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Three Middle Eastern Countries That Matter to Us. Afghanistan (which, technically is not Middle Eastern, but most Americans see it that way). Afghanistan has experienced warfare through most of its history, sometimes against foreign invaders, sometimes intertribal .
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Afghanistan(which, technically is not Middle Eastern, but most Americans see it that way) • Afghanistan has experienced warfare through most of its history, sometimes against foreign invaders, sometimes intertribal. • Because Afghanistan has been the crossroads of two trade routes, it has experienced constant invasion over the centuries. • Afghans are often more loyal to the tribe than the country. • Drought helped overthrow the Afghan gov. in 1973 • Afghanistan’s two national languages: Pashto and Dari
In 1928, Nadir Khan was made king of Afghanistan. • He established Sharia law rather than secular law. • He also built highways, constructed dams and founded the University of Kabul. • Later, in the 1950s, his cousin, MohammeadDaoud Khan became Prime Minister. • He tried to push Afghanistan into a more secular way of life. • He overthrew his cousin and became the country’s dictator. • In 1977, he broke ties with the Soviet Union and became more religiously conservative. • Pro-Soviet Afghan soldiers staged a coup and killed Daoud in April 1978.
The new leaders tried to establish Communism. • They established education programs for all children and started adult literacy programs. • At the same time, they killed or imprisoned many people that disagreed with them. People disagreed for many reasons: • They wanted to keep their money. • They didn’t want their religion to become illegal. • They didn’t want equality for women. • They didn’t appreciate all the killings. • Because so many people disagreed, Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in 1979. They killed the president and controlled the country themselves. The war lasted ten years.
Many Afghan tribes joined together to fight the Soviets together. They were called the Mujahedin, which means “those fighting a Muslim holy war.” • Because of the fighting , 5-6 million Afghans became refugees. In Feb., 1989, the Soviets withdrew. After the Soviets left, there was a civil war over who would control Afghanistan. The Taliban came on the scene in 1994. Talib means “religious student” and many members had been studying in madrassas (religious schools) in refugee camps.
Many Afghans were happy because they thought this meant peace. But it also meant a very strict interpretation of the Sharia: • Thieves had hands or feet amputated. • Women were forbidden to go to work or school and had to wear burkhas. • They couldn’t fly kites. • They couldn’t play chess. • They couldn’t have pet birds. • They couldn’t dance at weddings or play instruments. • They couldn’t sing lullabies to babies. • They couldn’t go to the movies or use a computer. • They couldn’t hang pictures.
And that brings us to today… • We are going to take a little time each period to investigate three Middle Eastern countries. Once you have completed taking notes on the history of that country, we will do a quick internet search on what’s going on in the country today. You may use the following news sites: • New York Times • CNN • BBC (BBC World) • Democracy Now.org • Mother Jones.com • NPR.org
Once you have found a story you want to use… • Read it. • Write three paragraphs that explain • What the article says is going on in the country • How that relates to the country’s past. • What you think about all of this. You must have a correct citation at the bottom of your essay. See Writer’s Inc., pg. 273 for details.
Iran • 1979 – Revolution! • On Jan. 16, the king of Iran left Tehran. • Ayatollah Khomeini (“religious leader,” highest rank of Iranian Muslim cleric) returned to Tehran from exile. He was exiled because he wanted to overthrow the Shah’s (king’s) government. • The revolution introduced theocracy in Islam. • Iran is the first theocracy in modern times.
Two types of Islam Sunni Shia (Shiite) When Muhammad died (ascended) authority went to five Muslim leaders that weren’t related to him, called caliphs (or kalifs, califs, kaliphs, khalifs). Muhammad died(ascended) authority went to his son-in-law (Ali) his grandchildren.
Clothing in Iran and Afghanistan As you know, Afghan women have to wear burkas when they are outside their homes. Around the world, many Muslim women wear the hijab, or a scarf that covers the head.
In Iran, women have to wear a chador when they are outside the home which includes the hijab and a body covering, but does not cover the face like a burka does.
Iranian and Afghan Men For the most part, don’t dress much differently than men do here. In Afghanistan, males may dress a bit more traditionally, as you can see here.
And that brings us to today… • We are going to take a little time each period to investigate three Middle Eastern countries. Once you have completed taking notes on the history of that country, we will do a quick internet search on what’s going on in the country today. You may use the following news sites: • New York Times • CNN • BBC (BBC World) • Democracy Now.org • Mother Jones.com • NPR.org
Early Palestine • For centuries, Jews live in, if not controlled Jerusalem and the surrounding area. • During the era of the Roman Empire, Jews were expelled from Jerusalem. • By 700s AD, Arab Muslims gained control of the city. Jews were allowed to come back. The region had a majority Arab population.
Fast forward 1100 years… • Due to anti-Semitism in Europe, many Jews started moving back to Palestine from 1870s-1920s. • It was understood by Britain (and the US and France and Italy) that the “national home for Jewish people” would be Palestine. • But no one asked the Palestinians (Arab inhabitants of Palestine) that had been living in the area 1200 years.
But since only the Arabs had a problem with it… • By the thousands, Jews starting immigrating. By WWII, many of them were Holocaust survivors. • Palestinians: “Doesn’t the fact that we’ve been here for the last 1200 years matter more than the fact that Jews controlled this place 2000 years ago?” • There was a lot of rioting, fighting as Palestinians thought they were becoming minorities in their own region.
Once Israel was established… • 1945 – Palestine was to be divided into an Arab and a Jewish section. • 24 hours after the country of Israel was official, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon declared war. Palestinians didn’t have the means to fight. • Israel (thanks to Czech weapons) won! • Israel expanded its territory, and Jordan ended up controlling territory meant for Palestinians. • To us, Israel is the country formerly known as Palestine.
Today… • 4 million Palestinian Arabs are either exiled or under Israeli rule. • There is a fierce hatred between many Jews and Arabs in Israel. • The surrounding Arab and/or Muslim countries aren’t big fans of Israel, which presents a Western stronghold in the region.
Once you have found a story you want to use… • Read it. • Write three paragraphs that explain • What the article says is going on in the country • How that relates to the country’s past. • What you think about all of this. You must have a correct citation at the bottom of your essay. See Writer’s Inc., pg. 273 for details.
