The History of Middle Eastern Communities in London

Early 19th Century Middle Eastern London

Following the weakening of the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century, European nations began a more aggressive involvement in the affairs of the Levant and Arabia. 

Britain's engagement had a major impact until it was effectively forced out of the region following the Suez crisis. 

But this historical connection had led to a growing presence of communities and cultures from a number of Middle Eastern countries in London – and the UK as a whole.

Middle Eastern London: 20th and 21st Centuries

Iraqis began arriving in London in significant numbers from the 1930s and more have followed – mainly as a result of the ups and downs in the fortunes of this country – creating a particularly large community in Ealing. 

From the early 20th century, many Yemenis served as seamen on British ships, leading to an eventual settlement in the East End's Docklands area. 

In 1948, a large number of Palestinians moved to London, while Lebanese people began to arrive in numbers in the 1970s These communities have established London as a centre of Arabic-language press and publishing.

London After the Oil Crisis

The year 1973 saw another growth in the number of people from the Middle East after the so-called Oil Crisis, which led to a quadrupling of world oil prices. 

This greatly benefited the Gulf states, and led to far more of their residents being able to afford to travel abroad, including to London. They favoured Edgware Road and surrounding streets because of the plentiful availability of summer-let accommodation, but also, according to popular lore, because of the proximity to the department stores of Oxford Street, in particular the Marble Arch branch of Marks & Spencer! 

Canny Egyptians, Jordanians and Lebanese already resident in the UK started up restaurants, cafés, clubs and cinemas to cater for these Gulf-originating visitors, thereby providing yet more variety to London's international culture.

Middle Eastern London: Did You Know?

• There are perhaps as many as 10,000 words derived from Arabic in common use in the English language, including admiral, alcohol, banana, lemon and magazine.
• Regent's Park London Central Mosque was founded during World War II, in recognition of the substantial Muslim population of the British Empire and its support for the Allies. It took a further 20 years to decide on a design and
  it was eventually completed in 1978.
• The majority of the 500,000 ethnic Arabs living in the UK have chosen London as their home.
• Each year 1.5m ethnic Arabs visit London.
• The earliest Arabs to come to the UK arrived with the Roman army in 30AD.