Ethnic Groups and Religious Groups

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Ethnic Groupsand Religious Groups

• What is the difference?

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What is culture?

• Culture consists of the beliefs, customs,
  laws, art, and ways of living that a group of
  people share.

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What is a culture trait?

• Anything shared by a culture is a culture trait.
  These can be
• Religion
• Language
• Music, dance, literature
• Food
• Clothing
• Technology and tools

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Ethnic Groups

• Share many common characteristics
• Language
• Similar physical features
• Customs
• Traditions

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Religious Groups

• Share a common belief system but are not
  necessarily composed of a single ethnic group.
• Religious groups can have many different ethnic
  groups.

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Who are the Kurds?

• Kurds comprise 22 million people in 6 countries
  
• Turkey (10 million),
• Iran(5.5 million),
• Iraq (3.5 million),
• Syria, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

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Kurds

• Speak a language related to Farsi
• The majority are Sunni Muslims
• Were promised their own country after WW 1,
  carved from the Ottoman Empire
• Thousands were killed in Northern Iraq in 1988 on
  orders from Saddam Hussein

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Kurds

• Most Kurds are found in the mountainous areas
  where Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq come
  together.
• They speak their own language called Kurdish, and
  have a separate history, literature, music, and
  set of traditions.
• Many Kurds hope to have a nation of their own
  some day, a hope that has caused conflict with
  the countries in which Kurdish people live.
• Most Kurds are Sunni Muslim

Women, in traditional Kurdish dress, dance during
a wedding party in what they hope to one day be
called Kurdistan.
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Other Groups in the Middle East

• Arabs people living in the Middle East who
  speak Arabic and Islam is their primary religion.
• Persians- people living in Iran. Their primary
  language is Farsi and religion is Islam.

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Arabs

• Arabs are the most populous ethnic group in the
  Middle East.
• Arabs believe themselves to be descendants of
  Abraham through his son Ishmael and originally
  from the Arabian Peninsula.
• They speak Arabic.
• Most Arabs are Muslims, with the majority being
  Sunni Muslim. However, there are many Christian
  Arabs as well, especially in the countries of
  Lebanon and Egypt.

Arabs escape the Gaza strip into Egypt for much
needed supplies.
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Persians

• Most Persians live in the modern country of Iran
  where they are the most populous ethnic group.
• They are different from Arabs and Jews in that
  their ancestors came from Central Europe and
  Southern Russia
• The country of Persia became known as Iran after
  WWI.
• Persians speak Farsi, a language that uses the
  Arabic alphabet but is actually spoken
  differently.
• Most Persians are Shia Muslims even though Shia
  Muslims only make up about 15 of the worlds
  Muslim population.

Persian family from northern Iran
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Persians in Iran
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Arabs in the Middle East
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Jewish

• Most of the Jewish population in Southwest Asia
  reside in Israel.
• During the 20th century, many Jews migrated to
  Israel after its formation following WWII.
• Israels Jews come from all over the world with
  different customs.
• The Law of Return allows a Jew from other
  countries to become citizens in Israel.