Ch22 Sw Asia
Download as PPT, PDF0 likes357 views
This document provides an overview of religion, politics, and oil in Southwest Asia, focusing on three main regions: the Arabian Peninsula, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Northeast. It describes the dominant religions of Islam and various sects, the impact of colonialism and formation of nation states after World War I, and ongoing conflicts over land and political power between religious and ethnic groups. A key theme is the role of oil in power dynamics and economic development in the region. Modern life combines aspects of traditional religion and 21st century technology and globalization.
Ch22 Sw Asia
- 1. Religion, Politics, and Oil: Southwest Asia Section 1: The Arabian Peninsula QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture.
- 2. Nations of Arabian peninsula include: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen Intersection of three continents Life in desert: families ties very strong, nomadic dwellers - Bedouins; fighting between families and clans for pasturelands and livestock Islam - monotheistic religion based on founder - the Prophet Muhammad; Islam brings new culture to peninsula: Five Pillars - 1)testify no other god but Allah; 2)prayer 5 times a day - face Mecca (east) - “jumma” or “jack”; 3) charity - giving alms; 4)fasting during Ramadan; 5)pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca at least once
- 3. Relationship between politics and religion Theocracy - religious leaders control the government Some countries exist as such in Southwest Asia, on Arabian peninsula After WWI and break-up of Ottoman Empire Britain and France colonized some parts of Southwest Asia; why valuable - Suez Canal, oil Other leader: Abdul al-Azia Ibn Saud - in name of Saud family; whole area became known as Saudi Arabia in 1932
- 4. Oil dominates peninsula Huge part of economy In 1960 OPEC - Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries - established; Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Iran, Iraq; purpose of OPEC is to control worldwide oil prices by adjusting oil prices and production quotas
- 5. Modern Life in Arabia Dramatic changes in 20th century, largely b/c of economic boost of oil Quick develop Camels replaced by trucks, automobiles, motorcycles 1960 25% urbanized; 1990 58% urbanized Religious duties shape lives Prayer - traffic stops Combination of 21st century life and religious life
- 6. Section 2: The Eastern Mediterranean September 2000 hundreds of people died because of “civil unrest” on the Temple Mount An Israeli political leader visited Jewish holy place - disrespectful to many Muslims Relations between Jews, Arabs, and Christians hostile in this region Three major monotheistic regions - Judaism, Christianity, Islam Jerusalem: 42 square miles - strong spiritual meaning
- 7. Judaism Jerusalem - center of modern and ancient homeland Temple Mount: first temple constructed by King Solomon, second temple in 538 BC - today known as Western Wall - last standing wall (destroyed by Romans in 70 AD) Christianity Jerusalem - final suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Mount of Olives, Church of the Holy Sepulchre Christians fought Muslims during Crusades; lands in Muslim control until 1948 formation of Israel Islam After Mecca and Medina, Jerusalem third most holy city Dome of the Rock - place where the Prophet
- 8. History of Unrest in Area Ottoman Empire (Muslim government based in Turkey) ruled Eastern Mediterranean lands from 1520 to 1922 Ottoman Empire sided with Germany during WWI; after war empire fell apart Colonialism: Britain and France divided lands; France took northern portion - Lebanon, Syria and Britain took southern portion - Jordan and Israel French played different religious groups against each other - animosity for this still today (Syria independent in ‘46 and Lebanon in ‘43) Britain’s “land” known as Palestine; after, Zionism began - goal to create and support Jewish homeland in Palestine; before WWI 12% of population in Palestine was Jewish, after war Jewish population expanded; more and more during WWII, British halted Jewish immigration to Palestine (see maps on page 512) After WWII world opinion supported establishment of Jewish nation-state; in ‘47 the UN developed plan to divide Palestine into two states - one Arab and one Jewish Arabs in region did not agree - however, Israel established on May 14, 1948; immediately after surrounding Arab
- 9. Caught in middle? - Palestinian Arabs and Christians People either fled or forced to leave area - refugee camps Land designated for Palestinians on West Bank and Gaza Strip (however, under Israeli control) In ‘60s, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) formed to regain land for Palestinian Arabs PLO Mahmoud Abbas became prime minister (2003) agreed to support peace plan called the “road map”
- 10. Palestinian Arabs in Israel - 3.6 million people Refugees struggle to find food, shelter, employment Civil Wars in Lebanon and Cyprus; in ‘82 Israel invaded Lebanon Infrastructure: Countries of Eastern Mediterranean subregion have great potential for agriculture, tourism, trade, but lack infrastructure
- 11. Modern Life in Eastern Mediterranean Some restaurants = separate sections based on gender Cafes = men only Last meal of day - between 8 and 11 pm; large meal! Variety of cultures - Shi’ites, Sunnis, Druze, Christians, Maronite (Eastern Orthodox practices), immigrants, Arab Muslims, Bedouins, Baha’i faith of Christians
- 12. Section 3: The Northeast In ‘88 over 5,000 Kurds were murdered from a chemical weapons attack by Iraq Kurds occupied lands for thousands of years = clashes of land major issue in Northeast part of region
- 13. Early Civilizations Fertile Crescent - Mesopotamia - land between the rivers - Tigris and Euphrates Hittites - empire stretched across Turkey Persia - present day Iran Ethnic and Religious Variety Turks, Kurds, Persians - how are they different? In language, religion Sunni - called “Sunni” because they accept the “sunnas” or oral traditions and interpretations of the Koran after Muhammad’s death; believe that caliph or successor of Muhammad should always be elected; follow Abu - elected as first Caliph after Muhammad’s death; also, Sunni belief is that a global caliphate will one day emerge - a little more than 80% of Muslims are Sunni Shi’ite - believe leadership should be directly linked to the people of the house - or descendant of Mohammed; many Shi’ite’s believe Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini from ‘78 brought legitimacy to religious leadership; belief is
- 14. Clashes Over Land Increased since WWI - Kurds were promised homeland, but never received Iran has become home to refugees fleeing from Afghanistan and Iraq - largest refugee population in world Persian Gulf War - 90-91 for access to strategic oil fields - Iraq and Kuwait Over Leadership “war on terrorism” - many “disliked” Bush Overthrow of Taliban (or Taleban) - March of 2002 out of power in Afghanistan Overthrow of Saddam Hussein - Operation Iraqi Freedom in March of 2003 - where were the weapons of mass destruction
- 15. Reform Area has limited agricultural land; production must become efficient Oil = money = assist infrastructure Making progress? Turkey and Iran - hydroelectric plants, agriculture, steel Continued war has affected area/region - Afghanistan
- 16. Modern versus tradition life Afghanistan - Taliban, civil liberties, education for all Turkey - fundamentalist religious views
- 17. “Waltz with Bashir One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari Folman about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can’t remember a thing anymore about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images … How does this apply to our learning of Southwest Asia? The Lebanon War of 1982 - Many Palestinian refugees from Israel Aggressive attitude between PLO and Israel over land June 6, 1982 - operation peace of Galilee - to push PLO forces back 40 KM to the north (led by Ariel Sharon) Israel continued to push PLO north and eventually out of country - moved headquarters Lebanese president Bashir Gemayel (a Christian) was assassinated Phalangists - a Christian militia group allied with Israel - with Sabra and Shatila Massacre - at least 800 refugees killed Over 17,000 Lebanese were killed; 675 Israeli soldiers killed