Download Religion in the Middle East

Ethnic Group:
 These groups are defined by
common cultural characteristics
like language, customs, and
clothing.
 They are usually descended from
common ancestors or the
inhabitants of a common country.
 2 people can have different
biological races and still be of the
same ethnic group because they
share the same cultural customs.
 Ex: Jews-although they usually
share the same religion, they are
an ethnic group because they
come from common ancestors
and have their own unique
customs.
Religious Group:
 There can be many religious
groups within an ethnic group.
 Religion is based on a common
belief in a theological claim.
 Unlike ethnic groups, religious
groups do NOT always share
common ancestors or customs.
 Ex: Christians-there are many
Christians across the world that
are from different ancestors and
have very different customs, but
they are all part of the same
religious group because of their
common beliefs in Jesus Christ
and the Bible.
1. Judaism:
-A monotheistic religion of the Jews based on the
Torah and the Talmud.
2.
Islam:
-the Muslim religion teaching that there is only 1 God
and that Muhammad is his prophet.
3. Christianity:
-a monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based
on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus
Christ.
What do all 3 of these
religions have in
common??
1.
They are all monotheistic religions.
 Monotheism= believing in ONLY ONE God!
2.
Also, ALL 3 religions were born in the Middle
East!
% of population’s
religious beliefs in SW
Asia
Muslim
Christian
Jewish
• 90% of the
population in the
Middle East
practice Islam.
• 4% are Christians
• 2% are Jewish.
 A
messiah is a savior
 A
prophet is one who spreads the word of God
to others, and serves as a messenger for the
religion.
 Origins: began in about 1800 B.C.E. when God spoke to
Abraham.
 Beliefs: believe in Abraham and Moses as prophets.
 The Messiah: Jews are still awaiting the Messiah.
 Sacred Book(s) (or holy book): Old Testament of the Bible and
the Talmud or Torah.
 Written in Hebrew.
 Holy City: Jerusalem
 Place of Worship: Synagogue
 or Temple
 Followers called: Jews
 Jews believe the purpose of life is to follow God’s will and
rules. Your faith is demonstrated by their behavior.
 God (called Yahweh) revealed Himself at Mt. Sinai by sharing
the Torah
 Covenant: An agreement
between Yahweh (God) &
the Jews: they obey Him
& He protects them as His
chosen people.
• Rabbi: teacher who studies the Torah
• Talmud: supplemental guide to Judaism created
by Rabbis
• Sabbath: holy day of rest; Saturday
 Origins: began with Jesus in the 1st century C.E. (common era)
 Beliefs: believe in Abraham and Moses as prophets.
 The Messiah: believe Jesus is the son of God, the Messiah
 Sacred Book(s) (or holy book): Old Testament and the New
Testament of the Bible.
 Holy City: Jerusalem
 Place of Worship: Church
 Followers called: Christians
 Sabbath on Sunday (holy day)
 Origins: began in the 7th century by Muhammad
 Beliefs: believe in Abraham and Moses as prophets; Muhammad is the
last prophet in a long series of prophets.
 The Messiah: believe Jesus was a prophet.
 Sacred Book(s) (or holy book): Parts of the Bible’s New Testament and
Old Testament and the Qur’an (or Koran).
 Written in Arabic. This is easy to remember because most people in
the Middle East are Arabs!
 Holy City: Mecca, Medina, and
Jerusalem.
 Place of Worship: Mosque

Followers called: Muslims
Mecca
*Usually decorated with domes and towers,
like shown in the picture above.*
 Islam means
“submission to the will of God”
 God=Allah (Arabic)
 Imam: religious leader

Umma- community of followers
of Islam
 Sharia: laws based on the Qur’an or teachings of Muhammad
 The Qur’an says that people know good from evil and will be
held accountable for their actions
 There are divisions in many religions. (EX:
denominations in Christianity-Cahtolic, Methodists,
Baptist, etc.)
 The 2 major groups within the religion of Islam are the
Sunnis and Shias.
 Ali was Muhammad’s cousin and was married to his
daughter. After Muhammad died, Muslims split over
who would succeed (follow) Muhammad as the leader
of Islam. The Sunnis wanted the community to choose
the best leader to succeed Muhammad. But, the Shia
favored Ali, and felt that leadership of the religion
should stay within the family.
Sunni
 Make up about 90% of all
Muslims.
 Follow
Shia
 Muslims who follow Ali,
Muhammad’s closest
relative.
sunnah, or custom of
Muhammad.
 Believe the best person for
the job should be picked to
be the Muslim leader.
 Believe that the leader of
the Islamic religion
should be a descendant
of (or related to)
Muhammad.
**This “leader” is a figurehead, or symbol, for the
religion of Islam-not a political leader. An example of
a Christian leader is the Pope, who is the head of the
Catholic church.
*Why don’t these 2 groups like each other if they are all Muslims??
 The religion of Islam teaches that ALL Muslims equal before
Allah (God in Arabic)
 They even think that Muhammad is a “regular” person and
should not be worshiped because only Allah should be
worshiped.
 Sunni’s disagree with the Shia’s because they believe that the
Shia’s are glorifying Muhammad and making him better than just
a regular person, because their leader must be related to
Muhammad. By doing this, they believe that the Shia’s are making
Muhammad more important (than a regular person), and better
than everyone else, which is not what the Islam religion teaches
(ALL Muslims are equal and only Allah is worshiped). Sunni’s
believe that when the Shia’s making Muhammad more important,
they are taking away from the importance of Allah.
 “Holy War”
 Struggle to please Allah
 Protect heart against vice
 Speak truth & spread the word of Islam
 Behave justly; do what is right
 War against enemies
 Practiced by Sunnis
 Only extremists see it as a justification for terrorism

“rules” that Muslims are guided by

The Five Pillars are REQUIRED only of adults who are physically able to complete
them
1.
Profession of Faith
2.
Prayer
- 5 times a day
-Facing towards Mecca
3.
Charity
-giving to the poor through
income taxes
4.
Fasting
-During Ramadan (holy month when
the Qur'an was first revealed)
5.
Hajj- Pilgrimage to Mecca
-Once a lifetime
 Secular= religion and government are separate!!
 Turkey is the only secular country.
 All of the other countries in the Middle East have
laws based on their religion.

Shar’ia= laws based on Islam.
• No official state religion & religious
freedom protected
• 99% Muslim (80% Sunni)
• Alevis: form of Shia Islam based in oral
tradition; conflicts with Sunnis
 Hazaras:
 Shia Muslims
 Heavily persecuted under the Taliban
 99% Muslim
 84% Sunni, 15% Shia
 Mullah: Muslim religious
teacher/leader
 Must memorize & recite the
Qur’an
 Conduct sermons, teach Islamic laws, solve
disputes
 Madrassas: mosque (religious) schools
 Only boys attend
 Shia Muslim (93%)
 Women and men dress very conservatively because
of their strict religious beliefs.
 90% Muslim
 60% Shia=majority in
this country
 Home to 1/3 of world’s Jews
 Immigrants of 100+ nations
 82% Jews, 17% Arabs
 Arabs (Sunni Muslims or Christians) living in Israel speak
Arabic, live separately from Jews
 Hebrew & Arabic are official languages
 Both taught in schools & used in government
 89% Sunni
 Shia Muslims often discriminated against
 Very religiously conservative =Wahhabism)
 Women: few work; expected to dress very
conservatively
 Uses Shar’ia (Islamic law) in government
policy
 In public, Saudis must follow strict religious
rules
• Monitored & enforced by the government