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Chapter 7 North Africa/Southwest Asia  Geographic Features  Islam (and related culture)dominate  Strong internal divisions within countries (ex: Lebanon and Iraq)  Some nations without states (ex: Palestinians, Kurds, Berbers, people of Western Sahara)  Some boundaries date from the colonial era = some current problems  Name  “Middle East”­ only ‘east’ from Europe  “Arab World”­ what about Turkey, Iran  “Muslim World”­ what about Israel  Best name: North Africa/ Southwest Asia  Dry World  Major deserts… so most live near water  Oil  More than half of the world’s oil in Middle East th  In early 20 century, Western countries bring $$$ and tech to local oil industry  Oil brings urbanization, infrastructure  Islam: Background  Begins in 7 century Arabia  Holy book is the Quran = revelation of God (Allah) to the prophet Muhammed  Muhammed and successors are religious AND political AND military leaders… create Islamic country (caliphate) across the known world  Caliphate breaks up into many groups  SUNNI ISLAM (most) and SHIA ISLAM (less)  Spatial Diffusion  The way idea, inventions, and cultural practices spread through a population in space and time  Ex: Islamization  Background  After WW1: the Ottoman “Caliphate” divided up by Europe  After WW2, the Jewish country of Israel is created from British/UN colonies  Vocabulary differences!  ISLAMIC­ describing Islam, culture, etc.  ISlAMISTS­ political caliphate­meaning  Arab Spring: 2011­present  Past: many M.E. countries led by corrupt totalitarian leaders that crack down on society and on Islamists  High unemployment, low median age  Starts in Tunisia, protest follow, spread throughout M.E.  Regimes overthrown in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen; uprising in Syria, etc.  First seen as ‘democracy’, but now what  Islamist takeover US perspective… Regions of North Africa/Southwest Asia  Egypt  Centered on the NILE river valley and delta  Very populous country in the M.E. (80m)  95% live < 12 miles of the Nile  Capital Cairo  Sudan  Civil war… Muslim north and Christian south (split)  Another conflict in west Sudan, in Darfur  The Maghreb  Western North Africa (the Maghreb)  Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, and Morocco  Places where African, European and Arab cultures meet  Rooftop architecture  Beirut, Lebanon  Civil war between four different religions  Iraq  Mixture of 3 big groups:  Sunni Muslims  Shi’a Muslims  Kurds  Border of Iraq drawn by Europeans after WW1  Kurds  Stateless nation­ ethnic group without a country  Kurds one of the largest stateless nations in the world  Israel and Palestine  Israel, the Jewish state, established in 1948  Local Arabs (“Palestinians”) oppose  Many wars: Israel keeps winning  Ownership vs. Control  Arabian Peninsula  Source and focus of Islam (including city of Mecca­ Holiest in Islam)  Most oil deposits on earth  Saudi Arabia, and other “Gulf States” (Kuwait)  Environmentally Dominated by desert  Politically dominated by Saudi Arabia  Economic activities “ across” the peninsula ( ex: inland Riyadh)  Massive improvements in health care, housing, education, etc.  Demographic: 60% of area’s population under the age of 21  Turkey  Sits between Europe and Asia  Modernization and Industrialization  Growing Islamist movement  Iran  Theocracy­ controlled by Islamic leaders  Shi’a Islam (Shi’ite)  Central Asian Countries  Because of past Soviet control, some Soviet/ Russian cultural influence today  Afghanistan  1980s: poor, rural Afghan fighters fight Russians for years  Soviets leave Afghanistan, but in the 1990s, the hardline Islamist TALIBAN take over  Taliban impose strict rules on society  Burqas, beard patrol, kites, musical instruments, girls’ schools… All information comes from Dr. Patrick Hagge