We study the performance of Arabic text classification combining various techniques: (a) tfidf vs. dependency syntax, for feature selection and weighting; (b) class association rules vs. support vector machines, for classification. The Arabic text is used in two forms: rootified and lightly stemmed. The results we obtain show that lightly stemmed text leads to better performance than rootified text; that class association rules are better suited for small feature sets obtained by dependency syntax constraints; and, finally, that support vector machines are better suited for large feature sets based on morphological feature selection criteria.