Chapter Eight

Northern Africa and Southwestern Asia

In the News

One of the most influential parts of the world

Often the center of historic events

Strategic economic interests make it one of the most politically unstable regions

In the Middle: Exchanges, Unities, and Diversities

• The term “Middle East”• Geologic past• Colonial interventions• Global economy• Global choke point• “In the middle” in wealth and poverty• Center of Islamic religion• Country of Israel

Cultural and Political History Within a Wider World

First CivilizationsReligions

Judaism• Diaspora

ChristianityIslam

• Muslims• Qu’ran• Sunni Muslims• Shia Muslims

Cultural and Political History Within a Wider World (cont’d)

LanguagesArabic

Berber

Hebrew

Persian

Kurdish

Turkish

Cultural and Political History Within a Wider World (cont’d)

Persian Dynasties

Ottoman Turks

European Colonies and Protectorates

Strategic Role of OilOil Resources

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)• Cartel

Cultural and Political History Within a Wider World (cont’d)

Pan-Arabism and IslamismArab League and Palestine Liberation Organization

• Arab League• Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)

One Arab Country• Pan-Arab country

The Impact of IslamismPolitical Islamism: Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)Attempts at Politicizing Islamism

A Hard-Line Jewish View

We were here first and have a longer history of occupying this land: it is ours, as claimed by Abraham and Joshua.Our religion started first in this area. Our holy sites include Hebron (where Abraham is buried) and Jerusalem, both in, or partly in, the West Bank.

A Hard-Line Arab (Palestinian) View

Our ancestors were here from the time of Abraham, whom we also recognize as a father of our people.

Jerusalem and Hebron are sacred to Muslims.

Point-Counterpoint: Israel Versus Palestine

The United Nations agreed to the partition of Palestine and recognizes Israel with its Jewish majority.

The decision resulted from a combination of weak Arab support and strong U.S. and British pressure. We were ignored, although we made up most of the population here in 1948. Israel has taken large areas of land from us that were not part of the UN plan.

Point-Counterpoint (cont’d)

A Hard-Line Arab ViewA Hard-Line Jewish View

We have returned some territories we took in the 1967 war but hold on to the rest as a matter of national security and survival.

After the 1967 war, the United Nations ordered Israel to hand back the occupied territories, but it has not done so more than 35 years later.

Point-Counterpoint (cont’d)

A Hard-Line Jewish View A Hard-Line Arab View

Arabs deny our rights to exist and want to wipe us off the map; we are exercising our right to defend ourselves. When joined, the surrounding Arab countries outnumber us, so we have to ensure strong security.

We were forced out of our land, we lived in crowded camps without amenities, and we now live in poverty. The Jews close checkpoints with no notice and interrupt our lives. We cannot argue with them because they are supported by the United States, and we now hate that country as well.

Point-Counterpoint (cont’d)

A Hard-Line Jewish View A Hard-Line Arab View

We regard them all as possible terrorists who blow up our restaurants and nightclubs, kill our athletes, assassinate our leaders, and drive suicide bombs into our neighborhoods.

They refuse to recognize our presence and nationality, suppressing our language, religion, and culture. Most of us want to live peaceful lives, but they treat us all as spies and criminals, abusing our human rights.

Point-Counterpoint (cont’d)

A Hard-Line Jewish View A Hard-Line Arab View

Jerusalem is our real capital city and is central to the Jewish faith. Some Jews want to remove the mosque on the holy mount.

Jerusalem is sacred to us, and any moves to destroy the mosque would be a declaration of all-out war that would unite Muslims.

Point-Counterpoint (cont’d)

A Hard-Line Jewish View A Hard-Line Arab View

No strong Palestinian nationality was expressed here before 1948. This area of land was merely a British protectorate carved out of the former Ottoman Empire, and most people knew of the intention to create a land for Jews. The present Palestinians are Arabs who should have been taken in by existing Arab countries. They have invented Palestinian nationalism as part of a plot to eliminate Israel.

We want our own lands and independence from Israel.

Point-Counterpoint (cont’d)

A Hard-Line Jewish View A Hard-Line Arab View

They are poor workers and earn only low wages. We go out of our way to employ them, but it would be better to employ only Jews.

They are well fed and materially wealthy. If we want to study for the qualifications that would earn us better jobs, we cannot do so in our country and have to go elsewhere. A doctor friend of mine, who works in a Jerusalem hospital, had to go to Greece to qualify.

Point-Counterpoint (cont’d)

A Hard-Line Arab ViewA Hard-Line Jewish View

The Palestinian Arabs have not repaid all the help we have given to them, raising their well-being above that of other Arabs in this region.

We can do nothing that is legal to improve our lot, so it is not surprising that some of us take to the gun and the bomb.

Point-Counterpoint (cont’d)

A Hard-Line Jewish View A Hard-Line Arab View

Natural Environments

Dry Climates and Desert Vegetation

Clashing Plates

Major River ValleysTigris-Euphrates Rivers

Nile River

Natural ResourcesDesalination plants

Environmental Problems

Global Connections

Medieval history of trading connections

Europeans monopolized trade in the 1800s and early 1900s

Oil gives world region strategic significance

Wars between Israel and Arab countries

Subregions

North Africa

The Nile River valley

Arab Southwest Asia

Israel and the Palestinian Territories

Iran and Turkey

North Africa

CountriesPolitical History

Recent Shifts

PeopleEthnic Variety

Urban Population Growth• Medinas

Population Dynamics

Employment and Migration

North Africa (cont’d)

Economic DevelopmentColonial Influences and Farming

Morocco’s Primary Products

Oil and Gas

Expanding Manufacturing and Services

Trade with Europe

Economic Policy Changes

Nile River Valley

CountriesPolitical History: From Empires to Colonies

Recent Events• Nile Waters Agreement

PeoplePopulation Distribution and Dynamics

Economic DevelopmentEconomic Diversification in Egypt

Sudan’s Economic Plight

Arab Southwest Asia

Oil Wealth

CountriesOil and Water

Governments

PeopleEthnicity

High Urbanized

Population Dynamics

Arab Southwest Asia (cont’d)

Economic DevelopmentImpacts of Fluctuating Income on Oil-Producing Countries

Diversification in Oil-Producing Countries• Gulf Cooperation Council

Tourist and Pilgrimage Sites

Countries with Little or No Oil

Prospects for Regional Interchanges

Israel and the Palestinian Territories

CountriesOrigins of Israel as a Modern Country

• Kibbutzim

Further Wars and Negotiations

Continuing Stresses

Limited Resources

Israel and the Palestinian Territories (cont’d)

PeopleEthnic Differences

Rural Versus Urban Emphases

Population Dynamics

Israel and the Palestinian Territories (cont’d)

Economic DevelopmentDiversified, High-Tech Economy

Services

Diversifying Trade Links

Poverty in Gaza and the West Bank

Turkey and Iran

CountriesHistoric Rivalries

Modern Shifts

PeopleEthnic Differences

Urban Growth

Population Dynamics

Turkey and Iran (cont’d)

Economic DevelopmentOil or Water

Agricultural Contrasts

Manufacturing Differences

Services and Tourism