Ethnic Groups of the Middle East

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Ethnic Groups of the Middle East
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Background

• Islam, Christianity and Judaism are major
  religions practiced in Southwest Asia.
• Most people there are Muslims.
• Ninety percent of people in the region are
  Muslims.

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Arab

• Originated on the Arabian Peninsula
• Most are Sunni Muslims
• largest ethnic group in SW Asia
• Speak Arabic (religious language of the
  Koran)

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Groups?

• Religious Group-people who share the same set of
  beliefs
• Ethnic group-group that shares same language,
  history and religion

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Jewish

• Israel -home for much of the Jewish population in
  Southwest Asia.
• Many of the people who live in Israel today were
  born there. .
• Most practice Judaism
• Hebrew is sacred language

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Kurdish

• live in mountains of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and
  Syria
• want their own country, but countries where they
  live resist because of oil found in territory
• -Saddam Hussein very mean to them (biological
  and gas attacks)
• -language(Kurdish) related to Persian
• -most are Sunni Muslims
• Kurdish Muslims are usually less strict about
  certain Islamic practices.

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Kurdish

• Most Kurds today are Muslims.
• Kurdish Muslims are usually less strict about
  certain Islamic practices.
• There are fewer laws for how Kurdish women should
  dress than there are for Iranian and Arab women.
• Kurds share many aspects of their culture with
  Iranians.

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Persian

• Iranian descendants from Ancient Persian
  People
• most are Shia Muslim, but have own language and
  customs
• speak Farsi/Persian
• conflicts between Persians and Arabs in the
  Middle East.

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Summary

• Describe the different ethnic groups that make up
  the Middle East.
• How are they alike? How are they different?