Download Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials

Jonathan R. White
www.cengage.com/cj/white
Chapter 9:
Background to the Middle East
Rosemary Arway
Hodges University
What is the Middle East?
 Middle East is not a geographical region
o Concept based on a Western orientation to
the world
▪ Alfred Thayer Mahan
 Dominated by two major concerns
o Religion of Islam
o History of Arab people
What is the Middle East?
 Culturally, Middle East dominated by the
religion of Islam
o Most Muslims live outside the region
o Many differing cultures inside Islam
o Myriad of interpretations of the religion
 Region witnessed the birth of three
monotheistic religions:
o Judaism
o Christianity
o Islam
What is the Middle East?
 Centuries of conflict between Muslims
and Christians
o
o
o
o
o
o
Islamic conquests
Arabic empires
Western Crusades
Mongol invasions
Turkish domination
Christian domination
What is the Middle East?
 Three issues assisting in the illustration
of the importance of the region:
o Birth and spread of Islam
o Confrontations between Christianity and
Islam from the first Arab empire through
creation of modern Israel
o Expansion of conflict beyond the traditional
geographical realm of the Middle East
A Brief Introduction to Islam
 Mohammed was born about 750 CE in Mecca.
 Mohammed’s vision of Gabriel told him God
had chosen him to be a prophet to the Arabs.
o Muslims believe that Jews, Christians, and
Zoroastrians worship the same Deity
▪
▪
Muslims believe that the Bible is a book of Allah, and that
Abraham and Jesus were messengers.
Christians and Jews are called Dhimma = protected or
guilty.
 Mohammed’s role as the Prophet is crucial in
Islam.
o Given the direct revelation of God through Gabriel
Introduction to Islam
 Mohammed’s emphasis of social
egalitarianism was resented by wealthy
merchants of Mecca.
 Muslims believe Mohammed created perfect
Islamic community at Medina
o Combining a just government with religion
▪
Mohammed stressed importance of community over tribal
relations and Governance of God’s law in all aspects of
life.
 Mohammed conquered Mecca.
o New religion spread along trade routes.
 Mohammed died in 632 CE.
The Shiite-Sunni Split
 Utterances of Gabriel written down and codified
in the Qur’an.
o Mohammed’s statements were recorded.
o His actions became the basis for interpreting the
Qur’an.
 Muslims were expected to:
o Believe in the existence of one God and Mohammed
as God’s Prophet.
o Pray as a community.
o Give to the poor.
o Fast during holy times.
o Make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a
lifetime.
Shiite-Sunni Split
 Question of leadership:
o One group of people believed that Mohammed’s male
heir should lead the community (according to Arabic
tradition); they believed that Muhammad’s cousin and
son-in-law Ali had authority provided by God.
o Another group of people believed that the community
should select its own leaders – caliphs (political and
religious leaders).
Shiite-Sunni Split
▪ Importance of community took
precedence over tribal rule of inheritance
– Sunni branch of Islam
o Abu Bakr, become a first caliph in 632CE,
after his death (assassination) Umar
became a caliph.
o Assassination of Umar led to new caliph
Uthman.
o Assassination of Uthman
Shiite-Sunni Split
 Sunnis, or mainstream Muslims, followed
the caliph.
o Sunnis compose approximately 85-90% of
all Muslims today.
 Followers of Ali became known as
Shiites.
 Few theological differences between
Sunnis and Shiites.
o Main difference focused on line of
succession to Mohammed.
Golden Age of Arabs
 Following Mohammed’s death, Islam and
Arabic culture spread through Middle East.
 Two dynasties of leaders ruled the area:
o Umayyads
o Abbasids
 Islam means submission to the will of God:
o to make someone safe, to make peace, to submit
oneself, to surrender
 Muslim is one who submits:
o Islam means the entire surrender of the will to God
Golden Age of Arabs
 West began its first violent encounter
with the Middle East through the
Crusades (1095-1250).
o European attempts to conquer the Middle East
 Crusades – instigated centuries of hatred
and distrust between Muslims and
Christians.
o The Crusades ended over 700 years ago;
Islamic Jihad continues to this day.
 European struggles with Ottoman
Empire reinforced years of military
tensions.
Agrarian Response to Political Crisis
 Armstrong – Islam went through a series of
crises before and after 1492.
o Agrarian empires falter – religious zealots rise
to call faithful back to true meaning of the
religion
 Theologically driven political reform
movement is brought about by:
o Invasion of Mongol and Crusader armies.
o Stagnation of Arab thought and technological
development after 1200.
o Collapse of Caliphate in 1922.
Militant Philosophy
 Developing religions invite various
interpretations
 Reformers of Islam called believers to an
idealized past when crises erupted
o Gave rise to militancy
o Militants misused the theology of the reformers
 Taqi al Din ibn Taymiyyah (Islamic scholar):
o Developed new ideas about militancy and the faith
after Arab setback of Mongols and Crusaders
o Called for destruction of heretics and invaders
o Called jihahad – the sixth pillar of Islam
Militant Philosophy
 Taqi al Din ibn Taymiyyah
o Muslims had fallen away from the truth
o Must internally purify themselves
o Believed Crusaders and Mongols defeated Islamic
armies because Muslims had fallen away from true
practice of Islam
o Attacked anything threatening to come between
humanity and God – emphasizing tawhid
o Any belief that went beyond Mohammed’s
revelation was to be subject to a purifying jihad
o Expanded meaning of jihad to advocating attacks
on non-believers and impure Muslims
Militant Philosophy
 Abdul Wahhab:
o Preached a puritanical strain of Islam in
Saudi Arabia
o Sought to rid the religion of practices added
after the first few decades following
Mohammed’s death.
▪ His followers argue that they are trying to rid
religion of superstition.
▪ Muhammed bin Abd al-Wahhab’s descendents
are known today as “Al al-Shaykh”. The family of
Al al-Shaykh has included several religious
scholars, including the current Saudi minister of
justice and the current grand mufti of Saudi.
Militant Philosophy
 Sayyid Qutb (Egyptian teacher and
journalist):
o 1965 published Milestones
 Outlines theology and ideology of Jihadist revolution
 Called on Muslims to overthrow corrupt
governments of the West.
o Muslims were in cosmic battle with the forces of
darkness.
 World descended to darkness shortly after the death of
Mohammed
 Called for the destruction of all enemies
 Al Qaeda Manual cites Qutb as an
inspirational source.
Modern Middle East
 Three critical events helped shape
modern Middle East in the late 1800s:
o Ottoman Empire
▪ Ruled much of the Middle East
o Zionism
▪ European Jews wanted their own homeland
▪ Tensions rose when Jewish settlers moved into
the area
o World War I
▪ Victorious nations felt they had won the area
from the Turks
▪ Divided Middle East to share spoils of victory
Mahan’s Middle East
 Three factors became prominent in Middle
Eastern violence:
o The Palestinian question
o Intra-Arab rivalries/struggles
o The future of revolutionary Islam
 Those factors are symbiotic –
interdependent:
o Express dissatisfaction over the existence of
Israel
o Are anti-imperialistic
o United in kinship bonds
The Early Zionist Movement in Palestine
 The Zionist movement broke out at the
same time the Ottoman Empire was
created.
 Palestinians sold land to the Zionists; the
ultimate purpose was to create a Jewish
state.
 The Zionists originally stated they had no
desire to displace the Palestinians; they
wanted to coexist with them.
World War I and contradictory Promises
 British encouraged the Arabs to revolt
against the Turks
o Arabs were promised the Caliphate would be
moved to Mecca and an Arab named as Caliph.
o For a general Arab revolt against the Turks, the
British agreed to support the creation of an
independent Arab state at the end of WWI.
 Balfour Declaration promised the creation
of Israel.
o Creation of Zionist Jewish homeland in Palestine
o Directly contradicted promise to move the
Caliphate to Mecca.
World War I and contradictory Promises
 British negotiated a treaty with the French to
extend their spheres of influence in the states
of the old Ottoman Empire.
 British also promised Russia control of one
third (northern) of the area of Iran.
 End of WWI the Middle East was controlled by
British, French, and Russia.
o Arabs and Jews could not develop under the
watchful eyes of the British.
o Both Arabs and Jews felt that they were given false
promises and demanded their right to homeland.
 Mandate of Palestine placed the British in the
center of Middle Eastern affairs.
The Birth of Israel
 Jews and Arabs resented the British; they also
mistrusted each other.
 Violence began in the 1920s.
 Jews displaced by the Nazi holocaust flocked to
Palestine in late 1945-1946.
o British banned Jewish immigration.
o Influx of Jewish immigrants continued.
o Arabs start to arm themselves.
 Modern terrorism resurfaced in Palestine before
UN partition.
 1948 United Nations recognized the modern
nation-state of Israel.
o Arabs attacked immediately.
Arab Power Struggles
and Arab - Israeli Wars
 Modern Middle Easter terrorism:
o Result of continuing conflicts in the
twentieth century
o Arab’s, Palestinians and Jews
dissatisfaction with peace settlements after
WW 1
▪ The French and British created a number of
states that did not reflect the realistic division in
the Middle East: Libya, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon,
Jordan, Iraq.
Arab Power Struggles
and Arab - Israeli Wars
 1947 – 1967 Middle East was dominated by a
series of short conventional wars.
o Six Day War - 1967
o PLO began a series of terrorist attacks against Israeli
civilians.
o Arab states split into several camps:
▪
▪
▪
▪
Jordan camp: anxious about finding way to coexist with Israel
Egypt camp: avenge the embarrasment of the Six Day War
Ba’ath Party: Arab socialists calls for both Arab unity and the
destruction of Israel
A group of wealthy oil states hoped for stability in the region
o Yom Kippur War – Egyptians drove Israeli forces back
into the Sinai; Syrians drove on to the Golan Heights.
Rise of Terrorism
 Menachim Begin, Prime Minister of Israel,
and Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, signed
the Camp David Peace Accord in 1979.
o Soon after, Sadat was assassinated by Muslim
fundamentals for signing peace with Israel.
 Arabs rejecting peace with Israel fell into two
camps:
o Radicals rejected any peace or recognition of
Israel.
o Moderate groups were concerned about the fate
of Palestinians.
Rise of Terrorism
 In the 1980s Middle Eastern terrorism fell into
several broad categories:
o Suicide bombings and other attacks on Israeli and
Western positions in Lebanon
o Various militias fought other militias in Lebanon
(Lebanese Civil War 1975-1990)
o State-sponsored terrorism from Libya, Syria, and
Iran
o Freelance terrorism to high-profile groups
o Terrorism in support of Arab-Palestinians
o Attacks in Europe against Western targets
o Israeli assassinations of alleged terrorists
o Arab struggle against Arab: Iraq-Iran, Iraq-Kuwait
Iran
 Iranians are not Arabs – they are Persian
with strong ethno-national ties to the
ancient Persian Empire.
o Modern Iran formed within the context of
European imperialism.
o During the XIXth century, Iranians developed a
hierarchy of Shi’ite Islamic scholars, including
local prayer leaders, masters of Islam,
Ayatollahs, and Grand Ayatollahs.
o Iranian scholars form the majilis council, a
theological advisory board to the government.
▪
Majilis took political leadership
Iran
 British influence and control
o British were instrumental in placing Iranian
leaders on the throne.
o In 1925 Reza Shah Pahlavi become Shah
of Iran with British support.
o 1930s Reza Shah Pahlavi befriend Hitler;
he saw Germany relations as a way to
balance British influence.
o In 1941 the Allied Powers forced Reza
Shah Pahlavi to abdicate in favour of his
son.
Iran
 The U.S. took British place after WWII.
o In 1953 Reza Shah Pahlavi formulated plan
to stay in power.
 In 1957 with the help of CIA and British
recommendations, Reza Shah Pahlavi created
SAVAK – a secret policy to destroy his enemies.
 Clergy from Qom organized against Reza Shah
Pahlavi – Shah released his forces and attacked
Qom, one of his prisoners is Ruhollah
(Ayatollah) Khomeini.
 Iran disavowed the U.S. after the 1979
Iranian Revolution.
Iran
 The Revolution:
o Ruhollah Khomeini – Shiite Grand Ayatollah
was leading figure in the 1979 Iranian
Revolution.
 Toppled the Shah’s government
 Consolidated power by destroying or silencing his
enemies.
 Khomeini viewed President Carter as a
manifestation of satanic power.
 Created an Iranian theocracy with the majilis in
charge of spiritual and temporal life.
 Khomeini believed it was time to launch a holy
war against the West and traitors to Islam.
 Khomeini influenced majilis council dominated
Iranian politics.
Iran
 After Revolution:
o New form of terrorism spread through the Middle
East.
o In 1982 Israel invaded Lebanon; Iranian
revolutionaries traveled to Lebanon to help them
resist Israel.
▪
The Iranians arrived to Bekka Valey and established the
nucleus of a new type of revolutionary force – HEBOLLAH.
o Khomeini used a mixture of repressive tactics
and political strategies to consolidate his power
in Iran.
▪
▪
He removed Islamic scholars and political leaders.
He believed that Iranian Revolution was a first step in
puryfying the world.