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 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 and continued living there. In ancient times most of them were forced out, but in the late 1800s 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 government- known 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.