FORCES SHAPING THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST 22-2 KE

Diversity and Nationalism  Western powers first used the term Middle East to refer to the region between Europe and the “far east”  To avoid western bias, some people now call it Southwest Asia  In this chapter, it is referred the region from Egypt in the west to Iran in the east and from Turkey in the north to the Arabian Peninsula

Religious and Cultural Diversity  Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all emerged  Today, most people are Muslims  Middle Eastern people speak more than 30 different languages  Include Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Hebrew, Kurdish, and Armenian  The Kurds are an ethnic group divided by modern borders among Turkey, Iraq, and Iran  While Muslims share the same basic faith but belong to different national groups; Arabs, Iranians, and Turks have their own

Winning Independence  In the Middle East, imperialism and nationalism were powerful forces  Iraq won freedom from Britain in 1932  After WWII, British & French mandates won complete independence as the nations of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan  The Pan-Arab dream of a united Arab state foundered as nations pursued individual goals

Colonial Legacy  Arab nations remained economically dependent on the West  Westerners owned industries and banks & provided the capital and technology needed for development  Britain and France had drawn borders to serve their own interests  Religious and ethnic tensions continue to fuel conflicts in Iraq

Conflict Over Palestine  Britain issues the Balfour Declaration, which pledged support for a Jewish national home in Palestine  Both Jews & Palestinian Arabs claimed a historical right to the land  Jewish migration to Palestine increased after WWII  As turmoil increased, Britain turned over its mandate to the United Nations  In 1947, the UN drew up a plan to partition Palestine into an Arab and a Jewish state  Jews accepted but Arabs declined

The Birth of Israel  After Britain withdrew in 1948, Jews proclaimed the independent state of Israel  The U.S & Soviet Union both recognized Israel, or formally agreed to treat it as a legitimate gov’t  Israeli forces fought well against the poorly equipped and badly led the Arab forces  Israel developed rapidly after 1948  In spite of scarce natural resources, a skilled and educated work force made rapid progress  Kibbutzim, or collective farms, produced crops for export

The Refugee Issue  The Arab-Israeli War of 1948 uprooted 700,00 Arabs from Palestine  The UN set up temporary shelters for Palestinian refugees

Political and Economic Patterns  After winning independence, Middle Eastern nations worked to modernize their governments & economies  Parts of the region sit on top of the world’s largest oil reserves, which brought regional and global consequences

Governments  Most Middle Eastern nations developed authoritarian governments  In Egypt & Iraq, revolutionary military leaders toppled monarchs who were closely tied to western powers  In other countries, hereditary monarchs remained in power but took steps to adapt to the modern world  Only Israel and Turkey formed multiparty democratic systems

Impact of Oil  Because the Middle East commanded vital oil resources, the U.S & other powers increased their political & military presence in the region  Only a few countries, on the Persian Gulf, have large oil resources  Oil-rich nations built roads, hospitals, and schools  Poorer countries lacked the capital needed for that

Water Resources  Many experts have predicted that water may soon become the most valuable resource in the Middle East  Growing populations and rising standards of living have increased demands for water  Farming accounts for 80% of water use  To meet this demand, oil-rich countries have built desalinization plants that convert sea water into fresh water

Economic Policies  In the 1950’s, some Arab nations turned to socialism as a way to end foreign economic control & modernize rapidly  To get capital, gov’ts took foreign loans & built large projects in industry and agriculture  The Middle East faced grave economic challenges

Islamic Revival  Islam has been shaping force in the Middle East for more than 1300 years  The Quran and Sharia provide guidance on all aspects of life

Western Influences  During the Age of Imperialism, westerners urged Muslim nations to modernize  After nearly a century of western influence, some Middle Eastern leaders adopted western models of development, promising economic progress & social justice

Call for Reform  By the 1970s, in the face of failed development & repressive regimes, many Muslim leaders and writers called for a return to the Sharia  Islamic reformers, often called fundamentalists by westerners, didn’t reject modernization, but they did reject westernization  Offering Islam as an inspiration, the movement appealed to poor and educated Muslims alike

Impact  By the 1990s, the Islamic revival had spread across the Muslim world  In Iran, revolutionaries overthrew an unpopular shah  In Algeria, voters supported members of a party that had pledged to restore the Sharia  Across the Muslim world, the Islamic revival sparked heated debates between reformers and secularists  Many devout Muslims opposed any scientific view of the world that excluded the belief in God as creator & ruler of the universe

Women in the Muslim World  Conditions for women vary greatly from country to country in the modern Middle East  Since the 1950s, women in most countries have won voting rights and equality before the law  The changes have taken place at different rates in different places  In Turkey, Syria and Egypt, many women gave up wearing hejab, or a cover.  On the other hand, conservative countries have opposed the spread of many western secular influences among women

Return to Hejab  In recent decades, many educated Muslim women have returned to wearing hejab  For some women, the movement symbolized resistance to unpopular governments or refusal to imitate western culture

Continuing Issues  Still some women in Muslim countries were dismayed  They argued against social and political forces that put severe limits on their lives  Under Sharia, women traditionally held powerful positions in the family and played important economic roles  Many Muslim and non-Muslim women spoke out on the need for women to realize their full potential & contribute to national life