THE-MIDDLE-EAST-IN
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Transcript THE-MIDDLE-EAST-IN
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
AN OVERVIEW OF THE MIDDLE EAST
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
Middle East is a region of immense global
importance
•Regarded
•Worlds
as the “cradle of civilization”
richest oil reserves
•Birthplace
of 3 of the worlds most important religions
Christianity
Islam
Judaism
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
Middle East is torn by conflict and warfare
Reasons
Historical
animosity
Disputes over land and water
Control over oil reserves
Ethnic and religious differences
Foreign intervention
Disparities in wealth
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Clearly
the Middle East is a complex, diverse,
and important region of the world
•This
lesson will provide an overview to the
region’s …
Geography
Resources
Religions
History
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Geography
and Resources
The
term “Middle East” was coined in 1902 by a
US Naval officer who thought Europe to be the
center of the world
There
is no universal definition of what countries
are included in the Middle East but our purposes…
North Africa
The Arabian
Peninsula
The Eastern Mediterranean
Iran
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Geography
The
and Resources
area of North Africa includes
Morocco
Algeria
Tunisia
Libya
Egypt
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
Geography and Resources
•
The Arabian Peninsula includes
Saudi Arabia
Bahrain
Qatar
United Arab
Emirates
Oman
Yemen
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Geography
The
and Resources
Eastern Med area includes
Turkey
Syria
Lebanon
Israel
The
West bank
and Gaza Strip
Jordan
Iraq
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Geography
Several
and Resources
rivers run through the Middle East
Nile
Tigris
Euphrates
However,
The
much of the area is extremely dry
Sahara Desert covers much of North Africa
Therefore,
water is a valuable source and worth fighting over
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Geography
Though
and Resources
poor in water resources, the area is rich
with oil
70%
of the worlds oil reserves
Not every country in the ME is rich
Countries with oil are not necessarily wealthy
Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia have
little or no oil at all
Oil rich countries have unevenly distributed wealth
and have wide spread poverty
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Religion
Three
of the world’s most important religions are
Christianity
Islam
Judaism
All
founded in the Middle East
All very different
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Religion
Judaism:
God will send a Savior to redeem
humankind
Christianity:
Jesus is the Savior that Judaism still
awaits
Islam:
Jewish and Christian prophets were
divinely inspired; Jesus was great prophet, but not a
Savior; and Muhammad was the last and greatest
prophet
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Religion
MUSLIMS
and ARABS are not the same thing
follow Islam, the religion founded in the 7th
century A.D. by Muhammad
Muslims
Arabs
are an ethnic group subdivided into many
different tribes, clans, and families
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Religion
While
all Arab states profess Islam as their
primary religion, not all Arabs are Muslims
Several Arab
countries, such as Lebanon,
Egypt, and Jordan, have significant Arab
Christian minorities
And,
not all states with a large Islamic
population are Arab, or even located in the
Middle East
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Religion
Even
though Islam is truly a global religion
The majority of Muslims in the world live outside the
Middle East
However,
Islam remains a strong force within the region
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Christians,
Jew, and Muslims all regard the
Middle East as the birthplace of their religions
Much
of the Middle East’s history revolves
around the expansion of Islam as the predominant
religion in the region
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Islam
Founded
by Muhammad in 610 A.D. in Mecca
Muhammad
claimed he received revelations from
Allah via the angel Gabriel
After
Muhammad died
Conflict
developed over who would succeed him as Caliph
A united Islam disappeared – sects were formed
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Islam
Most
significant split came in 661
Led to the Shia and Sunni branches of Islam
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Islam
believed only descendants of Ali, the 4th
caliph and brother-in-law of Muhammad,
should be caliph
Shias
Sunnis
believed Muhammad intended for the
Muslim community to choose a caliph by
consensus
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Islam
Despite
the split, the Arab Empire remained
powerful
the 18th century, the Arab Empire ruled
northern Africa
By
Islamic
armies went north to Spain and
eastward through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan,
and even the borders of China
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Islam
Eventually,
the Arab Empire went into decline
Internally
Succession
struggles
Worldly pleasures
Policy debates
Religious disagreements
All eroded the strength of the empire
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Islam
Externally
Christian
Crusaders began probing the Middle
East in the 11th Century
In 1099 they launched an assault capturing
Jerusalem
The city is sacred to all three religions
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Islam
Externally
Christians
held the city until 1187
Saladin recaptured it for Islam and the Arabs
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Islam
Externally
By
1231 the Mongols descended on the Middle East
By the end of the 14th century Iraq, Persia, and
Syria were ravaged
The Arab Empire never fully recovered
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
Post
WWI
Arabs
wanted one giant state
European colonial powers did not
The League of Nations
The
League of Nations was an international organization
founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919-1920.
The League's goals included disarmament, preventing war
through collective security, settling disputes between countries
through negotiation diplomacy and improving global welfare.
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
The
League of Nations
Gave
Palestine and Iraq to Great Britain
Gave Syria to France
Egypt
moved toward a quasi-independence
Wahhabi Muslims (the primary religious
movement behind extremist Islam) established
their own state in Saudi Arabia
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
early 20th century, Wahhabis under Ibn
Saud extended their control to much of the
Arabian Peninsula
Ibn Saud consolidated his control in Arabia
except for Yemen, Oman, the Persian gulf
coastal emirates, and Kuwait
By
The Arabian Peninsula
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
Saud
realm was poor
The Saud family’s major revenue sources
were from Muslim pilgrims to Mecca and a
small annual subsidy from Great Britain
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
In
1932 oil was discovered in Bahrain
Ibn Saud had reservations about allowing
Westerners into his kingdom to explore for
oil
He finally agreed to allow Standard Oil of
California to drill for oil in his country
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
Oil
wealth poured in
Both to the Saud Kingdom and other
fortunate states on the Arabian peninsula
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
With
this new source of wealth
Many traditionalist regimes adopted new
views about how Islamic societies should be
shaped
Ibn Saud thought the oil should be used to
improve living conditions and the quality of
life for his country
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
Radical
Muslims called on Muslims
everywhere to return to traditional Islamic
institutions and teachings
To reject all western or non-Islamic
teachings
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
For
radical Muslims
Violence
against those who were not true
believers in Allah was acceptable and necessary
Large, radical Islamic movements developed
in Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Sudan, and
Tunisia
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
Radical
Muslims
Oppose
both non-Islamic societies and
governments
Islamic governments they define as outside the
realm of “true Islam”
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
Middle East contains a complex mix of
outlooks, attitude, and cultures
•Muslims, Christians, Jews, Arabs, and Non-Arabs
All
•The
contribute to the region’s diversity
Middle East is also impacted by external
influences and interests
•It is a complex region where history, religion, oil,
and water all set the stage for conflict