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Natives of Ishbal are characterized by their brown skin and red eyes. They are a deeply religious people who reject alchemy (which they call "The Grand Arcanum" wink as a sin against their God, Ishbala, and they say that they believe that alchemy (which in Full Metal Alchemist is something that humans use to understand, decompose, and rearrange matter into a different form) is a form of witchcraft that insults Ishbala by implying that humans can better upon His creations. Many real-world religions, such as the Abrhamic Religions (Judaism, Islam, and Christianity) share this view about magic. Ishbalans also despise the military of Amestris, most outsiders and Ishbalan exiles who were banished because they practiced alchemy. Although fictional, in the episode "The Ishbal Massacre" it is strongly suggested (through the architectural style of their buildings and the look and feel of their encivonment) that Ishbal is modeled upon real-life Arabia and that the inhabitants of Ishbal practice a religion similar to Islam. For example, one of their buildings is shaped like a mosque. Additionally, the story of the Ishbal Massacre hints at the 1948 Arab-Israeli War or the French invasion of Lebanon and Syria during the early 1900's.