Middle East Review

General Information

The Middle East is considered the crossroads of 3 continents…

WHY? The Middle East includes

parts of 3 continents Africa, Europe and Asia

Geographic Features

Deserts 2/3 of the region is desert Prevents development Rainfall is rare

Climate Warm Winters/ Hot and Dry Summers

Geographic Features

Oil ½ of the world’s supply World’s most used energy resource People/nations need to maintain good/strong

relationships

Water Supply (lack of)

Less than 10% of the land receives enough water to make farming possible

Early Civilizations

Mesopotamia Means “land between rivers”

Polytheistic – belief in many Gods

Social Structure Priests/kings Wealthy merchants Workers Slaves

Cuneiform – writing system/process of pressing a pen-like instrument into clay

Hammurabi – code of laws

Egypt Polytheistic – belief in many

Gods

Viewed leaders as Gods Pharaoh – name of Egyptian

Ruler

Hieroglyphics – system of picture writing

Mummification – preservation of bodies; helped them learn more about bodies

Women – held a high status in society

What is the Fertile Crescent?

An arc shaped region that stretches from the Mediterranean Sea along the Tigris & Euphrates rivers to the Persian Gulf

In Ancient times – known as “Mesopotamia”

Religious Development

In the Middle East, 3 Great World Religions Developed: Judaism, Christianity, & Islam

JUDAISM

Prophets taughtabout moral standards

and justice

The Torah(holy book)

The Ten Commandments

God chose theHebrews as his

people

God made a covenant With Abraham

One God

Judaism

Religious Development: Christianity

Jesus’ teachingsincluded mercy and

sympathy for poor andequality of people

before God

Salvation and EternalLife go to those who

Follow Jesus

God gave the TenCommandments through Moses

The Bible(Holy Book)

Jesus wasthe son of

God

Faith in one God

Christianity

Religious Development: Islam

The Five Pillars of Islam

Fast – during Ramadan

Visit to holycity of Mecca

Help the Poor

Daily Prayer

Faith inone God

Islam

Key People and Beliefs

MosqueChurchSynagogue(Temple)

Place of Worship

Quran(Koran)

BibleTorahHoly

Book

MuhammadJesusAbrahamProphet

AllahGodGodGod

IslamChristianityJudaism

Rise and Spread of Islam

Islam spread rapidly during the 100 years after Muhammad’s death

Why was Islam so successful in expanding??? Skilled Warriors Willing to Die – Jihad Tolerance

Golden Age of Islam

What was it?? The Golden Age of Islam was a period of cultural

achievement and technological advancements Through trade and conquest, Muslim civilization spread Europe at this time, is in the Dark Ages

Examples of Achievements Science – manufacture of glass, laboratory equipment, chemistry books Mathematics – developed Algebra, number system (adapted from India) Astronomy – acknowledged the earth is shaped like a sphere,

observatories Medicine – advances in surgery and anesthetics, pharmacies Art/Architecture - elaborate mosques, glass, ceramics, colorful carpets

Crusades

Why did it happen?

A group of outsiders invaded from Europe Christian Church calls for Crusade, to drive Muslims

out of Holy Land Christian warriors set out to capture Palestine This went on for almost 100 years Christians do not regain Palestine, but distrust

remained between Christians and Muslims

Rise of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire became a major world power by conquering Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire

The Ottomans blended Byzantine culture with Muslim culture The Ottoman Empire reached its height under Suleiman

Who is Suleiman? What happened under his leadership? Improved justice system Modernized army Added to the size of his empire (spread into Africa and Europe) Great architecture Cultural achievements (art, literature, poetry, painting)

Fall of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire collapsed at the end of World War I

The Ottomans had sided with Germany (Germany lost)

What caused the collapse???

Poor leadership/Government was corrupt European Advances – technologically &

economically

Imperialism in the Middle East

Why were European Nations interested in the Middle East?

1. Suez Canal Britain needed the Suez canal to

get to India

3. Oil Britain & Russia set out to control

the oil fields

2. Turkish Straits Russia wanted warm water

ports

Nationalism in the Middle East

What is Nationalism? Pride and devotion to one’s country

Arab Nationalism led to the creation of independent countries

Example: Turkey Kemal Ataturk (national hero) – he modernized (westernized) Turkey

Separated Church and State Traditional clothing replaced with western dress Mandatory public education was established Increased women’s rights (right to vote) Western technology was introduced

Islamic Fundamentalism

What are Fundamentals?

Islamic Fundamentalism – Muslim movement against westernization that supports a return to the values of the Koran (Quran)

What group of people were most affected by this movement? Women – lost rights, going back to traditional roles

Iranian Revolution(Best Example of Islamic Fundamentalism)

Who is Ayatollah Khomeini? 1979 – Becomes Iran’s New Leader Religious Dictatorship Government ran according to strict Islamic Law

Effects Hostility towards the West (books, music, movies were banned) Strict adherence to Muslim religious traditions Encouraged other Islamic countries to change Women lose rights

Iran/ Iraq War

Iran’s neighbor, Iraq was concerned over the Iranian Revolution

Iran – Khomeini Iraq – Saddam Hussein 1. 90% Shiite Muslims 1. ~60% Shiite Muslims

2. 10% Sunni Muslims 2. ~35% Sunni Muslims

3. mostly Persian ethnicity 3. Arab ethnicity

1980 – War broke out over border dispute – Iraq invaded Iran The war caused great loss of life and property Lasted until 1988 (cease fire)/ no clear winner U.S. assisted Saddam/Iraq with weapons technology

Israel

Diaspora – dispersion of Jews from homeland around the world

Zionism / Theodore Herzl – movement and leader for a Jewish state in Palestine

Balfour Declaration – 1917 British document supporting a Jewish state

_________________________________________________________________________________

Why did so many nations support the formation of Jewish homeland?

They felt sympathetic due to the treatment of the Jews by the Nazi’s during WWII (Holocaust)

Arab/Israeli Conflict

Jews and Arabs both claim rights to the land

WHY?

Jerusalem – Holy City for both religions

Conflict still exists today

Persian Gulf War

1990 – Iraq invades Kuwait

WHY? Iraq wanted to take control of Kuwait’s oil fields Saddam Hussein was the leader in Iraq

Why would the U.S and other world leaders be concerned with this invasion? Many countries depend on Kuwait for their oil supply

January 16, 1991 – UN and American troops attacked and quickly drove Iraq out of Kuwait Despite defeat – Saddam remained in power

OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

What are the two main functions of OPEC? Set standard price of oil Control the amount of oil produced

“War on Terror”

What happened on September 11, 2001? 4 US commercial plans were hijacked and crashed into the World

Trade Center Towers, the Pentagon, and one crashed

Who was the leader and group behind these attacks? Osama bin Laden – al-Qaeda (international extremist Islamic terrorist

group)

What is the link to Afghanistan? The Taliban, Afghanistan's Islamic fundamentalist government, was

targeted for removal by the United States after 9/11 because they allowed al-Qaeda terrorists to live and train in their country; U.S troops remain there today to keep the Taliban from regaining power

Iraq & the “War on Terror”

Iraq also becomes a target – WHY? Iraq's dictator, Saddam Hussein, was believed to have weapons of

mass destruction (WMD's); U.S. fears he would give them to terrorists

Saddam refused to cooperate with UN weapons inspectors U.S. and Great Britain invade and remove Saddam from power Saddam Hussein captured, tried, executed for crimes against

humanity No WMD's ever found; U.S. and British governments heavily

criticized for war decisions and planning; U.S. Troops remain in Iraq to keep the peace between groups fighting for control while Iraq tries to establish democracy

Social Issues - Today

Modernization and westernization vs. traditional Muslim values

Some women expected to be subordinate, but urbanization and modernization creating tensions

Women can now vote in all Middle Eastern nations except Saudi Arabia (monarchy)

Many Muslim nations accept western technology, but not values and culture

Social Issues - Today

Nuclear proliferation still an issue Def: the use of nuclear energy and proliferation, or spread, of

nuclear weapons

Iran working on nuclear program, issued threats against Israel

Border disputes continue between Israel and neighbors