Middle East-Geography

-crossroads for the people of Africa, Asia, and Europe

-an enormous diversity of people, belief systems, and cultures

-oil (brought power-important to global economy)

-oil is why countries around the world take an active interest in middle eastern affairs

-limited water supply (conflicts over water rights)

Geography

• Persian Gulf• Strait of Hormuz• Suez Canal (important link between Europe and

Asia)

*****Are all trade routes for petroleum exports to nations around the world

• Muslims – Sunni (conservative)– Shiites (progressive)– Kurds (non-arab muslims:Syria, Turkey)

Jews

Christians• religious, racial, and cultural prejudices

Israeli/Palestinian conflict

• People of Arab and Jewish decent fight over homeland. (Jewish Zionist)

• 1947 United Nations divide land half and half (Israel/Palestine)• Arabs did not accept this agreement• Wanted to restore Palestine

• 1948 Israel invaded by 6 Arab States• Arabs were defeated• 700, 000 Arabs become refugees (refused entry by

neighboring Arab countries)• Refugee camps• Growing ethnic tension

• PLO-Palestine Liberation Organization (1964)• Led by Yasir Arafat• Designed to destroy Israel• Terrorist attacks on Israel• Intifada-violent demonstrations by young Palestinians

SIX DAY WAR

• 1973-Egypt and Syria launch a war against Israel

• Israelites: acquisition of Golan Heights, West Bank and the Gaza strip

• as a result of the war oil prices sky rocket

• OPEC:Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (refused to sell oil to countries friendly with Israel)

Peace Attempt

• Camp David Accords (1978)

• Jimmy Carter(USA), Anwar Sadat (Egypt), Prime Minister Menachim (Israel)

• Israel would return lands taken from Egypt in exchange for peace between the two countries

Peace Attempt

Middle East Peace Conference (1991)Oslo Accords (1993)- Itzhak Rabin (Israel)

and Yasir Arafat (PLO)– gave Palestinians self-gov. over Gaza strip– PLO ended opposition to Israel's existence

Conflicts remain because of terrorist groups

• Iranian Revolution– Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeni

• Restoring conservative Islamic fundamental beliefs– Extremely hostile to the West– No separation of church and gov.– Rights taken away from women– Encourage Muslims in other countries to overthrow secular

governments

• Iran-Iraq war (1980)– Sadaam Hussein- dictator in Iraq (Sunni)– Border dispute– Lasted 8 years

• Persian Gulf War (1990)– 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait and seized its oil fields– United States orders a trade embargo on Iraq– Iraq refused to withdraw and Kuwait was liberated– Hoped this would get rid of Sadaam Hussein as a

dictator, but did not

• The Iraq War– 2001 – Prove they did not have WMD’s according to United

Nations requirements– Invasion of Iraq and taking down Sadaam Hussein– Troops start to leave in 2011 (December)

• The Talliban in Afghanistan– Imposed strict religious beliefs– al Queda-Islamic terrorist group– Osama Bin Laden-al Queda terrorist leader

• War on Terrorism (2001)-goal to stabilize religion and establish democratic government

• Continued importance of the Middle East to the global economy is based on its quantity of oil reserves

• Economic development is limited because of political instability

• Israel– includes women in all facets of society

(democratic)• Iran and Afghanistan

– more traditional– women do not have many rights

• Saudi Arabia– women have the right to vote– Do not have the right to drive