INTRODUCTION TO THE MIDDLE EAST Part I

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INTRODUCTION TO THE MIDDLE EASTPart I

• March23,2009

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HERE IS THE WORLD
AND HERE IS NORTH AFRICA AND SOUTHWEST ASIA

• Due to the location, its called the Crossroads
  of Continents Europe, Africa, and Asia

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NORTH AFRICA
MIDDLE EAST
SOUTHWEST ASIA
SOUTHWEST ASIA IS MORE COMMONLY CALLED THE
MIDDLE EAST
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SOME COUNTRIES IN NORTH AFRICA AREA
(Sinai Peninsula)
ALGERIA
AND EGYPT
LIBYA
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SOME COUNTRIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST AREA
AFGHANISTAN
TURKEY
IRAN
IRAQ
SAUDI ARABIA
KUWAIT
QATAR
ISRAEL
AND THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE)
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SEMI
SEMI
DESERT
SEMI
DESERT
DESERT
DESERT
DESERT
SAHEL
DESERT
Most of the climate is arid (dry)
and semi-arid (partly dry)
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Some Physical Features you need to know are
BLACK SEA
Bosporus Strait Dardanelles Strait (SPLITS
TURKEY FROM THE REST OF EUROPE)
TAURUS MTS
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
ATLAS MTS
PERSIAN GULF
ZAGROS MTS
STRAIT OF HORMUZ
RED SEA
SAHARA DESERT
ARABIAN SEA
NILE RIVER
TIGRIS RIVER
EUPHRATES RIVER

• There is also a lot of seasonal flooding,
  alluvial soils (deposits from the river), and
  delta regions (like the Nile delta).
• An oasis is fertile land in a desert, usually fed
  by an underground spring

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Many cities are known for their influence on
culture and trade
BAGHDAD, IRAQ
ISTANBUL, TURKEY
TEHRAN, IRAN
CASABLANCA, MOROCCO
TRIPOLI, LIBYA
MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA
CAIRO, EGYPT
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL
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Many Areas around the Middle East and North
Africa are world famous.
Follow these cultural landmarks. Do you recognize
any?
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The Pyramids at Giza
http//www.fgsd.winnipeg.mb.ca/vmc/swaweb/cc/ccswo
w6.htm
The ancient Egyptians used manual labor and
wooden tools to build these magnificent tombs for
pharoahs.
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MINARETS
MOSQUES places of worship for Muslims. Typical
features are domes and minarets
DOME
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The Dome of the Rock
http//www.sacredsites.com/1st30/domeof.html
Jerusalem This Muslim holy site was built on the
remains of the Temple of Solomon, a holy site for
Jews
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The Kaaba
http//ccat.sas.upenn.edu/brvs/kaaba.html
Located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the Kaaba is the
most sacred site for Muslims. A Muslim must take
the haj (pilgrimage) to Mecca at least once in
his/her life.
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The Western Wall in Jerusalem Also known as the
Wailing Wall
http//www.sacredsites.com/1st30/domeof.html
http//www.igc.apc.org/ddickerson/western-wall.gif
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Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

• Part II

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Terms

• Zionism
• Israeli
• Intifada
• Palestine
• West Bank
• Gaza Stripe
• Sinai Peninsula

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Zionism

• During the late 1800s demanded for a Jewish state
  in Palestine
• Romans had expelled the Jews in AD 70
• 1897 organization formed by Theodor Herzl to
  promote Zionism
• Jews began to migrate to
• Palestine
• Asked for Britain and other
• European nations to support them

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Balfour Declaration(1917)

• A British document that supported a Jewish
  homeland in Palestine
• In short
• Britain favors a Jewish homeland
• Nothing shall be done to hurt the non-Jew living
  there
• 1930s flow of Jews
• to Palestine

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After WWII

• Britain turned things over to the United Nations
• United Nations voted to partition Palestine into
  two states
• One Arab (45 of the land)
• One Jewish (55 of the land)
• Arabs refused to accept the partition or to
  recognize Israel

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1948 Arab Israeli War

• Also known as the Israeli War of Independence
• Began after the declaration of the State of
  Israel on May 14, 1948
• Forces of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Trans-Jordan and
  Iraq invaded Israel
• Israel defeated and occupied Arab territory
• Palestinian Arabs fled

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Territorial gains in the Arab-Israel War
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War of 1956

• Suez War
• Israel, Britain, and France verse Egypt
• Egypt trying to get to build Aswan Dam
• Egypt had captured the Suez Canal nationalized
  it
• Egypt prevents ships to pass that are coming from
  or arriving to Israel
• Captured the Sinai Peninsula but forced to
  withdraw (pressure from US and SU)
• Did in exchange for shipping rights

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War of 1967

• The Six Day War
• Strike by Israel to protect itself
• Surprise air attack lead to defeat of Egyptian
  army
• Israel takes Gaza Stripe and the Sinai Peninsula
  (occupied territories)
• Jordan and Syria attach
• Israel takes West Bank from Jordan and the Golden
  Heights from Syria
• occupied territories
• Strategic importance
• Israeli water source
• High grounds
• Religious sites
• Jewish settlers moved in
• Returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in the Camp
  David Accords in 1978 and Gaza Strip in 2005

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1973 Yom Kippur War

• Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attach in the
  Sinai and Golan Heights
• Israel able to push Syria out of territory gained
  in the first week of the war
• United Nations call a cease-fire
• Israeli troops withdraw from the west of the
  Canal
• Egypt re-open canal
• Claim victory

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Israeli view

• Arab Hostility
• holy war against Israel
• Non-recognition of Israels right to exist
• Destroy Israel
• Forced to fight for self-defense
• Many Israelis believe that minorities in Israel
  are treated justly

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Palestinian view

• State based on outdated claims
• Jews lived there 1,800 yrs ago doesnt give you
  claim now
• International law on their side
• UN resolution allows for refugees wishing to
  return
• Jews arrived with the intention of taking over
  not just immigration
• Israeli treatment of Palestinians is unjust

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Camp David Accords

• 1977
• Signed at Camp David in United States
• President Jimmy Carter
• Israelis agreed to withdraw from the Sinai
  Peninsula
• Egypt agreed to end state of
• war and establish peace
• with Israel
• Election to be held in
• West Bank and Gaza

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Reaction

• Mixed
• Arabs felt Egypt had deserted the Arab family
• Israelis took wait and see attitude
• President el-Sadat was assassinated
• Three unresolved
• Issues
• 1. Control of East Jerusalem
• 2. Fate of the 1.8 million
• Palestinians living
• on the West Bank
• 3. Control of the
• Golan Heights

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Intifada

• Dec 1987
• Uprising of Palestinians over the way they were
  being treated, lack of country, high
  unemployment, refugee problem etc
• Focused world attention
• Organization
• Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
• Dedicated to regaining Palestinian territory
• Chairmen Yasir Arafat
• Some joined radical Palestinian organizations
• Hamas and Islamic jihad
• These groups call for the destruction of Israel

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Oslo Accords

• 1993
• Hopes for peace
• Meet in secret
• Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and PLO
  leader Yasser Arafat
• First time face to face
• Agreed to
• recognize each other Israelis right to exist
• PLO promised to stop attacking Israel
• Palestinian Authority would administrated the
  territory under its control they have their own
  state!
• Israel would withdraw its forces from parts of
  the occupied territories (Gaza Stripe and West
  Bank)
• Israel would allow limited self-rule in Gaza and
  Jericho
• Put Resolution 242 into effect

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Road Map for Peace

• Presented in Sept 2002
• Players
• Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas
• Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
• United States President George W. Bush
• Called for
• End of terrorism by the Palestinians
• Palestinians must make democratic reforms
• Israel must accept Palestinian gov
• Israel must end settlement activity
• It did not address
• The fate of Jerusalem
• The boarders between the two
• Derailed
• Both side claim the other did not go through with
  their promised

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Arab Peace Initiative

• Has a final solution to the boarders
• The UN set boards back in 1967
• Recognition of Israel
• Israel must withdraw forces from the occupied
  territories
• Recognition of a Palestinian States with capital
  at East Jerusalem
• A just solution for the Palestinian refugees
• Rejected by Israel but it is up for discussion

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Peace Breaks down

• Unresolved issues
• 1. Jerusalem
• Israel had made the city its capital
• Scared to all religions
• 2. Right of Return
• Grant Palestinians who fled to return
• Many not allowed to return
• 3. Future of Jewish settlements in the Occupied
  Territories
• Numbers of Jews has increased
• Upset the Palestinians
• 4. Allows Israeli troops to stay in the occupies
  lands

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Today the Palestinians want

• Their own country
• Part of Jerusalem
• Their refugees to be able to return

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Israeli-Palestinian Arab ConflictPart III
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Middle East after World War II

• Middle Eastern nations achieved independence
• The superpowers tried to secure allies
• Strategic importance in the Cold War
• Vital petroleum fields
• Middle Eastern Nations would devote large parts
  of their gross national product to large armies
  and arms purchases from both the West and the
  Soviet bloc.

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Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC)
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Egypt

• In 1952, army officers led a coup détat against
  King Faruk and replaced him with President Gamal
  Abdel Nasser
• Nasser became very popular in the Arab world and
  very unpopular in the West
• Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956,
  leading to a war with Israel, France, and Great
  Britain

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The U.S. and the Middle East

• Turkey was the cornerstone of U.S. strategy
  (military bases)
• Greek/Turkish disagreement over Cyprus led to a
  Turkish armed invasion in 1974 and the subsequent
  division of Cyprus by the U.N.
• After that, Turkey would gradually move further
  away from the U.S. sphere of influence
• During the 1970s and 1980s, the U.S. would rely
  on Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, along with
  bases in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea

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U.S.S.R. in Afghanistan

• Afghanistan had remained one of the poorest and
  least develop nations
• Following a cycle of coups and countercoups,
  Babrak Karmal emerged and was backed by the
  Soviets
• December 1979, Soviet Union sent 80,000 troops to
  support the regime

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U.S.S.R. in Afghanistan

• Armed resistance by militant Muslims (Mujahedin)
  received support training from U.S.
• Over a million refugees fled to Pakistan
• The mountainous terrain was ideal for guerrilla
  warfare and Soviet forces could not eradicate
  Afghan opposition
• The Soviets withdrew in 1988-89

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Iran

• Iran was a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy
  after WWII.
• Led by pro-United States ruler Mohammad Reza
  Shah, Iran built a large military using U.S. aid
  and petroleum revenues
• The Shaw was overthrown in 1979 and Iran became
  an Islamic Republic (theocratic rule) led by the
  Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1902-1989)

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Iran

• Iranian leaders denounced the U.S. as the Great
  Satan
• Demanded the Shah stand trial
• After the U.S. refused, the U.S. embassy was
  occupied and the staff taken hostage in 1979
• They were released in January 1981

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Iraq

• The Islamic revolution in Iran threatened to
  spread to Iraq
• The government under Suddam Husein attacked Iran
  in 1980
• The war lasted until 1988 with Iraq receiving
  military supplies from the Soviet Union, other
  Arab nations, and the U.S. while Iran was
  supplied by North Korea, China, and Israel
• An armistice was signed in 1988 and Khomeini died
  in 1989

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Israel

• With the end of WWII, the Arab-Israeli conflict
  became the major political and military problem
  in the Middle East.
• After the Holocaust, many of the survivors had no
  place to go.
• Many Jews (Zionists) believed that they should
  have a homeland of their own.
• They concentrated on the biblical area of Israel

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Israel

• After WWI, the area had become the British
  mandate of Palestine.
• When Jewish immigration accelerated, friction was
  created between Jews and Palestinian Arabs
• After 1945, Zionists and Palestinian Arabs wanted
  individual nations and both felt they had claim
  to Palestine.
• Britain withdrew in 1947 and the U.N. proposed
  that the country be partitioned 50/50

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Israel

• A war broke out when the Jews, certain of U.S.
  and Soviet support, declared their independence
  and the creation of a new state of Israel on May
  14, 1948.
• When fighting ended in 1949, the Israelis had
  conquered more territory than had been envisioned
  in the U.N. plan, and the rest of the territory
  fell to Egypt and Jordan, rather than forming an
  independent Palestinian state.
• Palestinian Arab refugees fled to Lebanon, the
  West Bank, and the Gaza strip.

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