Studied by 3 peopleAfter losing WW1, the ottoman empire was divided up into new territories. The league of nations allowed which two European countries to partition the region?
France and Great Britain
who was NOT nonsuited about the partitioning of the ottoman empire?
Arab countries
what was the problem with the way great Britain and France drew borders in the middle east?
drew borders without regard to which tribes, religious groups, and ethnic groups would be forced under one government.
What two things lie at the heart of conflicts in the Middle East?
Land and religion
Describe the conflict between the Shia and Sunni Muslims
Two groups do not agree on how the leader should be chosen; after European politicians drew new borders, both groups were merged together in one country (Iraq), where they have longed battled for power
What do you think would be different in Iraq if the Sunnis and Shiites each had their own country?
less conflicts
Which ethnic group did not have any land given to them when Europeans partitioned the region?
Kurds
How has this impacted their livelihood?
Hussein attempted to eliminate Iraq’s Kurdish population -were vulnerable to extreme persecution
What connection can you make between Kurds and Jews? Explain.
-Faced persecution -eliminated -struggle to survive
List five ethnic/religious groups who have fought conflicts over land and/or religion in the Middle East since the mid-1900s:
Shia
Sunni
Arab
Jew
Kurds
Even though Israel did not exist 100 years ago, Jewish people have felt a religious connection to the land that dates back thousands of years. Why is this so?
Many sites and artifacts that are sacred to Jews can be found here today, including the Western Wall of their ancient temple
What is anti-Semitism?
Hatred of Jews
List examples of anti-Semitism in Europe during the early 1900s:
Refusal to let Jews own land, businesses, or go to public schools
What caused an enormous rise in anti-Semitism during the 1920s and 1930s?
Hitler’s Nazi party came to power & blamed Jews for Germany’s problems following WWI
What was the state-supported systematic killing of over 6 million Jewish people called?
holocaust
Many Jewish immigrants fled to _______________ to escape religious persecution in Europe.
Palestine
What were the two central ideas of Zionism?
believe Jews should have their own state and creation of Israel by law
In which year did WWII end?
September 2, 1945
How do Palestinian Arabs feel about the creation of Israel?
Palestinians refused to recognize Israel as a nation and as soon as it was established, fighting broke out.
Which country was divided in two in 1948, resulting in the creation of Israel?
Palestine
What two things do US interests in the Middle East center around today?
oil and security from terrorism
Iraq invaded which country in 1990? And what was the purpose for this invasion?
Iraq wanted to gain access to the Persian gulf and Kuwait's oil wells.
Why did the US get involved in the Persian Gulf War?
The US was concerned about this invasion, as a lot of the country's oil came from Kuwait & Saudi Arabia.
How did the Persian Gulf War end?
US and other nations attacked Iraq and won after 6 weeks, Iraq left but burned Kuwait oil fields.
Why did the US military invade Iraq in 2003?
The US believed Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was aiding al-Qaeda.
Who was the dictator leader of Iraq during both conflicts with the United States?
Saddam Hussein
Name three problems that Iraqis have faced since US forces left in 2011:
Roadside bombings, civilian injuries and deaths, battles between Shia and Sunni Muslims
What happened on September 11, 2001?
hijacked two planes and crashed them into the twin towers knocking them both down.
What led the US to invade Afghanistan in 2001?
Afghanistan government was believed to be sheltering and aiding Bin Laden and al-Qaeda.
What were the results of that invasion?
The US defeated the Taliban and set up a democratic government in Afghanistan. Bin Laden escaped for 10 years but was found and killed in Pakistan in 2011.
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