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The Middle East

The Middle East. Middle East Overview. Background Culture and Religion Economic and Social Issues Politics and Government. Middle Eastern Countries. Algeria Bahrain Egypt Iran Iraq Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya. Morocco Palestine Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria

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The Middle East

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  1. The Middle East

  2. Middle East Overview • Background • Culture and Religion • Economic and Social Issues • Politics and Government

  3. Middle Eastern Countries • Algeria • Bahrain • Egypt • Iran • Iraq • Israel • Jordan • Kuwait • Lebanon • Libya • Morocco • Palestine • Oman • Qatar • Saudi Arabia • Syria • Tunisia • Turkey • United Arab Emirates • Yemen

  4. Middle Eastern People

  5. Middle Eastern Culture • Major ethnic groups in the Middle East today include Arabs, Iranians (also known as Persians), Turks, Jews, Kurds, Berbers, Armenians, Nubians, Azeris, and Greeks • Most of the countries in this region are multiethnic

  6. Middle Eastern Culture • The family is an important part of culture in the Middle East • In traditional Arab societies the family unit is an extended family -- cousins, grandparents, second cousins, cousins-in-law, nieces, nephews, and more -- all living together

  7. Middle Eastern Culture • Difference between life in the village and life in the city • Two men in Egypt can share the same language (Arabic), religion (Islam), and nationality (Egyptian) • One may live in an air-conditioned apartment • The other may live in a naturally cool mud-brick house surrounded by three generations of relatives

  8. Middle Eastern Culture • Technology is beginning to change all of this • Today remote villagers are gaining access to all of the information and technology formerly available only in the city • Satellite dishes • Cell phones

  9. Middle Eastern Culture Many languages, three families Semitic (including Arabic, Hebrew, and Aramaic) Indo-European (Kurdish, Persian, Armenian) Turkic (Turkish, Azeri) The multiplicity of languages spoken in the Middle East reflects its ethnic diversity Most of these languages come from three major language "families"

  10. Primary Middle Eastern Religions • Christianity • Judaism • Islam • All have the following in common: • One God, in fact, THE SAME GOD! • Descendents of Abraham • Accept some concept of judgment day • Existence of free will and human sin • Necessity of repentance

  11. Comparison of Religions

  12. Social Issues • The sense of shared identity and fate among Muslims is coupled with a Muslim perception that the non-Muslim world is united against Islam

  13. Social Issues • Dangerous currents, among both Muslims and Westerners, threaten to turn academic chatter about a clash of civilizations into a reality • “Umma-itis” -- The growing tendency for younger Muslims to believe they are part of an embattled supranational community — the umma

  14. Social Issues • Causes Muslims to view all western actions as attempts to oppress Islam • Causes westerner’s to view all Muslims as jihadists

  15. Social Issues • Muslims are now increasingly inclined to stress their religious identity • This globalization of Muslim identity is helping to fuel a revival of a shared interest • The extent to which this sense of common victimization gains traction, the more likely it is to feed the perception that there are, in reality, two civilizations in conflict

  16. Economics • Official unemployment rates in the region average 15%, with low female participation in the labor force (26%) • Close to 30% of the population lives on less than two dollars per day • Rapid demographic growth only exacerbates the numbers of unemployed and disenchanted youth • Youth illiteracy averages 13% for boys and 24% for girls in the region, although it can be as high as 56% in Yemen.

  17. Middle Eastern Economics List by the International Monetary Fund, 2004 adjusted in PPP

  18. Middle Eastern Economics List by the International Monetary Fund, 2004 adjusted in PPP

  19. Economics World Proven Oil Reserves (in billion barrels) North America 45 Central, South America 99 W. Europe 17 E. Europe, former USSR 82 Middle East 670 Africa 77 Asia 39 Source: U.S. Department of Energy (from World Oil) March 8, 2004

  20. Where Does the U.S. Get Its Oil?(Top Seven, Thousand Barrels/Day, April 2005) • Canada 1,676 • Mexico 1,541 • Saudi Arabia 1,449 • Venezuela 1,391 • Nigeria 1,130 • Iraq 542 • Russia 464

  21. Scarcity of Water • Ten countries in the region are consuming more than 100% of their renewable water supplies • Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Republic, Yemen, and Palestine (the West Bank and Gaza) • The degradation of water quality is also a major issue

  22. Scarcity of Water • By 2025, the following countries are expected to face “absolute water scarcity” (not enough water to grow 1990 levels of food, less than 500 Cubic Meters/Capita): • Egypt Iran • Iraq Kuwait • Syria Tunisia • Saudi Arabia UAE • Israel Yemen • Jordan Oman • Libya

  23. 2025 Absolute Water Scarcity

  24. Politics and Government • As with everything else in this region, religion plays a role in national and international politics as well • Turkey has a Muslim majority, but is officially a secular nation • Other countries in the region identify themselves with a specific religion, mostly Islam • The poor relations between Israel and most of its Arab neighbors are sometimes described in terms of a perpetual religious conflict between Jews and Muslims—this is not necessarily true

  25. Politics and Government • Control over important historical sites of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is a factor in the Arab-Israeli disagreements • Many of the details that stall negotiations have more to do with control of land and access to water resources than religion • Furthermore, many Palestinians who demand restitution for their property are Christian, not Muslim • Egypt's historic treaty with Israel provides a model for how Muslim and Jewish neighbors can live peaceably

  26. What Israelis and Palestinians want • Land- Both sides lay claim to land that has changed hands many times since biblical times • Property- Both sides have owned property that is now under the other’s control • Water- As we pointed out earlier, water is always a scarcity in the region. Control of the water is ultimately control over life • Both sides also want a Nation to call their own, independent of the other, yet neither is willing to give up enough to make this happen

  27. Middle East Summary • Background • Culture and Religion • Economic and Social Issues • Politics and Government

  28. Questions

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