Skip to Content

City officially recognizes Little Arabia after years of lobbying

By David González

Click here for updates on this story

    ANAHEIM, California (KABC) — After years of lobbying, Anaheim has officially designated an area in the city as Little Arabia.

Altayebat Market is one of several Arab-American businesses in the district.

Mohamed Khouraki opened the store more than 40 years ago.

“We opened a little small store,” Khouraki said. “That little small store, all the products were Middle Eastern.”

The market is located near the corner of Brookhurst and Ball Road.

It was the first Arabic market to open in the area.

Altayebat has become a cornerstone in this community, which has transformed itself into an ethnic enclave known as Little Arabia.

“It was organically developed. This is not something that came from corporations,” said Mirvette Judeh, one of the lead organizers for the Little Arabia Coalition. “This is people that came here — hard work and sweat — and developed an incredible area that, it’s not a jewel in the rough, it is the jewel.”

Judeh said it was a collaborative effort between multiple people and agencies like Rashad Al Dabbagh, Arab American Civic Council and CAIR-LA.

“As an Arab American that was born here I feel rooted in my community and in my culture and my heritage because of this,” said Rida Hamida, founder of Latino and Muslim Unity.

Last Tuesday, the Anaheim City Council voted to officially recognize a portion of the Brookhurst corridor from Ball Road to Broadway as Little Arabia.

“We come from a community that a lot of people come from different countries where they’re running away from their governments, where their identities have been stripped, their homes have been taken away and this is their home,” Judeh said.

People in the community had been pushing for acknowledgement for decades.

“We really will push to advocate for our businesses to feel that they are part of the fabric of Orange County,” Hamida said.

Judeh said they will now work on getting all of Little Arabia designated from Crescent to Katella along Brookhurst.

“Little Arabia actually is 3.5 miles,” she said.

They also want to see a sign letting visitors know they have arrived in Little Arabia.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Article Topic Follows: CNN - Regional

Jump to comments ↓

Author Profile Photo

CNN Newsource

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

KIFI Local News 8 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content