Transcript The Middle East

The Middle East
The Middle East Today:
Political Map
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Middle East? OR Near East?
OR Southwest Asia? OR….?
What is the “Middle East”?
• The Middle East is not a
separate continent, but
geographically is the area in
which Africa, Asia, and Europe
interconnect
• There are no natural borders
that delineate the
boundaries of the Middle
East.
• Egypt, Iran, Sudan, Turkey,
North Africa are disputed
parts of the region.
What is the “Middle East”?
• In fact the
boundaries of the
Middle East are
political, and they
keep shifting
overtime.
• Islam is the common
thread that join
Middle Eastern
Country together
Ancient Middle East
•
http://www.mapsofwar.com/ind/imper
ial-history.html
Kingdom of Israel in Ancient
Middle East
Ancient Middle East
Middle East During Roman
Empire
Post-Rome & Beginnings of
Islam
Middle East - Muslim Empires
Ottoman Empire c. 1800
• Multiethnic, multireligious state ruled
under Islamic laws
• Ruled by sultan
• By 1800, power beginning to weaken
• Threat from powerful, industrialized
European nation-states & imperialism
Middle East & European
Imperialism
• France  Algeria in 1830, Tunisia in 1881
• British took Aden (Yemen) in 1836,
Egypt in 1882
• Italy  Libya in 1911
• Russia also gained influence
Middle East – Pre-WWI
Sykes-Picot Agreement
• Ottoman Empire joined
Central Powers
• Other Arab states joined
with British who promised
them independence after
war…
BUT
• France & Britain had secret
Sykes-Picot Agreement
which divided the territory
among themselves!!!!
• Plus the Balfour Declaration
(would support nation for
Jewish people in Palestine)
= Distrust in the West
Middle East – Post WWI
• Mandate System
– Mandates = semi-colonial territories
– Set up by League of Nations
• Hopes for nation-states crushed
– Kurds (ethnic group) promised
settlement, instead were divided
among Turkey, Syria, Iran, Iraq
Middle East in the 20th C.
SOME COUNTRIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST ARE:
AFGHANISTAN
TURKEY
IRAQ
IRAN
SAUDI ARABIA
KUWAIT
QATAR
ISRAEL
AND THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE)
Development of Middle East
• Very different across the Middle
East
– Islam & politics? Modernization?
Relationship with West?
• Three types of regimes in Islamic
states
– Muslim States = Muslim majority,
secular gov’t (Turkey)
– Islamic States = Muslim majority,
principles of Islam used for guidance
(Egypt, Indonesia)
– Islamist States = Depend on Islamic or
Shari’a law for governance (Iran, Saudi
Arabia)
Middle East Nationalism
• Rapid economic change
due to oil resources
– Demand for oil among
industrialized countries
• Arab Revolt of 1916-1917
– Led to partitioning of
Ottoman Empire
• Rise of nationalism
around the Middle East
– By 1936, Iraq, TransJordan, Lebanon, & Syria
were independent
– Only Palestine was not
Modernization in Turkey
• 1922 – Turkish nationalists led by
Mustafa Kemal overthrew last Ottoman
emperor
• Established Republic of Turkey (1st
republic in Middle East)
– Kemal as 1st president of Turkey = Atatürk
(“Father of the Turks”)
• Modernization
– Broke connection between Islam and state
• Separated Islamic laws from national laws
• Replaced Islamic courts with secular courts
– Gave women legal & political rights
(suffrage, no veil)
– Western style of dress
– EDUCATION!!! – Secular public schools
• Alphabet changed from Arabic to Latin
Modernization in Iran
• 1921 – Reza Khan, army officer, seized power
– Military dictatorship
• Became ruling shah in 1925, renamed Persia
as Iran (Reza Shah Pahlavi)
• Westernization not as successful as in Turkey
– Broke w/Islamic traditions
– Built roads & railroads, encouraged
industrialization
– Women given more rights
• Iran occupied by British & Soviet troops in
WWII (Iran’s pro-German policies)
– Conflict w/U.S. & West over shah’s right to
throne – extended West’s influence
– 1979 Islamic revolution by religious leader
Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew shah
– Iranian hostage crisis in Tehran in 1979 –
released 444 days later
Egypt & Arab Nationalism
• Controlled by British since 1882 (although
under Ottoman Empire…)
• Arab nationalism opposed British
control/influence
• 1952 – Gamal Abd al-Nasser led coup
and was named president of Egypt
• Suez Crisis in 1956
• Brief union w/Syria as United Arab
Republic
• Attacks on Israel
• Replaced by Anwar Sadat & then Hosni
Mubarak
Palestine
• Lesson for another day…
• Has some selfdetermination but still
strives for nationstatehood
2010
Saudi Arabia
• While Turkey and Iran broke with many
Islamic traditions, Saudi Arabia held
strictly to Islamic law.
• The harsh desert land was home to a
group of nomads known as Bedouins.
• They lived in large family groups, each
led by a shaykh (sheikh) = means
“elder”.
• In 1902, a shaykh named Abd al-Aziz
Obn Saud, set out to extend his power.
• In 1926 he proclaimed himself king of
the nation of Saudi Arabia.
• Still an absolute monarchy.
King
Abdullah bin
Abdulaziz Al
Saud
Iraq
After fall of Ottomans…
• British mandate, created
gov’t, renamed Iraq
• Attacks on Israel, Iran,
Kuwait
• Ethnic oppression &
genocide under Saddam
Hussein
Afghanistan
• Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan
• Chronic instability & conflict
• “Great Game” = Russia & Britain’s Empire vied for
control
• Communist government for a period of time
(controlled by Soviets)
• Withdrawal of Soviets led to civil war
• Rise of Taliban (from largest ethnic group, the
Pashtuns)
– Controlled Afghanistan until ousted in 2001
• President Hamid Karzai
Middle East: Population Density
The Natural Resources of the
Middle East
World Oil Reserves
Persian Gulf Oil Exports (2003)
Saudi Oil Fields & Refineries
Kuwait:
An Island Floating on a Sea of Oil
Kuwait
City
Leading U. S. Oil Suppliers
The U. S. imports 30% of its oil needs from the
Middle East.
Issues Facing Middle East
• Ethnic & religious conflicts
• Religion v. modernization v. politics
• Arab-Israeli conflict over
statehood/territory
• Economics
• Arab spring/political instability