Emergent%20Nationalism%20in%20the%20Middle%20East

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Emergent Nationalism in the Middle East

• The Battle of Islam

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OVERVIEW

• In this lesson we examine
• Background to Shiite and Sunni conflict
• Reasons for the Iranian Revolution
• The spread of fundamentalism

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Shiite and Sunni Conflict

• Context Question
• What major branches of Christianity are you
  aware of and what traditional conflict has
  existed between them, if any?

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• Sunnis would become the majority
• Shiites would be the largest minority.
• Sunnis most Arab states
• Shia Iran (non-Arab), southern Iraq and southern
  Lebanon.
• Arab states became mandates or constitutional
  monarchies.

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The Iranian Revolution

• Islamic fundamentalists began to make arguments
  in favour of establishing governments based on
  the laws of Islam
• What were the key supporting examples that they
  used?

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• Secular monarchs were politically and
  economically corrupt and elitist ex Mohammed
  Reza Shah Pahlavi
• Western-style democracies were socially corrupt
  ex objectification of women
• Communism was oppressive and immoral
• Nationalist totalitarianism were politically
  corrupt ex Anwar Sadat

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• After WWII, the Shah of Iran was a pro-West,
  anti-communist but failed to institute many
  political and economic reforms. In 1978-1979, the
  Shah was overthrown in a popular revolt
• Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his Islamic
  supporters transformed Iran into a theocracy
  (religious state) after a referendum. The
  religious leadership transformed Iran into a
  highly conservative society
• Because the US supported the Shahs exile,
  extremist students stormed the US embassy in Iran
  and took 66 hostages for 15 months.

How might the Arab community view the results of
the Iranian revolution after Camp David?
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The Iran-Iraq War

• In September 1980, Iraq invaded Iran. What were
  the major reasons and consequences for this
  invasion?

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• Saddam Hussein, was concerned that Iran was
  spreading unrest among the Shia majority in Iraq.
  
• Sunnis, such as Hussein, held power in Iraq while
  being the minority.
• The war ended in 1988 with hundreds of thousands
  of deaths and causalities on both sides. Iraq and
  Iran spent billions of dollars on the war,
  leaving their economies in ruin.

What actions might the Iranian government take to
ensure its continued survival in the Islamic
community?
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SUMMARY QUESTIONS

• What were the two major groups within Islam and
  what influence did they play in the Middle East
  after WWII?
• What major events and reasons did Islamic
  fundamentalists provide in their attempts to gain
  support?
• What was Iraqs goal in launching an invasion of
  Iran in 1980?