Transcript Middle East: Culture

Middle East: Culture
Continue notes on pages 50-51
Culture?
– Population
– Languages
– Religion
– Agriculture
– Economics
– Urbanization
Population: Where are the people?
Population
• Population is dense near WATER
– Tigris and Euphrates (what’s that called?)
– Jordan River
– Low overall population (why?)
Deaths under 40 Years
Population
• Ethnicities:
– Mostly Arab
– Pashtun
– Turks
– Bedouins
– Persians
– Kurds
Pashtun – The largest ethnic group in Afghanistan.
Kurdistan
Why is there fighting between
Kurds and other Muslims?
Definition of Kurd A Muslim who is not an Arab.
Kurds are a distinct ethnic group
that has never had their own
homeland. The countries they live
in do not want to give up any land,
so there is a large amount of
conflict.
List the four Middle Eastern
countries that have significant
Kurdish populations.
Languages
– Unified by Arabic Language - An Afro-Asiatic
Language
– Israel- Hebrew
– Afghanistan- Pashto
– Iran- Farsi
– Turkey- Turkish
Languages
Religion
• ISLAM!!!
– Prophet Mohammed
– Monotheistic= one god
– Allah
– Divisions: Sunni, Shiite
The Five Pillars of Islam
Leave room below each one for notes.
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Shahadah (creed)
Salat (prayer five times each day)
Zakat (tithing)
Sawm (fasting)
Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca)
Shahadah (creed)
"I testify that there is no god worthy of worship but
Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is his messenger."
Salat (prayer five times each day)
Zakat (tithing)
Sawm (fasting)
Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca)
Islam in Iran
Two major branches of Islam in the entire Middle East:
Sunni (about 89%)
Shia (about 10%)
Iran is one of the exceptions. The Shia Imams
(Muslim preachers) control Iran, so Shi’ism is the
branch that is most powerful there, while Sunnism is
the most powerful in almost every other country.
Islam in Iran…..Continued
• Iran is also the only
country that has an
Ayatollah. Currently,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is
the Islamic ruler in Iran.
He is important because
Iran is a theocracy, or a
government that is ruled
by religious authority
and that makes him the
supreme ruler there.
Agriculture
• Agriculture
– commercial farming in Israel
• Mediterranean climate yielding citrus, avocados &
ranching
– Nomadic Herding
• Bedouins
– Desertification
Agriculture
Economy
• Mostly dependent on oil
– Generally, those who have it are wealthy, those
who don’t aren’t (excepting Israel and Turkey)
Urbanization
• Populations move to cities
Baghdad
Riyadh