) military pilots, bombardiers, and navigators. The effort resulted in the Army AT-7. Further development led to the AT-11 navigation trainer, C-45 military transport, and F-2 (the "F" standing for "Fotorecon", short for "photographic reconnaissance"). The United States Navy first adopted the Beech 18 as the JRB-1, equivalent to the F-2, followed by the JRB-2 transport; the JRB was initially named the Voyager, but this name did not enter common use, and JRBs were generally called Expeditors like their USAAF counterparts. The first JRB-1 obtained by the Navy, bureau number (BuNo) "09771", was converted from the last civil Model 18 built before production was earmarked solely for the military for the duration of the war. The Navy subsequently obtained more Model 18s as the JRB-3 (C-45B), JRB-4 (UC-45F), SNB-1 Kansan (AT-11), SNB-2 (AT-7), and SNB-2C (AT-7C). Existing naval Twin Beeches were subsequently modified into the SNB-2H air ambulance, SNB-2P reconnaissance trainer, and SNB-3Q electronic countermeasures trainer. The United States Coast Guard acquired seven JRB-4 and JRB-5 aircraft from the Navy between 1943 and 1947; they were primarily used as utility transports, with one aircraft later converted for aerial mapping, and another used for proficiency flying.


title: Beechcraft Model 18

text: After the war, the USAAF became the United States Air Force (USAF), and the USAF Strategic Air Command had Model 18 variants (AT-11 Kansans, C-45 Expeditors, F-2 Expeditors, and UC-45 Expeditors) from 1946 until 1951. In 1950, the Navy still had around 1,200 JRB and SNB aircraft in inventory. From 1951 to 1955, the USAF had many of its aircraft remanufactured with new fuselages, wing center sections, and undercarriages to take advantage of the improvements to the civil models since the end of World War II. Eventually, 900 aircraft were remanufactured to be similar to the then-current Model D18S and given new designations, constructor's numbers, and Air Force serial numbers. The USN had many of its surviving aircraft remanufactured as well, resulting in the JRB-6, the SNB-5, and SNB-5P. The Coast Guard retired its JRBs in 1956 and sold most of them as surplus in 1959, but one was retained by the United States Coast Guard Reserve until at least 1972. With the adoption of the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system, the Navy's SNB-5 and SNB-5P became the TC-45J and RC-45J respectively, later becoming the UC-45J as their primary mission shifted from aircrew training to utility transport work. The C-45 flew in USAF service until 1963, the USN retired its last UC-45J in 1972, while the U.S. Army flew its C-45s until 1976. In later years, the military called these aircraft "bug smashers" in reference to their extensive use supplying mandatory flight hours for desk-bound aviators in the Pentagon.


title: Beechcraft Model 18

text: Beech 18s were used extensively by Air America during the Vietnam War; initially more-or-less standard ex-military C-45 examples were used, but then the airline had 12 aircraft modified by Conrad Conversions in 1963 and 1964 to increase performance and load-carrying capacity. The modified aircraft were known as Conrad Ten-Twos, as the maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) was increased to . The increase was achieved by several airframe modifications, including increased horizontal stabilizer angle-of-incidence, redesigned undercarriage doors, and aerodynamically improved wingtips. Air America then had Volpar convert 14 aircraft to turboprop power, fitted with Garrett AiResearch TPE-331 engines; modified aircraft were called Volpar Turbo Beeches, and also had a further increase in MTOW to .


title: Beechcraft Model 18

text: The wing spar of the Model 18 was fabricated by welding an assembly of tubular steel. The configuration of the tubes in combination with drilled holes from aftermarket STC modifications on some of these aircraft have allowed the spar to become susceptible to corrosion and cracking while in service. This prompted the FAA to issue an Airworthiness Directive in 1975, mandating the fitting of a spar strap to some Model 18s. This led, in turn, to the retirement of a large number of STC-modified Model 18s when owners determined the aircraft were worth less than the cost of the modifications. The corrosion on unmodified spars was not a problem; it occurred due to the additional exposed surface area created through the STC hole-drilling process. Further requirements have been mandated by the FAA and other national airworthiness authorities, including regular removal of the spar strap to allow the strap to be checked for cracks and corrosion and the spar to be X-rayed. In Australia, the airworthiness authority has placed a life limit on the airframe, beyond which aircraft are not allowed to fly.


title: Beechcraft Model 18

text: , the Beechcraft Model 18 remains popular with air charter companies and small feeder airlines worldwide.


title: Psycho Killer

text: "Psycho Killer" is a song by the American band Talking Heads, released on their 1977 debut album "." The group first performed it as the Artistics in 1974.


title: Psycho Killer

text: The band also recorded an acoustic version of the song featuring Arthur Russell on cello. In the liner notes for "" (1992), Jerry Harrison wrote of the B-side of the single, "I'm glad we persuaded Tony [Bongiovi] and Lance [Quinn] that the version with the cellos shouldn't be the only one."


title: Psycho Killer

text: The band's "signature debut hit" features lyrics which seem to represent the thoughts of a serial killer. Originally written and performed as a ballad, "Psycho Killer" became what AllMusic calls a "deceptively funky new wave/no wave song" with "an insistent rhythm, and one of the most memorable, driving basslines in rock & roll."


title: Psycho Killer

text: "Psycho Killer" was the only song from the album to appear on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 92. It reached number 32 on the Triple J Hottest 100 in 1989, and peaked at number 11 on the Dutch singles chart in 1977. The song is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.


title: Psycho Killer

text: The song was composed near the beginning of the band's career and prototype versions were performed onstage as early as December 1975. When it was finally completed and released as a single in December 1977, "Psycho Killer" became instantly associated in popular culture with the contemporaneous Son of Sam serial killings. Although the band always insisted that the song had no inspiration from the notorious events, the single's release date was "eerily timely" and marked by a "macabre synchronicity".


title: Psycho Killer

text: According to the preliminary lyric sheets copied onto the 2006 remaster of "Talking Heads: 77", the song started off as a semi-narrative of the killer actually committing murders. In the liner notes of "", Byrne says:


title: Psycho Killer

text: The bridge lyrics are in French, as is the prominent chorus line ""Qu'est-ce que c'est?"" ("What is this/it?"). The bridge lyrics are:


title: Psycho Killer

text: The French lyrics were supplied by Weymouth. According to Frantz, "I told David that Tina's mother is French and that they always spoke French in the home. Tina agreed to do it and just sat down and did it in a little over an hour. I wrote a couple of more verses, and within a few hours, 'Psycho Killer' was more or less done."


title: Psycho Killer

text: Talking Heads performed the song on the BBC2 television show "The Old Grey Whistle Test" on January 31, 1978. The performance was later released on a DVD compilation of performances from the show.


title: Psycho Killer

text: A live version recorded in 1977 for radio broadcast was released on "The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads" in 1982, featuring an additional verse not heard in the studio version, and the later CD release included a second, later live version from the Remain in Light tour. In 1984, another live version was included on the soundtrack for the band's concert movie "Stop Making Sense". The film opens with Byrne alone onstage, announcing "'Hi. I've got a tape I want to play'...[and] strumming maniacally like Richie Havens," playing an acoustic version of "Psycho Killer", backed only by a Roland TR-808 drum machine whose sound appears to be issuing from a boombox.


title: Psycho Killer

text: The song also appears on their 1992 compilation album "" and, over a decade later, on another compilation album "The Best of Talking Heads".


title: Psycho Killer

text: The song has been recorded in cover versions by many bands including Julie Christensen, Velvet Revolver, James Hall, Cage the Elephant, Phish, Antiseen, Richard Thompson, The Bobs, Moxy Früvous, Rico, Victoria Vox, Wet Leg, The Wrecks, Brush Lash and the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain at the 2009 BBC Proms.


title: Psycho Killer

text: Massachusetts-based band The Fools parodied the song and entitled it "Psycho Chicken"; it was included as a bonus record with their major-label debut album "Sold Out" in 1980. Ice-T says that "Psycho Killer" was a starting influence for his band Body Count's controversial song "Cop Killer". Singer Selena Gomez samples the bassline on her 2017 single "Bad Liar." A Talking Heads tribute band based in Baltimore, active since 2011, call themselves the Psycho Killers.


title: The Rules of Attraction

text: The Rules of Attraction is a satirical black comedy novel by Bret Easton Ellis published in 1987. The novel follows a handful of rowdy and often sexually promiscuous, spoiled bohemian students at a liberal arts college in 1980s New Hampshire, including three who develop a love triangle. The novel is written in first person narrative, and the story is told from the points of view of various characters.


title: The Rules of Attraction

text: The book was adapted into a film of the same name in 2002. Ellis has remarked that among film adaptations of his books, "The Rules of Attraction" came closest to capturing his sensibility and recreating the world of his novels.


title: The Rules of Attraction

text: The novel is written in the first-person, continuing the aesthetic of Ellis' earlier "Less than Zero", and is told from the points of view of multiple characters. The main narrators are three students: Paul, Sean, and Lauren. A number of other characters also provide first-hand accounts throughout the story, which takes place at the fictional Camden College, a liberal arts school on the East Coast of the United States. The three main characters (who rarely attend class) end up in a love triangle within a sequence of drug runs, "Dressed to Get Screwed" parties, and "End of the World" parties.


title: The Rules of Attraction

text: The story begins and ends midway through a sentence (the first word in the book being 'and', the last words are 'and she') in order to give the effect that it begins somewhere closer to the middle, rather than at a true beginning (in medias res). Another interpretation is that the story has neither a beginning nor an ending, signifying the endless cycle of debauchery in which the characters of the novel engage. This is sometimes mistaken by readers as a typographical error or the result of a missing page, but was purposely written by Ellis.


title: The Rules of Attraction

text: Sean is a twenty-one-year-old student from a wealthy family. He is very promiscuous and a heavy substance abuser, as well as a drug dealer in the employ of Rupert Guest. He becomes romantically involved with Lauren, a relationship he considers to be true love. It is also implied that Sean is bisexual, as he apparently becomes involved in a sexual relationship with Paul Denton. However, whether these encounters are real or simply a product of Paul's imagination is left ambiguous; Paul narrates sexual incidents between himself and Sean, while such incidents are absent from Sean's own narration.


title: The Rules of Attraction

text: Sean is very bitter, cynical, and rather dim-witted, and is prone to self-loathing as well. He is also heavily implied to be somewhat of a sociopath, showing incredibly impulsive behavior (sleeping with Lauren's friend Judy, and at one point, breaking a box of singles he owns for no reason at all) and having no consideration for other people. He attempts suicide at multiple points in the book, first by hanging, then by slashing his wrist with a dull razor, and then by overdose after a falling out with Lauren. A major subplot in the novel is Sean's debt to Rupert, a violent townie drug dealer who often threatens to kill him. The character is the brother of the notorious Patrick Bateman and has also appeared in Ellis's other novels, "American Psycho", "The Informers" and "Glamorama".


title: The Rules of Attraction

text: Lauren is a painter and poet who has sexual relations with several boys on campus, all the while pining for Victor, her boyfriend who left Camden and headed to Europe. She is often depressed and very emotional. She is in her senior year at Camden.


title: The Rules of Attraction

text: At the beginning of the novel, it is revealed that Lauren lost her virginity at a party during her freshman year at Camden, where she got so intoxicated that she passed out in bed with another student only to awaken and find herself being raped by a pair of townies. She becomes romantically involved with Sean Bateman halfway through the book, even though she holds Sean in contempt and considers the relationship nothing but a way to pass the time before Victor comes back from Europe. She was also in a relationship with Paul before the events of the book take place. In "Glamorama", the character is revealed to have died shortly after the end of this novel. Her place is then taken by a body double who becomes reacquainted with Victor after having become a successful model and actress.


title: The Rules of Attraction

text: Paul is a young bisexual man who used to date Lauren. He is extremely attracted to Sean and claims that in bed Sean is "crazed, an untamed animal, it was almost scary" yet these thoroughly described accounts are entirely absent from Sean's entries. For example, the night Paul writes an account of his and Sean's first sexual encounter after the two talk in Paul's bedroom, Sean writes in his own account that he simply went home after talking to Paul, the two entries therefore lying in contradiction to one another. However, the true details of this relationship remain ambiguous and open to the reader's interpretation. Paul also had relationships with two other important characters, Mitchell and Richard (Dick). Paul is highly intelligent and passionate, but is not above obscuring these facts in the course of seduction. Several characters in the book remark upon his physical attractiveness, brought out by Roman features and soft blond hair. Paul's relationship with his mother, Eve, is complex; she yearns to reach out to him but is led towards iciness by Paul's flippancy, which in turn feeds their animosity.


title: The Rules of Attraction

text: The story is set at Camden College, a fictional liberal arts college in northeastern New Hampshire. In many ways, Camden mirrors Ellis' alma mater, Bennington College, and Hampden College, the setting of Donna Tartt's novel "The Secret History". Both books contain cross-references to each other's story lines and characters, as well as mention of actual campus buildings. Tartt mentions the suicide of a freshman girl in passing, while Ellis repeatedly mentions a group of classics majors who "dress like undertakers" and are suspected of staging pagan rituals and slaying farmers in the countryside (a reference to "The Secret History"). There is also mention of a "nice girl from Rockaway" in one of Lauren's narrations. This is possibly Alex from Jill Eisenstadt's novel "From Rockaway", who attended Camden College in the novel.


title: The Rules of Attraction

text: "The Rules of Attraction" was adapted into a film of the same name in 2002. It was directed by Roger Avary and starred James Van Der Beek as Sean, Shannyn Sossamon as Lauren, Ian Somerhalder as Paul, and Kip Pardue as Victor.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: Thani Oruvan () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Mohan Raja and written by Raja and Suresh and Balakrishnan. Produced by Kalpathi S. Aghoram, S. Ganesh and S. Suresh under the studio AGS Entertainment, it stars Jayam Ravi, Arvind Swamy and Nayanthara while Ganesh Venkataraman, Harish Uthaman, Nassar, Thambi Ramaiah, Mugdha Godse, amongst others play supporting roles.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: The plot revolves around IPS Officer Mithran, who wants to arrest Siddharth Abhimanyu, an affluent scientist who uses secret illegal medical practices for profit. "Thani Oruvan" was Raja's original story concept, unlike his previous ventures, which were remakes. Principal photography commenced on 6 December 2013, with filming took place in various locations including Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Dehradun, Mussoorie, and other locations.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: The cinematography and editing were handled by Ramji and Gopi Krishna respectively. The music was composed by Hiphop Tamizha, in which the soundtrack album received positive reviews. The film was released on 28 August 2015, to critical acclaim, with critics praising the performances of Jayam Ravi and Aravind Swamy, especially the latter and also Thambi Ramaiah, pace, screenplay, storyline & direction. It was a commercial success, and also became one of the highest grossing Tamil films of the year.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: The film was remade in Telugu as "Dhruva" (2016), and in Bengali as "One" (2017). Following the film's success, director Mohan Raja is planning for a sequel, titled "Thani Oruvan 2".


title: Thani Oruvan

text: 1980: A low-level party cadre Sengalvarayan was dedicated to his regional leader Tamizhvanan and party, to the extent that he is working for a party meeting when his wife goes into labour. Accidentally, Tamizhvanan comes to the area of Sengalvarayan's house, and lends his car to take Sengalvarayan's wife to the labour ward, but the delivery happens safely inside the car.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: 1996: Sengalvarayan's son Pazhani secures the first rank in his 10th standard state exam, and visits Tamizhvanan, now the chairman of the party and a member of the ruling coalition, for his blessings with his father. While they are waiting in the party office for the leader to come in, they witness an accidental murder of a rebel in the party, by Tamizhvanan due to caste-related comments by the rebel on him. When Tamizhvanan asks Sengalvarayan to take the blame by saying that he killed the man due to rage about the rebel's comments, Pazhani volunteers to take the blame and is willing to go to prison, citing the leniency of juvenile laws in exchange for an MLA seat for his father in the upcoming by-elections. Tamizhvanan accepts and Sengalvarayan later becomes an MLA.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: 2015: Trainee IPS officers Mithran, Shakthi, Suraj, Kathiresan and Janardhan discreetly assist the police in catching a gang which kidnapped four girls. One day, Mithran receives a cryptic text message on his phone from an anonymous number stating that they are aware of their discreet activities. In the evening, they go out to meet that person who is revealed to be forensic pathologist and Mithran ex-girlfriend Mahima. Later that same night, they happen to witness the murder of a man named Ramar, who is a social activist with the pretense of snatch theft. Mithran and his friend catch the gang and their leader and hand them over to the police. 4 days later, the leader of the gang comes to the IPS headquarters with the Home minister.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: This political and organised crime comes as a shock to Mithran and his friends. Mithran takes them to his house and shows his research on connecting all small unrelated incidents into the global view of a hidden crime network, who bend the law for their own financial benefits. He singles out three influential persons: pharmaceutical mogul Ashok Pandian, mineral magnate Charles Chelladurai and chieftain Perumal Swamy. When he tries following one, he realizes that all three of them work as a group, and they all work for a wealthy and influential scientist Siddharth Abhimanyu. After the completion of his training, Mithran is awarded medals for specializing in dealing with organized crime during training and also for being the best probationer of the batch, and is posted as the ASP of the Organized Crime Unit.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: Mithran discovers that Siddharth is Sengalvarayan's son Pazhani. After his release from prison, Pazhani had his name changed and left India to complete his education abroad. After his graduation, he returned to India and is now a well-established scientist. Siddharth uses the medical field for the wrong reasons and for his own profit. Sengalvarayan is now the incumbent Health Minister in the minority government headed by Tamizhvanan, who is now the CM. At that time, Angelina, a Swiss pharmaceutical company owner and activist, tries to make generic medicines for life-threatening diseases available in India at low cost affordable by poor people. Siddharth's assassin kills Angelina before she can sign the agreement document with the government and shoots Mithran at the same time.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: While Mithran is recovering from the gunshot wound in the hospital, an electronic bug (GPS + audio transmitter) is implanted during surgery by Siddharth. Through the bug, Siddharth listens to all of Mithran's plans and continuously monitors his whereabouts and conversations via audio transmission. Then comes evidence against Siddharth in the form of Manimekalai. Manimekalai was a scientist at Siddharth's research lab, where a seaweed that can cure diabetes is found abundantly in the oceans. Siddharth tries to sell the technology and rights to extract medicine from the seaweed to multinational pharmaceutical companies, but is opposed by Manimekalai. So Siddharth hires goons and kill her. But before being killed, she records a video and stores it in an SD card so that someone will find it.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: Before Mithran can find the card, Siddharth finds out and assigns Vicky, Perumal Swamy's brother, to recover the card, but Mithran tells Jana to get the card. He successfully gets the card after a fight with Vicky, but through the bug, Siddharth knows this and kills Jana. Mithran comes back to his special house where he finds a pin that has been changed in a picture which turns out to be the picture of Ananya, who was Miss World 2011 and a close acquaintance of Siddharth whose girlfriend Shilpa was also part of that event. Mithran doubts whether Siddharth himself would have come to his house. Mahima checks the fingerprints on the pin keeping the gun case Mithran received from Siddharth in his posting ceremony, and the fingerprints match. A flashback reveals that Siddharth killed Shilpa's father so that she would not participate in the competition, and as she will not have a ticket to go to her father's funeral, he offers to take her in his chartered flight and wins her over.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: Mithran frantically searches for the bug, which he eventually finds and removes. Mithran captures Vicky and records all the information from him. He drugs Vicky and manipulates Siddharth into killing him. At the same time, Siddharth's father reads the changed medical report, which contains very good medical contracts for public welfare and multiple accusations against Tamizhvanan. When Siddharth learns about this, he asks Sengalvarayan to pretend to have chest pains and move outside to the hospital. The ruling party forces Sengalvarayan either to resign within 24 hours or he will be dismissed. Mithran appeals to Tamizhvanan that he has evidence and wants to arrest Siddharth, and he is granted permission to do so. Hence Siddarth kills Sengalvarayan using his goons in an accident and forces Tamizhvanan to stop actions against him, or he will lie that Tamizhvanan killed his father for personal vengeance. However, the next day at Sengalvarayan's state funeral, Mithran arrests him on Tamizhvanan's orders.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: When Siddharth is arrested, Mithran tells him that the medicine was patented in Manimekalai's name (despite Siddarth being the inventor) and will be made as generic medicine instead of a patent-protected one. It is also revealed that Sengalvarayan is still alive, saved by Mithran and his gang and the public funeral held was for Jana. Mithran makes a deal that he would save Siddharth's life for information and evidence on all of his criminal associates and activities and gives him a bulletproof vest to fake his death during his transport to the court. They also plan to take down the setup planned by various VIPs to kill Siddharth when one of them gets close to Siddharth, Mithran pushes him and learns that Siddharth did not wore the vest and is fatally shot by Shilpa. Before dying, Siddharth tells Mithran that he hid all the evidence in an SD card in the bulletproof vest, adding that he had not done it for the nation but because Mithran had asked for it. Siddharth's accomplices are arrested and the film ends with marriage of Mahima and Mithran.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: In June 2013, Mohan Raja stated that he would direct his brother Jayam Ravi again in a film to be produced by AGS Entertainment and that he had been working on the script for the past six months. Unlike his earlier ventures which were mainly remakes, he was said to have developed an original story concept. As before approaching Ravi for an original script, he turned down directing the "Ramana" remake with Akshay Kumar and denied the news working in the "Ek Tha Tiger" remake with Vijay as he earlier stated that Vijay was the reason for him to do the movie and believed him that he could pull off an original script as he had Vijay in mind for the script, but Vijay wanted Ravi to do the role to give Ravi the breakthrough. Raja said, "This film is close to my heart; it's an experimental script and I've put my heart and soul in penning it". The film began without a title and was referred to by the tentative title, "Thani Oruvan", which was confirmed as the film's official title in June 2014.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: In July 2013, Nayanthara signed on to be part of the project, and her role was reported to be that of an aspiring police officer. Raja said he cast Nayanthara opposite Ravi because he "wanted a matured actress like her to be a part of the film". Ganesh Venkatraman was cast for a pivotal role, and the actor told that the film focuses on friendship and that he, Ravi and Nayanthara played friends in the film. In June 2014, Raja revealed that the team were still yet to film scenes featuring the lead antagonist with reports linking either Irrfan Khan, Arjun Rampal, Arya, R.Madhavan, Arvind Swamy, Arjun and Sudeep to the role, the pair however refuted the reports. It was later revealed that Arvind Swamy would be playing the antagonist. Raja wanted to cast an actor "whose attractiveness would act as a distraction from his evilness. And I chose one of the most attractive male actors in this country for that role". In March 2015, it was reported that the film would also feature Bollywood actress Mugdha Godse, who had been paired opposite Arvind Swamy and would make her Tamil début.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: Devi Sri Prasad, Yuvan Shankar Raja and S. Thaman were first reported to be the music composers of the film, with the latter revealing that he had been in talks. However, Hiphop Tamizha was finalised as the music director in March 2015. The film's cinematography was handled by Ramji, and V. T. Vijayan was at first in charge of the editing, but was later replaced by Gopi Krishna. Stunt Silva and Dhilip Subbarayan choreographed the action sequences, while the choreography for the songs were handled by Brinda.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: The principal photography for this film kickstarted on 6 December 2013, with a two-day schedule in Chennai at Binny Mills where a railway station set had been erected, and romantic flashback portions involving Jayam Ravi and Nayanthara were shot. The crew then moved to Bangalore in January 2014, where filming was held at a police training college. As of February 2014, filming was underway in Mahabalipuram, Bangalore, Sri Ramanujar Engg College, Vandalur and Hyderabad. In March, Ravi stated that the team had also shot in Rishikesh, Dehradun and that the third schedule was currently happening in Mussoorie. This film was shot on film roll (analogue form of film making), by cinematographer Ramji, which he feels may be the last Tamil film to get shot in the film as the industry has moved to digital filming. The film's budget was initially planned to be ₹15 crores but surpassed ₹20 crores due to delay and budget overrun, Raja and Ravi had to forgo their salaries in order to complete the film. As of April 2015, the makers have completed 80% of the film's shoot, with three of the songs being needed to be canned, which were completed in June 2015, along with the completion of the film's principal photography.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: A reporter from APHerald, reviewing the film, stated that the concept of implanting the electronic bug with the help of GPS and audio transmitter and monitoring the plan was inspired from the Korean film "I Saw the Devil" (2010). However, director Mohan Raja denied as co-incidence.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: "Thani Oruvan"'s soundtrack album and background score was composed by Hiphop Tamizha. The album features five songs, four of them penned by the composer, and one written by Mohan Raja. Following the success of his debut independent album Hip Hop Tamizhan, Mohan Raja advised Adhi to compose the tracks with the essence of his independent music project. As a result, he composed two songs based on the indie music format. The soundtrack album was released on 25 July 2015 at the Suryan FM 93.5 Radio Station, with the presence of the film's cast and crew. Actor Aravind Swamy had recorded his voice over for "Theemai Dhan Vellum", which was used as a promotional song and was not featured in the film. This was later reused as "Manishi Musugulo Mrugam Neney Ra" in the Telugu remake of the film, "Dhruva" (2016).


title: Thani Oruvan

text: Sun Pictures initially signed a contract for the distribution rights for the film; they later opted out after numerous failures of Jayam Ravi and negative talk about the film; later AGS Entertainment, the production house of the film itself, acquired the distribution rights. The film was initially slated to release on 14 August 2015, coinciding with the Independence Day weekend, later the release was postponed to avoid a clash with Arya's "Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga" and Silambarasan's "Vaalu", which were slated to release on the same day. The film was scheduled for a solo release on 28 August 2015. The film's USA theatrical rights were sold to Atmus Entertainment, and was released in more than 18 screens in the USA.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: The film's first look poster was released on 11 July 2015. The teaser of the film was released on 19 July 2015. The theatrical trailer was released on 15 August 2015.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: The satellite rights of the film were sold to Sun TV. The film's television premiere took place on 1 May 2016, coinciding with May Day.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: The film collected in Tamil Nadu in first day. It also collected US$1.87 Million in the United States. In Chennai, the film earned ₹1.28 crore in its first weekend; in its second weekend the film collected ₹1.06 crore at the box office. The total collection of the film by the end of 18 days was ₹34.86 crore. The film collected more than 65 crore within 10 days of its release at the worldwide collections.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: "Thani Oruvan" completed 50 days of theatrical run, in which the film's worldwide collection is estimated to be ₹75 crore. It was listed as one of the top 10 highest grossing Tamil films of the year.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: "The Times of India" rated the film 4 out of 5 and wrote ""Thani Oruvan" is a bit too long [..] And even though it is a plot-driven film, the film gives us well-rounded characters, who lend the slightly far-fetched story plausibility". "IndiaGlitz" rated the film 4 out of 5 and called it a "must watch for any true movie lover". Baradwaj Rangan of "The Hindu" wrote, ""Thani Oruvan" makes the most of the sustained cat-and-mouse game between Mithran and Siddharth. The authors (Subha), are credited as co-writers, and this is the first time their pulp sensibility really shines through", calling it "a pretty, smart pulpy thriller". "Behindwoods" rated the film 3.25 out of 5 and stated "Raja delivers a commercial entertainer with all its necessary elements in an intelligent manner and in an engaging fashion". "Rediff" stated "Thoughtfully etched-out characters add depth and intensity to the narration, while great music and impressive cinematography enhance the overall experience". Sify wrote, "Powered by a staggering performance from Jayam Ravi and Arvind Swamy, director Mohan Raja does a good job of creating a taut, intelligent, and deliciously twisted action drama that delivers so much more than your average thriller...what makes "Thani Oruvan", an enjoyable watch is its, original screenplay, the smart presentation and excellent characterisation". Deccan Chronicle gave it 3.5 stars and wrote, "With the use of technology, an emphasis on slyness and mind over matter, director M. Raja and his team have crafted a film that is sure to keep you at the edge of your seat while entertaining you thoroughly in the process". "IBN Live" rated the film 3.5 out of 5 and wrote "The film stands on one and a half legs because Siddharth Abhimanyu will rank among the best villains whereas Mithran IPS will miss the mark in the heroes section by a large margin, Nayanthara is deliciously comfortable in her role as Mahima". The core idea of implanting GPS and transmitter was reported to be based on the 2010 Korean movie "I Saw The Devil".


title: Thani Oruvan

text: In July 2019, Jayam Ravi and director Mohan Raja, planned for the film's sequel, which was expected to start rolling in 2021.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: The film was remade in Telugu titled "Dhruva" with Ram Charan and Rakul Preet Singh as lead performers with Arvind Swamy reprising his role in Telugu. The film was also remade in Bengali, titled "One "(2017) Starring Yash Dasgupta and Prosenjit Chatterjee as protagonist and antagonist respectively and Nusrat Jahan as the heroine. The movie is directed by Birsa Dasgupta and produced by SVF Entertainment.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: The film was dubbed into Hindi as "Double Attack 2" and released on YouTube on 23 June 2017 by Goldmines Telefilms.


title: Thani Oruvan

text: Thani Oruvan was listed in Top 20 Best Films of 2015, by Baradwaj Rangan of The Hindu, and was also listed in Top 10 Best Films of the year by Sify. Daily news and Analysis also listed in their "Ten Tamil movies of 2015, you should never miss"


title: Peso

text: The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dollar". The sign "₱" is used in the Philippines.


title: Peso

text: The silver "peso" worth eight "reales" was also known in English as a Spanish dollar or "piece of eight" and was a widely used international trade coin from the 16th to the 19th century.


title: Peso

text: The name peso was given to the 8-real silver coin introduced in 1497, minted at 8 pesos to a Castilian mark (230.0465 grams) of silver 134/144 fine (25.56 g fine silver). It was minted in large quantities after the discovery of silver in Mexico, Peru and Bolivia in the 16th century, and immediately became a coin of worldwide importance in international trade between Europe, Asia and North America.


title: Peso

text: Initially the peso was produced in Spanish Latin America in a rapid and simplified manner by cutting off a lump of silver of proper weight and fineness from the end of a silver bar, which was then flattened out and impressed by a hammer. This resulted in a crude, irregular coin called a "cob" in English and "macuquina" in Spanish. The Crown was entitled to a fifth of all gold and silver mined, the "quinto real" (royal fifth), and cobs were a convenient means of handling and accounting for silver. In most cases these cobs were immediately melted down by the recipient. However, some remained in circulation as currency; they were ideal candidates for clipping and counterfeiting due to their irregular shape and incomplete design.