Southwest Asia

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Southwest Asia

• Chapter 22

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Remember what geography is

• What is where? And why is it there?

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The Arabian Peninsula

• Heavily influenced by the religious principles of
  Islam.
• Oil production dominates the economy of the
  region.

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The Arabian Peninsula

• Islam monotheistic religion based on the
  teachings of its founder, the Prophet Muhammad.
• Mecca holiest city of Islam.
• Islam united the people of the Arabian Peninsula

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The Arabian Peninsula

• The Five Pillars are
• Faith There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad
  is the Messenger of Allah.
• Prayer Five times a day.
• Charity support the less fortunate.
• Fasting During Ramadan, do not eat or drink
  anything between sunrise and sunset.
• Pilgrimage Make a pilgrimage (hijj) to Mecca at
  least once in your life.

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Thousands of Muslim Pilgrims at Mecca.
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The Arabian Peninsula

• Theocratic governments of lands controlled by
  religious leaders.
• Was under control by Britain and France.
• Suez Canal and oil was discovered in 1932
• Abdul al-Aziz Ibn Saud
• Powerful leader who consolidated the Arabian
  Peninsula
• 1932 Saudi Arabia was formed.

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The Arabian Peninsula

• In 1960, the establishment of OPEC.
• Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
• They control worldwide oil prices
• Most powerful force in international trade

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Arabian Peninsula

• Changes
• Transportation
• In 1960 25 urbanized
• By 1990 58 urbanized
• More immigrants working technical jobs

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The Eastern Mediterranean

• There are three major monotheistic religions
• Judaism
• Christianity
• Islam
• All three claim Jerusalem as a holy city.

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Jewish Presence

• For Jews
• Jerusalem is the center of their modern and
  ancient homeland.
• The Temple Mount
• King Solomon built the First Temple there
• The Second Temple was built in 538 B.C.
• Modern Jews pray at the Western Wall also
  called the Wailing Wall. The only piece of the
  second temple left.

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The Western Wall Or Wailing Wall
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Christian Heritage

• For Christians
• Jerusalem is the sacred location of the final
  suffering and crucifixion of Jesus
• When Muslims controlled Jerusalem, Christians
  launched the Crusades.
• Lands returned to Muslims and remained that way
  until Israel was established in 1948.

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Islamic Sacred Sites

• To Muslims
• It is the third most holy city
• Dome of the Rock where the Prophet Muhammad
  rose to heaven.
• Where Abraham sacrificed Isaac
• Dome of the Rock is located on the Temple Mount
  next to the Western Wall.

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The Temple Mount
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History of Unrest

• The Ottoman Empire, Muslim, ruled the Eastern
  Mediterranean from 1520 to 1922.
• Then Britain and France received the lands.
• Britain controlled Palestine
• Zionism Create and support a Jewish homeland in
  Palestine.
• Tensions built until 1939.

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State of Israel

• In 1947, the U.N. divide Palestine into two
  states one for Arabs and one for Jews.
• War broke out and Israel fought back.
• Many Palestinian Arabs were displaced.
• West Bank and Gaza Strip refugee camps
• Controlled by the Israelis
• 1960s, the Palestine Liberation Organization
  (PLO) was formed.

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State of Israel

• There are 3.6 million refugees, some still live
  in UN-sponsored camps
• Most are unemployed, uneducated and homeless.
• Why dont they get jobs?

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The Northeast

• Mesopotamia land between the rivers
• Babyonia, Assyria, Sumer.
• Fertile soil and transportation
• Part of the Fertile Crescent

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The Northeast

• Many different ethnic and religious groups
• Turkish and Farsi, which is different than the
  Arabic that is spoken in the rest of the region.
• There are clashes between the two Muslim groups.
• Sunni 83 or all Muslims
• Shiite Mostly found in Iran.

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Clashes Over Land

• Kurds an ethnic group, a stateless nation.
  They were promised land in parts of Turkey, Iran,
  and Iraq.
• Iran
• Because of its location it has become home to
  refugees fleeing Afghanistan and Iraq.
• Largest refugee population in the world.

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Oil Fields

• Since 1908, there has been conflict over oil.
• British and Russians fought over parts of Iran
• 1980 1990, Iran and Iraq fought over oil
  fields
• 1990 1991, Iraq invaded Kuwait
• We kick some Iraq butt.

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Results of War in this area
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Economies

• Limited agricultural land
• Have to use oil money for transportation systems,
  power plants and water and sanitation systems.

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Progress

• Turkey and Iran are making progress in
  modernizing.
• Turkey wants in the EU, but it has a bad human
  rights record and fights with Greece over
  territory.
• Iran has a better economic government. But
  recovering from war with Iraq has been hard

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No Progress

• Iraq
• Has been in wars since 1980s
• UN restrictions has reduced the amount of money
  available
• Afghanistan
• One of the poorest on Earth
• Subsistence agriculture and herding

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Afghanistan

• Taliban Fundamentalist Muslim political group.
• Reject efforts to modernize the nation
• Supported terrorist from 9/11