1. The Middle East (Southwest Asia)
FSMS
7th Grade Social Studies; Unit 2
Ethnic Groups & Religious Groups of SWA
Georgia Standard SS7G8a.b

2. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Standard
SS7G8 The student will describe the diverse cultures of the people who live in Southwest Asia (Middle East).
(a) Explain the differences between an ethnic group and a religious group.

3. First Five Agenda Message: Sign and return Map Review of Middle East.
Standard: Describe the diverse cultures of the people of SWA.
Essential Question : What is the definition for an Ethnic group, and a Religious group?
Warm-Up : What two natural resources are unequally distributed in SWA?
TODAY WE WILL:
Brief review of SWA Geography, Climate, Natural Resources, & Population Distribution.
Start unit on Ethnic and Religious groups of SWA

4. Physical Features of the Mediterranean
Resources:
Unlike nearby countries in SW Asia, the countries of the Mediterranean do not have large oil reserves. The people of this region make a living from the land in other ways.
Limited Farming-Commercial farming is only possible where rain and irrigation provide enough water. The desert supports a few nomadic herders.

5. Mineral Resources
Many minerals including sulfur, mercury, and copper are found in this region.
Phosphates-minerals salts containing the element phosphorus are produced in Syria, Jordan, and Israel. Phosphorus are used to make fertilizers. The area also exports asphalt- the dark tar like material used to pave streets.

6. FRESH WATER
Fresh water is a precious resource in the Middle East. *Many large cities in the Middle East are located near major rivers.
About five percent of the world’s population lives there, but less than one percent of the world’s fresh water is available to its residents.
Throughout the Middle East, water shortages, unequal water distribution, and pollution decrease the amount of water available for drinking and irrigation.

7. Water Conflicts
Water needs in the Middle East cause conflicts between countries.
Who owns the water?
Who should be allowed to divert water for irrigation?
There are no enforceable laws to govern the use of international water.

8. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
An ethnic group is a group of people who share cultural ideas and beliefs that have been a part of their community for generations. The characteristics they may have in common could include;
A language
A religion
A shared history
Types of food
A set of traditional stories
Beliefs, or
Celebrations
These things make up a common culture shared by those in a particular ethnic group.

9. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Ethnic Group cont.
The predominant ethnic group in Southwest Asia are the Arabs.
The second largest ethnic group are the Persians who are primarily found in Iran.
The third largest ethnic group from Southwest Asia are the Kurds.
(This group lives in a mountain region that spans Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Kurds speak Kurdish, and most are Muslim. Kurds do not have their own homeland or government. They are a minority group ruled by the country where they live.)

11. Oil, Oil, Oil
**There is an uneven distribution of oil in the Middle East. The sale of oil has earned phenomenal amounts of money for oil-rich countries. OPEC controls the price of oil in the world market. OPEC stands for Organization Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Oil rich Iran and Iraq are the most populated country in the Middle East, but their countries have suffered from war and mismanagement of oil money.

12. Money from oil has changed Saudi Arabia from a poor society to a very rich one.
Turkey has benefited from the oil industry as a transportation hub for oil rich countries moving their product to Europe.
Afghanistan looks to profit as a transportation link of oil from Central Asia to the Arabian Sea.

13. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Standard
SS7G8 The student will describe the diverse cultures of the people who live in Southwest Asia (Middle East).
(b) Explain the diversity of religions within the Arabs, Persians and Kurds.

14. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
*Religious Group
A religious group shares a belief system in;
A common god or gods
With specific rituals, and
Literature
People from ethnic groups may share the same religion, though they may be from very different cultures.
Religion has been important to the history of Southwest Asia. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism were all started in this region. People who follow Judaism are called Jews. Followers of Christianity are called Christians. Followers of Islam are called Muslims.

15. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Diversity of Religions
Southwest Asia is home to many different ethnic groups who share similar religions. The Arabs of Southwest Asia believe themselves to be descendants of Abraham in the Bible, through his son Ishmael.
They make up the majority of those who live throughout the region known as Southwest Asia, though there are many differences among them.
*Most Arabs practice the religion of Islam and call themselves Muslims.

16. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Diversity of Religions cont.
*Those who call themselves Muslims are further divided, as some call themselves Sunni Muslims, while others are Shia Muslims.
A small percentage of Arabs are Christians.
Most Arabs, whether they are Muslim or Christian, speak the Arabic language.

17. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Diversity of Religions cont.
Persians are those who live in the modern country of Iran. The Persian people are descended from a different group than those who are Arabs are Jews.
The country of Persia became known as Iran after World War I.
Persians, or Iranians, speak Farsi, a language that uses the Arabic alphabet but is actually a different language.
*Persians practice Islam, but most belong to the Shia group of Muslims. About 15% of the Muslims in the world are Shia. The other 85% are Sunni Muslims.

18. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Diversity of Religions cont.
The Kurds are an ethnic group that lives in several different countries in Southwest Asia.
Most Kurds are found in the mountainous areas where Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq come together.
The Kurds see themselves as a distinct ethnic group from others in the area. They speak their own language, known as Kurdish, and have a separate history, literature, music, and set of traditions.

19. The Middle East Diverse Cultures Ethnic Groups & Religions
Diversity of Religions cont.
Many Kurds hope to have a nation of their own some day, a hope that has caused conflict with the countries in which Kurdish people live.
Most Kurds are Sunni Muslim.