Emergent Nationalism in the Middle East

The Battle of Islam

OVERVIEW

In this lesson we examine:• Background to Shiite and Sunni

conflict• Reasons for the Iranian Revolution• The spread of fundamentalism

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

Shiite and Sunni Conflict

• 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.

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?

The Iranian Revolution

• 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

• 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 Shah’s 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?

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

The Iran-Iraq War

• 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?

• 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 Iraq’s goal in launching an invasion of Iran in 1980?

SUMMARY QUESTIONS