1. The Middle East and the Greater Middle East
Religion is greater ME
And geography is ME
Greater MS includes central Asia and Indonesia—sign--HAHA (sign is the women's Hijab)—show sign for Jakarta.

2. Kingdom of Bahrain Bahrain is the Persian Gulf. It possess 33 islands.
It surrounded by pro western countries in the Middle East.
Its religious affiliations are influenced by Iran.
The five serrated edges on its flag are symbolic for the five pillars of Islam
One difference between a kingdom and an empire is a kingdom in mono linguistic and an empire is multi linguistic.

3. Arab Republic of Egypt
It is considered a transcontinental country as its land allows one to walk across to the next continent, Asia.
The Nile is the world’s longest river but Brazil and Peru contest this.
Egypt is an ancient civilization
The Nile has traditionally been considered longer, but in recent years some Brazilian and Peruvian studies have suggested that the Amazon is longer by measuring the river plus the adjacent Pará estuar
Egypt's flag is red, white and black, these are the pan Arab colorsy and the longest connecting tidal canal.
Nile- 4,132 and the amazon-3,976

4. Islamic Republic of Iran
In 1935, the name Persia was changed to Iran; this was done by the Shah of Iran.
Iranians are not Arab and are not Sunni Muslims; they are Shi'a Muslims.
The use of the nomenclature "Persian" is culturally significant. Iran’s official Academy of Persian Language and Literature has declared that Persian should be considered the official name of the language
It was once part of the Persian control and Britain's later on.
Their language, Farsi, does have an influence of Arabic.
The emblem in the middle of the flag is a geometric design state “Allah—there is no god but Allah”
Shāhanshāh ("Emperor" or "King of Kings")
born Rezā Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944), was the Shah of the Iran (Persia) from 15 December 1925 until he was forced to abdicate by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran on 16 September 1941 and son Mohammad Reza Palevi

5. Republic of Iraq
Iraq is also called Mesopotamia, land between the rivers.
Saddam Hussein’s Iraq was an Islamic socialist society with ties to the Soviet Union.
Iraq has importance to Iran religiously and economically.
Sign this like a –B on the head. Baghdad is signed like Iran.
A horizontal tricolour of red, white, and black charged with the takbir [Allahu Akbar (God is great) in Kufic script] in green centered on the white stripe.
After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the nation was put under British control, it gained its independence and became a monarchy in 1921 but the monarch was overthrown and it became a republic.
Iraq’s flag is in the Pan Arab colors
Mesopotamia is Greek. and used to describe the geographic elements of the area—toponym.

6. Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Jordan is known as the Hashemite Kingdom.
Hashem was the great grandfather of the Prophet Mohammad.
The royal family of Jordan is said to be the descendants of Hashem.
The Hashemites[1] trace their ancestry from Hashim ibn 'Abd Manaf (died c. 511 AD), the great-grandfather of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad
The black, white and green bands represent the Arab Abbasid, Umayyad and Fatimid dynasties respectively, while the crimson triangle joining the bands represents the Hashemite dynasty. The seven-pointed Islamic star set in the center of the crimson triangle represents the unity of Arab peoples in Jordan."
The Jordanian flag is based in Pan Arab colors. Green is the color of Islam. However, the red on the flag presents the Hashemite Dynasty
Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1994 under the Clinton Administration.
Egypt is the only other Arab country to sign a peace accord with Israel.

7. State of Kuwait
Kuwait is oil rich and maintains a peaceful relationship with its neighbors and the United States.
Iraq’s invasion, motivated by the oil reserves and refineries, allowed Saddam Hussein to continue his war efforts and enrich his nation’s economy.
Paul changed “Saddam” to “Saddam Hussein” and “Saddam’s” to “his.” “His” is now there twice if you want to reword the second bullet point.
Many treasures from the Iraq invasion have never been recovered.
Kuwait’s flag is based on the Pan Arab color as and green which represents the Islamic faith of the people.
China already buys nearly half the oil that Iraq produces, nearly 1.5 million barrels a day, and is angling for an even bigger share, bidding for a stake now owned by Exxon Mobil in one of Iraq’s largest oil fields.

8. Lebanese Republic
After WWI, the Ottoman Empire lost the area and it was given to France.
Byblos, a city in Lebanon, is the oldest city in the world which has a continuous population.
The term Bible, originates from this city’s name.
French and Arabic are the official languages of Lebanon
The cedar on the flag represents peace and tolerance.

9. The Sultanate of Oman
Oman has a strong alliance with Britain but never became one of its colonies.
The former Sultan, who maintained good relations with Britain (the West),was overthrown by his son—the current Sultan.
The khanjar (Arabic خنجر) is the traditional dagger of Oman. It is similar to the Yemeni jambiya.
The Omani flag is adorned in red to represent the current Dynasty, white represents the Imam and green is the color of Islam
The Khanjar dagger is a national symbol in Oman
A Sultan is not royal—it is a person who is the supreme authority or who maintains full power.
He maintains good relations with the West and the Arab world.

10. Palestine
Many Palestinians live and work in Israel; many live in Jordan.
Palestine has had many rulers including the Greeks, Persians, Arabs, Egyptians, Assyrians, Canaanites and Israelis.
Palestine originates in the word Philistine –or land of Philistine
The land is present day Israel surrounded by Palestinian territories.
The flag is based on the tradition of the Pan Arab colors and green the traditional color of Islam.
The population of Palestinians in Jordan is numerous

11. The State of Qatar
Qatar is a nation that did not join the United Arab Emirates.
It has been ruled by an absolute monarchy since the mid 1800s, one family. The Al Thani family has been the only family to rule.
“who” on chin do not use thumb. However, the sign comes from the beard
The population of Qatar is approximately 300,000. Therefore, foreign works are many and take up residency in Qatar
The flag has two colors: white which symbolizes peace and the maroon—which was red– represents the Kharijite Muslims…an extreme Islamic dogmatic group who neither label themselves Sunni nor Shi'a

12. Saudi Arabia
Geographically, Saudi Arabia is the largest country is the Middle East.
There is neither freedom of religion nor support/protection of other houses of worship in the Kingdom.
Other religions are not permitted.
"There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is the Prophet of Allah." Fatimid dynasty—green is the color of the dynasty (Fatimid is the daughter of Mohammad-they were rivals of the Abbasid dynasty
It is ruled by an absolute Islamic monarchy. The King selects the next leader from among his sons. This selected individual becomes the crown prince.
It is called the Land of the Two Holy Mosques-Mecca and Medina-
The flag has white text called the Shahada (statement of faith) and a green background, the traditional color of Islam

13. Syrian Arab Republic Syria is a dominate force in Lebanese politics.
The Syrian army has bases in Lebanon.
Lebanon also had free elections in which Hezbollah had come into power—Hezbollah is an anti Israeli religious/militia group.
There flag is similar to the Egyptian flag due to Egypt’s influence. The two stars on the flag were at one time three stars representing Syria, Egypt, and Iraq. Since Egypt signed a friendship treaty with Israel under the Cater Administration, Egypt’s star as been removed.
Syria has troops stationed in Lebanon
Alawite
The Syrian military in Lebanon has lead to many military confrontations between Lebanon and Israel.
has established social and relief programs for Palestinians in Lebanon.

14. Republic of Turkey
After the Ottoman Empire collapsed in WWI, Turkey was created. It is named after its founder, Mustafa Kemel Ataturk.
He westernized the nation and took it away from its strong historic Islamic past—he wanted to “modernize” the nation.
The Ottoman Turkish alphabet (Ottoman Turkish: الفبا elifbâ ) was the version of the Perso-Arabic alphabet that was used for the Ottoman Turkish language during the time of the Ottoman Empire and in the early years of the Republic of Turkey, until the adoption of the new Turkish alphabet, derived from the Latin script, on November 1, 1928.
The flag is red, the color of the Ottoman Empire. The crescent star and moon are the symbols of Islam BUT have been used in Asia Minor prior to Islam.
The name is Medieval Latin, Turchia, Land of the Turks.
The Turkish language is written in Roman script unlike the former Ottoman script which was Perso- Arabic.

15. United Arab Emirates The UAE comprises of seven absolute monarchies.
They are held together in a Federation.
The president is the military supreme commander and coordinates the development of the UAE.
“C” on check—beard. A federal republic consists of states with a high degree of autonomy and they cannot be merged and their boundaries cannot be altered by the national legislature. Examples of federal republics include: the U.S., Germany and Switzerland. A republic is a state or country that is not led by a hereditary monarch or a dictator, and where the people of that state or country can affect the government by popular vote. -A republic is a group of people that have the right to vote or chose their leaders.
However, most countries including dictatorships call themselves "republics".
The flag is of the Pan Arab colors.
However, symbolically, the white is for peace/honesty, red for strength and valor, green for joy and hope and black, enemy defeat.
The people are called Emirati.
The seven Sheikdoms all speak Arabic, it’s the official language but the people are from different tribes.

16. Republic of Yemen Yemen, Al Yaman means the South.
In 1990, South Yemen was the only Islamic nation in the world that was Marxist—North Yemen was pro western.
They voted to unify the nation in 1990 as sweeping changes of democracy occurred in Eastern Europe which impacted Yemen.
Oldest Koran was found in Yemen while restoring a mosque
The flag of Yemen is based in the Pan Arab colors. The flag resembled North Yemen’s and South Yemen’s flag, each with their own respective emblem.
it affiliated itself with this political ideology after its independence from Britain in 1970.
Sana is the capital; legend states that Sana was established by Shem, Noah’s son.

17. Islamic State of Iraq and Syria Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
ISIS
ISIL
ISIS and ISIL are territories; however, an extreme Islamic group controls the area and uses ISIS as a moniker.
Extremist affiliates control other areas outside of the Levant.
Caliphate- Islamic state (community- Umayyad)
Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Turkey- Hatay region
Sunni  English in 1497, originally meant the East in general or "Mediterranean lands east of Italy".[5] It is borrowed from the French levant 'rising', referring to the rising of the sun in the east,[5] or the point where the sun rises.
Levantine" originally referred to the European residents of the eastern Mediterranean region, it later came to refer to regional "native" and "minority" groups.
While the usage of the term "Levant" in academia has been relegated to the fields of archeology and literature, there is a recent attempt to reclaim the notion of the Levant as a category of analysis in political and social sciences.

18. Ultra conservative, opposes all religions and the West
Islamic State Iraq and Syria (ISIS)- Sunni Muslim
Ultra conservative, opposes all religions and the West
Goal: Caliphate (Islamic state- IS) in Levant and Iraq.
Syria- Shi’a (Alawite) Muslim
Backed by Iran (Shi’a)
US does not want to assist, some rebels are our enemies.
Iran- Shi’a Muslim
Wants nuclear capability.
US concessions for Iran to get nuclear capability.
Iraq- Sunni Muslim
US backed government, wants more help from US.
ISIS home base, opposes Iraqi government.
Saudi Arabia- Sunni Muslim
Conservative Islam, not as ultra as ISIS.
Fears ISIS influence in their country.
If one country gets nuclear weapons, they all will want it
ISIS- Only Mohammad should be revered.
Syria- Rebels: ISIS, foreigners, and Taliban.
Iran- Supports rebels in Yemen, Lebanon and Syrian government.
Saudi Arabia- Tensions with US, a nuclear Iran will imbalance of power in the ME.

19. Khat in Yemen

20. Cedars of Lebanon

21. Crowns of Egypt

22. Red and Black keffiyehs (Scarves)

23. Israel and Egypt Peace Accord

24. Sultan of Oman Qaboos Bin Said Al Said

25. Syrian Flags