Transcript Unit 1 Geography of the Middle East (Ethnic/Religious Groups of the

Unit 1 Geography of the Middle East (Ethnic/Religious Groups of the
Middle East)
Unit 1 Geography of the Middle East (Religious and Ethnic Groups)
• Religious Group
• Religious Group- Shares a belief system in a
god or gods
• Three (3) Major Religions in the Middle East
are Judaism(Oldest), Christianity, and Islam
• Islamic religion is divided between the Sunni
and Shia Muslims
Unit 1 Geography of the Middle East (Religious and Ethnic Groups)
• Ethnic Group
• Ethnic Group- people who share cultural ideas
and beliefs that’s a part of their community
• Major Ethnic Groups of the Middle East are;
1. Persians
4. Jewish
2. Turkish
5. Kurdish
3. Arabs
Arabs
• Largest ethnic group in Southwest Asia
• Descendant of Abraham in the bible,
through his son Ishmael
• Most Arabs practice Islam
• Speak Arabic
• Have a long history and rich traditions, using
calligraphy and geometric designs
Jewish
• Anyone born to a Jewish mother or gone
through the formal conversion process
• Descendant of Abraham in the Bible,
through his son Isaac
• National language is Hebrew
• Read the Torah
• Israel is home for most of the Jewish
population in the Middle East.
Kurdish
• Live in mountainous areas of Turkey,
Syria, Iraq, and Iran
• Most Kurds are Muslims.
• Speak Kurdish language, a branch of the
Iranian language
• Kurdish women enjoy greater freedoms;
they do not cover their faces and they do
not wear the full-cover garments
Turkish
• Live in Turkey (mostly Muslim)
• Practice some form of Islam; rarely strict
about some Islamic practices
• An ethnic group based on language,
Turkish
• Well known for their architecture
• Ancestors were part of the Ottoman
Empire
Persian
• Ethnic group that lived in Iran before arrival
of Islam; today make up about half of Iran’s
population
• Speak Persian
• Most practice Shia Islam
• Persian women have faced many challenges
as a result of strict religious practices.
• Persian rugs are among the finest in the
world.