Geo exam 3

what does "middle east" mean

a regional name developed by the British in WWI to indicate countries/territories around persian gulf (also referred to as southwest asia)

what is the predominate language in MENA

Predominate Language: arabic

Exceptions: Turkish, Hebrew, persian, and kurdish

what is the predominate religion in MENA

Predominate Religion: islam

Exceptions: Christianity, Judaism and suncretic religions

what is the shared history in MENA

Shared history- major empires (ottoman and persian); European powers carving up territory after WWI

what is the predominate climate in MENA

dry/ semi-arid (B)

what is the population of MENA and top 3 countries

· Population in the region 591 million people

Top 3 countries: Egypt 100.8 million Iran 84.2 million Turkey 83.7 million

what is youth bulge

high rate of population growth overall; 60% of the population across this region is under the age of 25 years (hobbs p.211)

what is the dominate climate in the MENA

· Dominate climate: desert

o 75% of region receives < 10 in. annual precipitation

o Sub-tropical H. Pressure System-

o Extreme daily temps due to lack of clouds

o coastlines of countries along the mediterranean sea

o mediterranean climate

what is Mediterranean climate

hot dry summers; wet winters (rain)

what is a haboob

· Haboob- a wall of sand, propelled by the wind
· This event occurs in the deserts

why did major civilizations decline in MENA

invasions from other empires and soil exhaustion

where is sumer, assyria, and babylonia

mesopotamia, which means land amidst two rivers (tigris and euphrates)

where is nile river valley civilizations egyptian and nubian

north africa

what are mega cities

Megacities- have a metropolitan population over 10 million

Examples- cairo, Egypt; theran, iran; and Istanbul, turkey

what are kasbah/Casbah

high-walled areas around the city. Found in maghreb region in north africa

what is suq (souk)

traditional marketplaces

\_______ is a global city in the middle east

dubai

\________ is less conservative than Saudi Arabia

UAE (united arab emirates)

what are the artificial islands

o "Palm Jumeirah" cost $12 billion
o "The World" cost $14billion
o Some islands are receding back to the sea

semetic languages closest to arabic and hebrew

arabic and hebrew

non-arabic languages

Turkish: altaic family

kurdish and persian: indo-european family

what are judiaism, christianity, and islam

monotheistic

what is jerusalem

a holy city for these faiths:

Jews (Judaism)- location for western wall/ 1st and 2nd temple mounts

Christians (Christianity)- location of death and resurrection of jesus

Muslims (Islam)- location of dome of the rock signifying muhammad's ascension into heaven

what is the first significant monotheistic faith

judaism

what is judaism holy scripture

the torah

jesus in judaism

Jesus of Nazareth is not seen as a savior (do acknowledge his existence)

most sacred site to Jews

Western Wall ("Wailing Wall" to Jews) in Jerusalem
The most sacred site in the world accessible to Jews

where did Christianity emerge

palestine

christianity holy scripture

bible (old testament - torah)

jesus in christianity

Jesus born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, crucified in Jerusalem
Teaching denied validity of many Jewish doctrines
Christians believe Christ was resurrected from the dead

how did christianity spread

via Roman Empire by apostles

who is the prophet of Islam

Muhammad, from mecca

monotheistic faith

islam sacred text

Qur'an

Many Muslims have condemned the attacks of violent Islamist movements by al-Qa'ida and ISIS (among others)

what did the Sunni (the way) believe

believed the next caliph should be a devout Muslim with strong leadership skills

who did Sunnis choose for next caliph

Sunnis chose Muhammad's close friend and father-in-law Abu Bakr as the next caliph

\________ have the greatest number of followers worldwide

Sunnis

what did shi'ite/ Shia (party of ali supporters) believe

Successor should be direct descendant

who did the shia choose as next caliph

Muhammad.s cousin Ali as next caliph

where are majority of shi'ite/shia followers

iran, azerbaijan, and iraq

Where is oil

unevenly disrtibuted across the region

how many barrels do gulf countries have of reserves

800 billion

which countries have the largest proven crude oil reserves

Venezuela and Saudi Arabia

what is the average GDP (PPP) for MENA

$11,600

what are chokepoints

strategic narrow passageways on land or sea that may be easily closed off by force or evene a threat of force

which strait had 21 million barrels per day of oil pass through

Strait of Hormuz

iran-iraq war 1980-1988

Iraq wanted to avoid Strait of Hormuz by building a pipeline to connect to petroline

• But Syria is Iran's ally and Iraq that lost route

• 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait (Saudi Arabia's ally).

• Saudi Arabia closed pertroline and Turkey a NATO member closed the northern pipeline

when did Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) start

1960

how many members in OPEC

12 member countries monstly in MENA and Africa (exceptions: Venezuela)

what is the purpose of OPEC

Regulates the price of oil by controlling supply

* water case study

• Unequal water usage
• Average water usage: Israeli - 62 gallons; Palestinian- 13gallons
• Israel has a greater proportion of fresh water from Mountain Aquifer than Palestinians
• When Palestinians need more water, they buy it from Israel
• Creating Two Seas Canal could replenish Dead Sea and hydroelectricity to Jordan
• Nile Water Agreement- 10 countries along Nile signed it in 1910
• Guaranteed Egypt 75% of river's flow, while Sudan would get 25%
• Benefits w/ Aswan High Dam: Improve irrigation, generate hydroelectricity, regulate water level, & mitigate flooding
• Problems w/ Aswan High Dam: salinization of soil due to rise in water table, part of ancient Nubian/Egyptian civilizations underwater, breeding ground for parasites living in snails...

where was Ottoman Empire centered

Turkey, lasted 1299,1922. Ended after WW2

Key Ottoman Provinces lost after WWI

Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq

who carved up the middle east

British, French, Spanish, and italians

british controlled\_____

Palestine

Arabs in Palestine didn't welcome Jewish immigration

what did the british promise an arab state

in Palestine at the same time promoting a Jewish immigration plan in Palestine

what is Balfour Declaration

· a proposal in 1917 to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine

FYI- Antisemitism on the rise throughout Europe

when did british leave palestine

1947

when did united states create a two state nation-both states narrow and fragmented

1947

Arab state, which would be called Palestine

Jewish state Israel

how many palestinian refugees in neighboring states

800,000

what was done to resettle

· Little was done to resettle, because Palestinians insist their right to resettle Israel (heart of the modern peace process)

\____ is a forward captial

· Jerusalem is a forward capital a capital city located in contested territory

where did US move its embassy

· U.S. has moved its embassy to Jerusalem. Other countries have their embassy in Tel-Aviv

Honduras is in the process to move the embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem

when did six day war start

1967, started in part when Egypt wouldn't allow Israel access the gulf of aqaba

info of six day war

· Israel made a preemptive strike on sounding Arab states

after six day war israel occupied which 3 territories

1.Golan Heights from Syria
2.West Bank from Jordan
3.Sinai Peninsula & Gaza Strip from Egypt

Sinai Peninsula returned following the Camp David Accords 1979

enthicity in israel

jewish 75%

language in israel

hebrew

religion in israel

judaism 75%

government in israel

parlimentary democracy

what's still an issue in west bank

· Israeli settlements/presence in West Bank is still an issue

West bank religion

Sunni Muslim 80-85%, Judaism 12-14%

west bank languages

Arabic(dominant), Hebrew(spoken by Israeli ssettlers and Palestinians)

west bank ethinicity

Palestinian and other 83%; Jewish 17%

when did israeli settlements leave in gaza strip

2005

gaza strip religion

Islam (98-99%)

gaza strip languages

Arabic (dominant, Hebrew (spoken Palestinians)

gaza strip ethnic group

Palestinian Arab

what does islamic fundamentalism do

• Merges state law & religious authority
• Anti-globalization

definition of islamic fundamentalism

return to more traditional islamic practices; enfores Sharia(strict Islamic) law

definition of theocratic state

religious leaders guide policy

theocratic state examples

Iran in 1979 and Saudi Arabia
• Hobbs uses "Jihadi or jihadist refers to militants who use violence or terrorism to spread their interpretation of Islam" (p.234)
• Jihadists, like ISIS use "fundamentalist" principles at the time of Muhammad-beheadings, stoning, amputations, taxes on non-Muslims

What is Al Qaeda?

Al-Qa'ida• International organization
- Drive U.S. and its allies out of the region to establish a caliphate

Who led al Qaeda?

• Osama bin Laden, a Saudi living exile in Afghanistan led al-Qa'ida (now leadby Ayman al-Zawahiri), which bombed:
• 1998 U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
• 2000 USS Cole off the coast in Yemen
• September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. soil• Bin Laden killed in 2011 in Pakistan

What is ISIS

• ISIS: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria: A militant Sunni Islamic fundamentalist group (splintered off from al-Qa'ida)
• Embraces radically conservative/fundamentalist Muslim views

what is ISIS also known as

Also referred to as:
• ISIL: Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
• IS: Islamic State

what are ISIS objectives

Establish an Islamic state in the Sunni majority region in Iraq and Syria.

what are ISIS funding sources

• Major funding sources: Illegal oil sales, ransom money for hostages, chargingfees to locals in controlled cities to use roads.

how does isis recruit members

• Social media used to recruit members worldwide. Many who joined felt alienated for being Muslim
• Young women and men who joined thought they were going to a Muslim Utopia (it wasn't)

isis info

• Thought they would be "noble warriors to bring pride back to Islam"
• As ISIS retreats men, women, and children are held in displacement camps. Their home countries don't want them back Senior ISIS leader

all arab states lacked:

1. A completely free media
2. Impartial judicial system
3. Impartial police

most of the countris in North Africa/SW asia have more than\----

1/2 the population under 25 years

Egyptian President \___ resigned from office (after 30 year dictatorship

Mubarak

more arab spring: egypt info

· February 2011 out of office
· Elected Mohammed Morsi as president- part of muslim brotherhood (Islamic fundamentalist group)
· Military removed Morsi from office
· Interim president; election in 2015

*arab spring to civil war: syria info

· March 2011: Arab Spring in Syria starts with pro-democracy demonstrations against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
· Arab Spring protests escalated into a Civil War- began 2011-present, \>380,636 syian deaths
Civil War- very sectarian/fractured- various rebel/terror groups (i.e. ISIS) fighting President Assad's government.
Russia - providing military and financial assistance to Assad
· Chemical weapons - killed hundreds of people in Damascus
· \>4 million people have fled Syria

*arab spring: libya info

· Muammar Qaddafi (also spelled Gaddafi)- leader from 1969-2011
· Inspired by the Arab Spring, the Berbers and eastern tribes rose against him
· Qaddafi was captured and executed in October 2011
· CIA World Factbook 2019: "Libya's post-revolution legal system is in flux and driven by state and non-state entities"

* iraq country profile

· Saddam Hussein born Sunni Muslim; persecuted shi'ites

· 3 cultural regions dominate
South: shi'ite arabs (over half; most populous)
Center to NW: sunni arabs (35%)
North: Mostly Kurds practicing Sunni Islam (15-20%); minority group yazidis

· Oil rich country, but disadvantaged exporting this resource

o 35-mile shoreline w/ Persian Gulf, lacks natural deep-water ports, and poor port facilities

o Reasons for attacking Iran (1980) and Kuwait (1990) to widen its access to the Gulf

Kurds are the largest\_____

stateless nation

Kurds: present in \______

· Turkey (greatest \#), Iraq, Iran and syria

Sadam Hussein used chemical weapons \__________

· on the kurds- to capture oilfields near a Kurdish controlled town Kirkuk, Iraq

what is yazidi

· an Iraqi minority ethnic group located in the Mount Sinjar region in northern Iraq, near Syria's border