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Southwest
Asia
(The Middle
East)
Turkey
Lebanon
Syria
Iraq
Israel
Iran
Afghanistan
Kuwait
Jordan
Bahrain
Saudi
Arabia
Qatar
United Arab
Emirates
Oman
Yemen
Yemen
History
• All three religions of this region originated in
Southwest Asia
– Judaism
– Christianity
– Islam
• All three religions are monotheistic
– Meaning you believe in only one god
• Each religion also has its own sacred text, or
book, which stand at the center of their beliefs.
(Write this at the bottom of the 3 columns on your
paper)
Judaism- facts
 Judaism
is the oldest of the three religions.
 Its sacred book is called the Torah

Part of the Hebrew Bible is made up of five books
called the Torah which talk about Jewish laws
and history
 The
central belief for the Jewish people is
that: they believe one day a human leader
will come as a messenger from God and
restore the greatness of Israel. This leader is
called the messiah
Judaism- facts
Also central to the Jewish religion are the ideas
of justice and righteousness in dealing with
people
JusticeRighteousness*Yum Kippor and Passover are 2 of the main
holidays celebrated by the Jewish people
Judaism- origin

Abraham is considered the
father of the Jewish people.

God came to Abraham and told
him to leave his home in Ur
(today’s Iraq) and move his
family to Canaan (today’s
Israel), which he promised to
Abraham and his descendents
• This is why Jews believe
that Israel is considered
their “promise land”.


The Hebrews (Jewish
people) lived in Canaan for
many years but
eventually…
The Hebrew people
began to migrate to
Egypt- probably
because of a famine in
the area


In Egypt they were
forced into slavery by
the Pharaoh.
The Hebrews were
eventually freed from
slavery by Moses

This was called the
Exodus
Judaism- origins continued
Moses ->

The Jewish people eventually
made their way back to Canaan,
but were forced off their land by
invaders. This scattering of
Jews outside of Israel is known
as the Diaspora.
The fight for Israel will continue for many
years….. which we will come back to later!!!
Christianity- facts

The Christian religion grew out Judaism.

The holy book for the Christian religion is the
Bible—made up OLD & NEW Testaments—
Gospels are parts of the life of Jesus
– It is made up of two parts the Old Testament (which
is very similar to the Hebrew Bible) and the New
Testament (stories of the life and teachings of Jesus
and the early history of the Christian religion)
The central belief is: that Jesus died for
our sins and will return one day to
restore the greatness of Israel.
Christianity- origins


Jesus of Nazareth was born
in Bethlehem and raised a
Jewish boy.
At the age of 30 he began
to teach ideas that
challenged the authority of
political and religious
leaders
– He believed that the old laws
should be replaced by a
simpler system based on love
of one’s fellow human beings

The Jewish and
Roman political and
religious leaders crucified
him
– Jesus was crucified (nailed
to a cross)

According to Christian
belief Jesus rose from the
dead 3 days laterresurrected- and
appeared to his disciples
Christianity- origin con.

After his resurrection, Jesus stayed with his 12
disciples (or apostles) to teach them so they
could continue what he had started.

12 apostles spread Jesus’ word after he
died

As Christianity continued to spread and become popular
the Roman leaders became worried.
Christians
were often arrested or killed for refusing
to worship the gods of Rome; forcing
many to practice the Christian religion in
hiding.
Christianity- origin con.
Though the religion was made illegal, it
continued to grow and spread
 Eventually reaching members of the
Roman Emperor himself- Constantine.

– 313 C.E.- Going into battle he had his soldiers
fight with the Christian symbol- they won the
battle.
– Shortly after Constantine he removed bans
against the practice of Christianity and formed
a council of Christian leaders to help unify the
religion
Islam- Facts



The Third religion to develop
Its holy book is called the: Qur’an
The central belief Allah is their God and
Muhammad is the prophet & founder!

The Five Pillars – Five main beliefs
1. Believe in only one God and Muhammad
 2. Pray in the direction of Mecca 5 times a
day
 3. Give money to the poor
 4. Fast during the holy month of Ramadan
 5. Make a journey (Hajj) to Mecca (Saudi
Arabia) at least once

Islam- origin


Muhammad was born in Mecca, Saudi
Arabia.
At the age of 40 the angel Gabriel (a
figure from the Hebrew Bible) appeared to
Muhammad while he was praying in a
cave

The angel gave him messages from Allah,
which he began spreading the teaching of
Islam throughout parts of the Middle East.
Islam Branches

There are TWO branches of Islam:

Sunni: 90% of the world Muslims, DO NOT
believe you have to be related to Muhammad to be
a supreme leader
 Shia:
10% of the world Muslim
population, DO BELIEVE you have to be
related to Muhammad to be a supreme
leader (tend to be more strict)
The majority of people living
in the Middle East
(Southwest Asia) follow
ISLAM.
Since all 3 major
monotheistic religions
originated in the Middle
East…what are some
problems that could arise
because of this? Write your
answer at the bottom of the chart