"*That was a ridiculous comment. The source is by no means ""dubious"" or ""amateur"" and by claiming such you obviously didn't read the article whatsoever. I find it hysterical you claim if it was of any significance, it would be mentioned in the ""news"" or ""newspapers"". First of all, the article itself is from National Geographic, so it obviously was in the news, secondly, newspapers are nowhere considered as a reliable source when compared to an academic journal. The study I cited does prove quite a bit and is carried out by a respected geneticist. I have provided a reliable source and links to Maltese hIstory to support what most people obviously recognize, while you only provided some garbage POV link to a newspaper article with no references and that has nothingto do with Maltese people. Also, by being related to Arabs does not mean Maltese are necessarily Arabs and there are many Lebanese who seak Arabic, but also don't even consider themselves Arabs because of their distinct non-Arab ancestry, especially amongst Lebanese christians. Tunisians and other North Africans were largely Arabized in language and culture but are of non-Arab origins, and are of predominantly Berber origins and retain Berber culture, even among Arabized Berbers. Maltese speak a Semitic language and are of very significant Phoenician descent which clearly links them to Lebanese and also to Tunisians. Considering the Maltese language is a Semitic language very similar to Tunisian Arabic, obviously there would also be Arab cultural influences as well. They are related to all Arabs in terms of language, but are specifically very closely related to Lebanese and Tunisians due to common Pheoenician ancestry and also share many cultural aspects with Tunisians.  

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