Introduction to Modern Middle East Studies: Geography, Ethnicities, Religions, and Historical Trends

What are the two main geographic areas of the MENA region?

The Mashreq (East of Egypt) and the Maghreb (West of Egypt).

Which river systems are major in the MENA region?

The Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the Jordan River, and the Nile River.

What bodies of water border the MENA region?

The Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, and Gulf of Oman.

What percentage of the Middle East population speaks Arabic?

About 60%.

What ethnic group constitutes the majority in most Middle Eastern states?

Arabs, except in Iran, Israel, and Turkey.

What are the significant ethnic groups in the Middle East besides Arabs?

Kurds and Amazigh.

What is the estimated percentage of Muslims in the MENA region?

Approximately 85%.

What are the main sects of Islam in the MENA region?

Sunni Islam (80-85%) and Shiite Islam (12-15%).

What is the largest Christian sect in the Middle East?

Coptic Christianity.

What is the majority religion in Israel within its 1967 borders?

Judaism, comprising about 75% of the population.

What is the estimated total population of the MENA region?

Approximately 500 million.

Which country has the highest population in the Middle East?

Egypt, with approximately 110-118.4 million people.

What is the capital of Iran?

Tehran.

What is the capital of Turkey?

Ankara.

What are the largest cities in the Middle East?

Cairo, Tehran, Istanbul, Baghdad, and Riyadh.

When did Egypt gain independence from the British Empire?

In 1922.

What was the last state to gain independence in the MENA region?

The United Arab Emirates in 1971.

How many Syrian refugees are there due to the Syrian Civil War?

Over six million, with ten million internally displaced.

What significant campaign is considered the start of the modern Middle East?

Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in Egypt and Syria from 1798 to 1801.

What percentage of the global Muslim population resides in Asia?

More than 60%.

What is the estimated population of Turkey?

Approximately 85.8 million.

What is the estimated population of Tehran?

9.8 million in the city proper and 16.8 million in the metropolitan area.

What is the significance of the term 'Arab' in the context of the Middle East?

Originally referred to peoples of the Arabian Peninsula, now synonymous with Arabic speakers.

What are some other religions present in the MENA region?

Baha'i, Hindu, Yazidi, among others.

What is the demographic significance of Arab-Americans in the USA?

The majority are Christian.

What is the population of Cairo?

10 million in the city and 22 million in the metropolitan area.

What is the estimated number of Syrian refugees as of 2024?

Over six million Syrian refugees.

How many internally displaced Syrians are there?

Ten million internally displaced Syrians.

What event led to the Syrian refugee crisis?

The Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011.

How many Iraqi refugees live outside of Iraq?

1.5 million Iraqis live outside of Iraq as refugees.

What is the total number of internally displaced Iraqis since 2014?

3 million Iraqis have been internally displaced.

How many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNWRA?

5.9 million Palestinian refugees.

What wars are the Palestinian refugees from?

The 1948 and 1967 wars.

What is the estimated number of internally displaced people in Yemen since 2015?

About 4.5 million people have been internally displaced.

What is the economic status of Yemen?

Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East and one of the poorest in the world.

What does GDP per capita measure?

It measures the total output of a country divided by its population.

What was the US GDP per capita in 2021?

Approximately $71,318.

What is nominal GDP?

The total value of goods and services produced in an economy without accounting for inflation.

What is the focus of Timothy Mitchell's work on Middle East Studies?

The historical trends and genesis of Middle East and Area Studies.

What significant shift occurred in Area Studies after WWII?

The focus of power and academic research shifted to the US.

What role did Area Studies play during the Cold War?

It was interrelated to Social Sciences and focused on US strategic interests in the Middle East.

What challenges does the field of Middle East Area Studies face?

Refusal to engage critically with politics, funding issues, and the challenge of viewing the Middle East as a singular cultural region.

What is Orientalism according to Edward Said?

A discourse that constructs the 'East' and 'West' and reflects power dynamics.

What does Said argue about the existence of 'the Orient'?

It is a constructed concept shaped by various discourses and historical contexts.

What historical event does Said identify as a starting point for Orientalism?

Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798.

What themes are central to Edward Said's Orientalism?

Self and Other, Power and Knowledge, Representation, and Hierarchy.

What does Mitchell argue regarding the study of the Middle East?

We should focus on the crises in how we know about and study the region.

What is the implication of GDP per capita including temporary foreign workers?

It does not mean the money is distributed evenly across the population.

What is the significance of the population younger than 15 in GDP per capita calculations?

It has implications for economic productivity and future growth.

What is the critique of Orientalism in contemporary studies?

It is critiqued for determinism, cultural relativism, and framing the region as unchangeable.

What does the term 'civilizing mission' refer to?

The belief that Western powers had a duty to 'civilize' other cultures.

What does Orientalism refer to?

A style, body, and archive of thought and representation based on a distinction between 'the Orient' and 'the Occident,' often tied to power and domination.

Define ontology.

The philosophy of being, materiality, becoming, and reality; the study of objects.

Define epistemology.

The philosophy of how we come to know what we know; it examines the infrastructures that produce knowledge and challenges assumptions about reason.

How do ontology and epistemology interact in Orientalism?

They function together to produce a durable 'other,' reinforcing the self-referential nature of Orientalism.

What is discourse in the context of Orientalism?

Written or spoken communication that can produce authoritative knowledge and 'truth,' as discussed by Foucault.

What is hegemony?

The political, economic, ideological, or cultural power exerted by a dominant group over others, achieved through consensus rather than force.

What is essentialism?

An approach that argues societies, peoples, and nations have specific, unchanging characteristics or human natures.

What does transhistorical mean?

The idea that certain ideals or practices are outside of history and unaffected by historical events.

Differentiate between latent and manifest Orientalism.

Latent Orientalism is an unconscious positivity about the Orient, while manifest Orientalism includes stated views and knowledge about Oriental societies.

What are the four dogmas of Orientalism according to Said?

1) The absolute difference between the rational West and the aberrant Orient. 2) Preference for abstract representations of the Orient over modern realities. 3) The assumption that the Orient is eternal and incapable of self-definition. 4) The view that the Orient is something to be feared or controlled.

What does it mean to be non-Orientalist in academic study?

To explain the region in a way that acknowledges historical dynamics and avoids essentialism and exceptionalism.

What is cultural relativism?

The practice of understanding a culture on its own terms without imposing external judgments.

How does Lughod suggest we rethink violence and gender violence?

By considering the context of war and its impact on gender issues.

What critical question does Lughod raise about saving Muslim women?

What implications does the notion of 'saving' Muslim women have for US power and liberal feminism?

What is a concern regarding cultural icons in narratives about Muslim women? (Lughod)

That they may obscure more complex historical and political realities.

What does Lughod imply about the desires of Muslim women?

That they may want different things than what outsiders assume or imagine for them.

What are the limits of cultural relativism according to the text?

While it improves upon ethnocentrism, it fails to address the long histories of interaction that shape current forms of life.

What does Gelvin argue about understanding recent events in the Middle East?

Recent events cannot be understood without considering the social, economic, cultural, and political evolution of the region.

What two characteristics distinguish modern history according to Gelvin?

A world economy unlike any that existed before and a world system of nation-states.

What were the three defining events of the early modern period?

1) Emergence of large-scale empires, 2) Commercial revolution in Europe, 3) Protestant Reformation.

What was the significance of the Ottoman Empire in the early modern period?

It was the largest and longest-lived empire, surviving for over four centuries until the end of World War I.

What was the duration of the Safavid Empire?

The Safavid Empire lasted from 1501 to 1722.

What major change did the Protestant Reformation bring to Europe?

It split Europe into separate Protestant and Catholic kingdoms, ending the idea of a universal Christian state.

What is defensive developmentalism in the context of the Middle East?

It refers to centralization efforts in taxation, army, law, infrastructure, and agriculture in response to external pressures.

How did imperialism manifest in the Middle East according to Gelvin?

Through economic investment, spheres of influence, political coercion, and outright colonization.

What is the significance of the Suez Canal in the context of defensive developmentalism?

It represents a major infrastructure project that exemplifies centralization efforts in the Ottoman Empire.

What is Osmanlilik?

An attempt to unify and strengthen an 'Ottoman' identity amidst shifting historical circumstances.

What does Gelvin suggest about the relationship between cultures?

Cultures have historically borrowed from and influenced each other, making it difficult to draw distinct boundaries.

What role did cotton play in the Middle East's integration into the world economy?

Cotton became a significant export, especially during the US Civil War, linking the Middle East to global economic trends.

What unexpected consequences can reforms have in the Middle East?

Reforms can harden religious lines between different communities.

What is the difference between settler colonialism and other forms of colonialism?

Settler colonialism involves the establishment of a permanent population in the colonized area, while other forms may focus on exploitation without settlement.

What is the connection between the Protestant Reformation and the modern nation-state system?

The Reformation led to a competitive political landscape in Europe, contributing to the emergence of modern nation-states.

What is the significance of the term 'Islamic modernism'?

It represents a movement to reconcile Islamic principles with modernity, exemplified by figures like al-Afghani.

What does Gelvin mean by 'moral reconstruction movement'?

It refers to movements like Wahhabism that sought to reform and purify Islamic practices.

How did the Ottoman Empire address the question of identity?

By debating whether Ottoman identity should be based on secular laws or an Islamic community.

What example does Gelvin provide of a cosmopolitan society?

Cosmopolitan Jerusalem, where community relations are governed by factors beyond just religion.

What does Gelvin suggest about the Middle East's place in global history?

The Middle East's evolution parallels developments in other regions, indicating its integral role in global history.

What does Gelvin argue about the historical processes of modernity?

Modernity looks different in various places due to differing historical processes.

What is Modernization Theory?

A social science framework that explains how societies transition from traditional to modern states through stages of development, driven by economic growth, technological advancement, and cultural change.