Middle East Notes

The name "Middle East" is Eurocentric.
European powers drew artificial borders that disregarded existing realities, leading to conflict.
The borders were created without regard to geography, ethnicity, or religion.
The Islamic State symbolically destroyed the Iraqi-Syrian border in 2014, highlighting the artificiality of these divisions.

The Greater Middle East spans from the Mediterranean Sea to the mountains of Iran (west to east) and from the Black Sea to the Arabian Sea (north to south).
The region contains diverse geography: deserts, oases, mountains, rivers, and coastal plains.
It possesses significant oil and gas reserves.
Mesopotamia, "the land between the rivers" (Euphrates and Tigris), is a fertile region.
The Arabian Desert, including the Rub al Khali ("Empty Quarter"), dominates the region's center.
Due to the desert, most inhabitants live on the periphery.
Before European colonization, the concept of nation-states and fixed borders was alien to the region.
The imposition of documents and borders by foreign powers was nonsensical to the local population.

The Ottoman Empire (1299–1922) was ruled from Istanbul and controlled a vast territory.
The empire included parts of Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Israel/Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Iran.
The empire divided the region into administrative areas (Vilayets) based on tribal locations without creating fixed borders.

In 1916, Sir Mark Sykes and François Georges-Picot secretly agreed to divide the Middle East into British and French spheres of influence after World War I.
The Sykes-Picot Agreement is a symbol of betrayed promises to tribal leaders and a partial cause of modern unrest.
Arbitrarily creating "nation states" has led to instability.
Before Sykes-Picot, there were no states of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Israel, or Palestine.

Islam is the dominant religion but is internally divided.
The Sunni-Shia split dates back to 632 CE, following the death of the prophet Muhammad and disputes over succession.
Sunni Muslims are the majority, comprising about 85% of the world's Muslim population.
Sunnis follow al-Sunna ("people of tradition") and consider themselves Orthodox Muslims.
Shia Muslims derive their name from shiat Ali ("the party of Ali") and believe Ali and his sons were wrongly denied leadership.
Doctrinal and cultural differences have led to disputes and warfare between Sunnis and Shias.
There are divisions within Sunni Islam, such as the Hanbali tradition and Salafi thought.
Shia Islam has three main divisions: Twelvers, Ismailis, and Zaidis.
The Alawites and Druze are considered by some Muslims to be outside traditional Islamic thought.

European colonialism grouped Arabs into nation-states under leaders who favored their own branch of Islam and tribe.
These leaders enforced their rule within artificial borders, causing conflict among different tribes and religions.
Iraq exemplifies this conflict, with Shia Muslims resenting Sunni-led governments controlling their holy cities.
Centuries-old communal feelings outweigh the imposed national identity as "Iraqis".
The Turks, as rulers of the Ottoman Empire, saw a rugged, mountainous area dominated by Kurds, then, as the mountains fell away into the flatlands leading toward Baghdad and west to what is now