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CULTURES OF
SOUTHWEST ASIA
SS7G8: The student will describe the
diverse cultures of the people who live
in Southwest Asia
ELEMENTS
O Students will explain the differences between an
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ethnic group and a religious group
Explain the diversity of religions within the Arabs,
Persians and Kurds
Compare and contrast the prominent religions in
Southwest Asia : Judaism, Islam and Christianity
Explain the reasons for the division between the
Sunni and Shia Muslims
Evaluate how the literacy rate affects the
standard of living
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
O What is the difference between an ethnic group and a
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religious group?
How are the religions of the Arabs, Persians, and
Kurds diverse?
What are the similarities and differences between
Judaism, Islam, and Christianity?
What is the reason for the division between Sunni
and Shia Muslims?
How does literacy rate affect the standard of living?
O
Ethnic Groups and
Religious
Groups
Southwest Asia is home to a lot of diversity and
cultures.
O People show their culture in many ways
O A person’s culture can come in their ethnicity
O Ethnic group
O Identified based on race, color, national origin or
customs
O A person’s culture can come from their religion
O Religious group
O Identified based on religious beliefs and practices
Ethnic Groups in Southwest
Asia
O Kurds
O Reside in Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq
O Started out by being semi-nomadic
O Most Kurds practice Islam, some are Jewish and Christian
O Share their culture with the people of Iran
O Arabs
O Make up most of the population of Southwest Asia
O Speak their native language of Arabic
O Most Arabs practice Islam
O Persians
O Reside in Iran and make up half of the country’s population
O Speak Persian or Farsi languages
O Most Persians practice Islam, small part are Jewish and Christian
O Very strict laws on women in their group
Religions of
Southwest Asia
O There are three major religious groups in
Southwest Asia
O All three religions are based around
monotheism
O Means that there is only one God
O Many wars are fought in this region because
people take their religion very seriously
Practicing Islam and
Judaism
SUNNI MUSLIMS vs. SHIA
MUSLIMS
SUNNI MUSLIMS
O 90% of the Muslim
population is Sunni
O Follow the customs of
Muhammad
O Belief that leadership
should be based on the
community of Muslims
SHIA MUSLIMS
O 10% of Muslim
population are Shias
O Follow the customs of
Ali, Muhammad’s
relative
O Belief that Ali is the
new leadership of
Islam and should be
followed
SW Asia and the Standard of
Living
O The area of Southwest Asia has had a very low literacy
rate
O Percentage of adults who can read and write
O Best literacy rates reside in the countries of Saudi
Arabia, Iran, Syria and Israel
O Israel has the highest at 97%
O Literacy rates drop due to a lack of education for
children due to constant fighting between countries
O Because literacy rates drop, it effects the standard of
living for citizens
O The financial health of a nation measured by how much
that nation consumes
O The better a country reads = the more successful the
country