Download THE-MIDDLE-EAST-IN

THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
AN OVERVIEW OF THE MIDDLE EAST
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
Middle East is a region of immense global
importance
•Regarded
•Worlds
as the “cradle of civilization”
richest oil reserves
•Birthplace
of 3 of the worlds most important religions
Christianity
Islam
Judaism
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
Middle East is torn by conflict and warfare
Reasons
Historical
animosity
Disputes over land and water
Control over oil reserves
Ethnic and religious differences
Foreign intervention
Disparities in wealth
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Clearly
the Middle East is a complex, diverse,
and important region of the world
•This
lesson will provide an overview to the
region’s …
Geography
Resources
Religions
History
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Geography
and Resources
The
term “Middle East” was coined in 1902 by a
US Naval officer who thought Europe to be the
center of the world
There
is no universal definition of what countries
are included in the Middle East but our purposes…
North Africa
The Arabian
Peninsula
The Eastern Mediterranean
Iran
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Geography
The
and Resources
area of North Africa includes
Morocco
Algeria
Tunisia
Libya
Egypt
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
Geography and Resources
•

The Arabian Peninsula includes






Saudi Arabia
Bahrain
Qatar
United Arab
Emirates
Oman
Yemen
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Geography
The
and Resources
Eastern Med area includes
Turkey
Syria
Lebanon
Israel
The
West bank
and Gaza Strip
Jordan
Iraq
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Geography
Several
and Resources
rivers run through the Middle East
Nile
Tigris
Euphrates
However,
The
much of the area is extremely dry
Sahara Desert covers much of North Africa
Therefore,
water is a valuable source and worth fighting over
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Geography
Though
and Resources
poor in water resources, the area is rich
with oil
70%
of the worlds oil reserves
Not every country in the ME is rich
Countries with oil are not necessarily wealthy
Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia have
little or no oil at all
Oil rich countries have unevenly distributed wealth
and have wide spread poverty
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Religion
Three
of the world’s most important religions are
Christianity
Islam
Judaism
All
founded in the Middle East
All very different
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Religion
Judaism:
God will send a Savior to redeem
humankind
Christianity:
Jesus is the Savior that Judaism still
awaits
Islam:
Jewish and Christian prophets were
divinely inspired; Jesus was great prophet, but not a
Savior; and Muhammad was the last and greatest
prophet
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Religion
MUSLIMS
and ARABS are not the same thing
follow Islam, the religion founded in the 7th
century A.D. by Muhammad
Muslims
Arabs
are an ethnic group subdivided into many
different tribes, clans, and families
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Religion
While
all Arab states profess Islam as their
primary religion, not all Arabs are Muslims
Several Arab
countries, such as Lebanon,
Egypt, and Jordan, have significant Arab
Christian minorities
And,
not all states with a large Islamic
population are Arab, or even located in the
Middle East
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•Religion
Even
though Islam is truly a global religion
The majority of Muslims in the world live outside the
Middle East

However,
Islam remains a strong force within the region
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Christians,
Jew, and Muslims all regard the
Middle East as the birthplace of their religions
Much
of the Middle East’s history revolves
around the expansion of Islam as the predominant
religion in the region
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Islam
Founded
by Muhammad in 610 A.D. in Mecca
Muhammad
claimed he received revelations from
Allah via the angel Gabriel
After
Muhammad died
Conflict
developed over who would succeed him as Caliph
A united Islam disappeared – sects were formed
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Islam
Most
significant split came in 661
Led to the Shia and Sunni branches of Islam
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Islam
believed only descendants of Ali, the 4th
caliph and brother-in-law of Muhammad,
should be caliph
Shias
Sunnis
believed Muhammad intended for the
Muslim community to choose a caliph by
consensus
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Islam
Despite
the split, the Arab Empire remained
powerful
the 18th century, the Arab Empire ruled
northern Africa
By
Islamic
armies went north to Spain and
eastward through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan,
and even the borders of China
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Islam
Eventually,
the Arab Empire went into decline
Internally
Succession
struggles
Worldly pleasures
Policy debates
Religious disagreements
All eroded the strength of the empire
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Islam
Externally
Christian
Crusaders began probing the Middle
East in the 11th Century
In 1099 they launched an assault capturing
Jerusalem
The city is sacred to all three religions
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Islam
Externally
Christians
held the city until 1187
Saladin recaptured it for Islam and the Arabs
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•History
Islam
Externally
By
1231 the Mongols descended on the Middle East
By the end of the 14th century Iraq, Persia, and
Syria were ravaged
The Arab Empire never fully recovered
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
Post
WWI
Arabs
wanted one giant state
European colonial powers did not
The League of Nations
The
League of Nations was an international organization
founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919-1920.
The League's goals included disarmament, preventing war
through collective security, settling disputes between countries
through negotiation diplomacy and improving global welfare.
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
The
League of Nations
Gave
Palestine and Iraq to Great Britain
Gave Syria to France
Egypt
moved toward a quasi-independence
Wahhabi Muslims (the primary religious
movement behind extremist Islam) established
their own state in Saudi Arabia
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
early 20th century, Wahhabis under Ibn
Saud extended their control to much of the
Arabian Peninsula
Ibn Saud consolidated his control in Arabia
except for Yemen, Oman, the Persian gulf
coastal emirates, and Kuwait
By
The Arabian Peninsula
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
Saud
realm was poor
The Saud family’s major revenue sources
were from Muslim pilgrims to Mecca and a
small annual subsidy from Great Britain
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
In
1932 oil was discovered in Bahrain
Ibn Saud had reservations about allowing
Westerners into his kingdom to explore for
oil
He finally agreed to allow Standard Oil of
California to drill for oil in his country
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
Oil
wealth poured in
Both to the Saud Kingdom and other
fortunate states on the Arabian peninsula
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
With
this new source of wealth
Many traditionalist regimes adopted new
views about how Islamic societies should be
shaped
Ibn Saud thought the oil should be used to
improve living conditions and the quality of
life for his country
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
Radical
Muslims called on Muslims
everywhere to return to traditional Islamic
institutions and teachings
To reject all western or non-Islamic
teachings
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
For
radical Muslims
Violence
against those who were not true
believers in Allah was acceptable and necessary
Large, radical Islamic movements developed
in Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Sudan, and
Tunisia
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
development of Current Political
and Social Forces
Radical
Muslims
Oppose
both non-Islamic societies and
governments
Islamic governments they define as outside the
realm of “true Islam”
THE MIDDLE EAST IN
TRANSITION
•The
Middle East contains a complex mix of
outlooks, attitude, and cultures
•Muslims, Christians, Jews, Arabs, and Non-Arabs
All
•The
contribute to the region’s diversity
Middle East is also impacted by external
influences and interests
•It is a complex region where history, religion, oil,
and water all set the stage for conflict