SOUTH WEST ASIA CULTURES AND HISTORY SOUTHWEST ASIA

SOUTH WEST ASIA CULTURES AND HISTORY

SOUTHWEST ASIA

MESOPOTAMIA • Hammurabi ruled the city of Babylon(Iraq). • He united the region along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. • This region was called “Mesopotamia” which is a Greek word meaning “between the rivers”. • Mesopotamia is one of the ancient civilizations of the World. • People of Mesopotamia developed a system of writing and also introduced a set of laws.

BIRTHPLACE OF THREE RELIGIONS • Three of World’s greatest religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam began in Southwest Asia.

RELIGIONS • Judaism was founded by Abraham who lived in Israel. • 2000 years later Jesus, the founder of Christianity began preaching in Israel. • In 600 A. D. Prophet Muhammad started preaching Islam in present day Saudi Arabia. • People of all the above three religions share the belief of Monotheism, which means believing in one God.

ISLAM • Islam has the most followers in Southwest Asia today. • They are called Muslims. • Muezzin is the person whose job is to call people to pray five times a day. • People gather in mosques to pray.

JUDAISM • The five books that make up the Jews most sacred text is The Torah. • According to Torah Abraham, a Mesopotamian man, became convinced that there was only one God. • He migrated to Canaan(Palestine). • Torah also include the Ten Commandments.

CHRISTIANITY • It is based on the teachings of Jesus, who travelled throughout Palestine. • The Christians first adopted the Torah as the Old Testament, later Gospel as the New Testament. • Christianity began in Southwest Asia and spread throughout the World.

DIVERSE CULTURES IN SOUTHWEST ASIA • Arabic-speaking Arabs are the largest ethnic group in the region, and Islam is their main religion. • But there are other people also who practice other religions and speak other languages.

A MIX OF ETHNIC GROUPS • Arabs are the main ethnic group in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and other countries on the Arabian peninsula. • Arabs also live in territories occupied by Israel. • Non-Arabs live mainly in Israel, Turkey and Iran. • In Israel 80% of the population is Jewish and 20% is Arab. • In Turkey 80% of population is Turkish and the rest is Kurdish. • In Iran 50% people are Persian and the rest belong to different ethnic groups.

A VARIETY OF RELIGIONS • Except for Israel, the majority of the people in each country in Southwest Asia are Muslims. • Muslims are divided into two groups Sunnis and Shi’as. • Today 90% Muslims are Sunnis. Most of the Muslims in Iran and Iraq are Shi’as. • In Israel 80% people are Jewish and 20% are Muslims. A small percent of people are Christians too. • Christians are also in Syria, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq.

SOUTHWEST ASIA: RECENT HISTORY • Jews for many years claimed Palestine as their homeland continued living there. • In ancient times most of them were forced out, but in the late 1800 s the Jews from around the World began to return to their homeland which alarmed the Arabs who lived there.

THE FORMATION OF ISRAEL • Before and after World War II, Nazi Germany killed more than 6 million Jews in Europe just because they were Jews. • This is known in the history as HOLOCAUST. • After the war many who survived came to live in Palestine. • On May 14, 1948, Jews declared a separate state known as Israel.

ARAB-ISRAEL CONFLICT • The Arab nations of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria invaded Israel in support with Palestine. • Hundreds of Palestinians left the Jewish territory and started living in other Arab nations as refugees. • Since that time both Israel and the Arab nations have fought many bloody wars.

EFFORTS TOWARDS PEACE • In 1993, Israel and Palestine governmentknown as the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)- formally recognized each other • In 2000, fights broke out between Israel and Palestine once again. • In 2003 both nations signed a peace plan. • This issue is still not solved.

WAR WITH IRAQ • After Iraq’s defeat in the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein refused to cooperate with United Nations inspectors that it destroyed its dangerous weapons. • In March 2003, US forces attacked Iraq and were supported by Great Britain. Saddam Hussein was captured and hanged. • Iraq’s political situation is still unstable.