North Africa/Southwest Asia
Introduction
1.This realm contains several of the world great cultural
hearths and civilizations
2. Source of three major religions: Islam, Christianity and
Judaism
3. There are significant non-Arab populations in this realm
4. Population is dispersed in clusters
5. Water supply determines population density. Water is in only
limited areas
6.Realm is the crossroads where Arabian, North African and Asian
regions intersect
7. There is bitter conflicts over territory and boundaries
8. Realm now includes former Soviet republics
9. Enormous reserves of petroleum are located in some areas of
the realm
What exactly is this area?
Is it an Arab world?
This is not exactly true with significant amount of non-Arab
peoples in the area. For example, Iranians have a completely
different culture and speak an Indo-European language (farsi).
Berbers in Northern Africa are not considered arab. In addition,
Israel is not part of the arab word.
Is it an Islamic world?
No, because there are significant amount of Christians in this
area. Syria, Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Iraq have a minority of
Christians that have been here for centuries. In addition to
Israel, there are Jewish minorities spread throughout this area.
Can this areas be called the Middle East?
The Middle East is only a portion of this area, although most
people would refer to this area as the Middle East.
Hearths of Culture
Do you wonder why we do the things we do? Why we think the way we
do? I great many things that we take for granted came originally
from this area: the wheel; writing; mathematics; Jewish,
Christian and Islam religions; government and law (The law of
Hamarabi)
The Fertile Crescent
This area is located between the Tigris and Euphrates
(Mesopotamian means land between the rivers) Advanced farming
produced surplus leading to advances in technology and the
development of cities (for example--Ur and Babylon) The first
developed first known writing and laws (for example--Law of
Hamarabi), mathematics, religion emanated from this area. The
Jewish Bible, written in Babylon draws heavily on the myths,
traditions of this area. (For example, the Ten Commandments are a
revised version of the Law of Hamarabi; the story of Genesis is a
revised version of The Saga of Gilgamesh, and the Garden of Eden
is probably modeled off the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.)
The Nile Valley
You
might want to visit this site on ancient Egypt
This civilization was prosperous for three thousand years. (The
U.S. just celebrated its 200 anniversary and we think its a big
deal.) Its civilization was focused on the Nile, which overflowed
its banks every Spring bringing in new soil every year. Egyptian
society advanced in technology (writing, mathematics, geometry,
architecture, etc.) and religion. The Egyptians were one of the
fist to develop paper (papyrus--see the similarities in the word)
It should be noted that the Chinese developed paper individually
from the Egyptians, also. The Nile Valley was a also a
"highway of trade" as it provided a excellent mean of
transportation for its citizens and tied the whole kingdom
together. Why did this area decline? It could have been climatic
changes, overpopulation and strain on resources or a combination
of both.
The Rise of Islam
An overview of Islam
Muhammad the Prophet in 613 A.D. started to receive revelations.
He united disorganized Arab culture, combining elements of
Judaism and Christianity. So Islam is really a relative of both
and recognizes this heritage in the Koran. Both of these
predecessors place emphasis on monotheism and God (Allah)
speaking through prophets Both predecessors emphasis the use of
written law or scriptures (The Koran reflects this tradition.)
Five Pillars of Islam
1.Repeated expressions of the basic creed
2. Daily prayer
3. A month of daytime fasting (Ramandan)
4. The giving of alms
5 At least one pilgrimage to Mecca
Other Aspects of Islam
1. No smoking, drinking or gambling
2. Spiritual center for Islam is Mecca
3. Political/religious mix
4. Keeping the Sabbath (Friday) holy
5. Restricted role of women
Islamic Kingdoms
Covered at one time a vast portion of the earth including most of
North Africa, Spain, the Balkans, the Near East, Indian
Subcontinent and Modern-day Indonesia and Malaysia (see Figure
6-4 in Text) The Ottoman Empire lasted from 1300's to World War I
(See Figure 6-5)
The Power of Oil
Most of these countries would be of little importance if it
wasn't for the petroleum and natural gas that they have
underneath the sand.Before the oil fields were nationalized by
these countries, these countries had very little world stature.
However, with the West dependent on petroleum, any disturbance
that upsets the flow of their major source of energy becomes a
vital national interest.
However, while there are many countries in this area that have
petroleum reserves (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya,
United Arab Republic), there are many that have no oil or very
little (Jordan, Egypt, Israel, Tunis, Morocco, Turkey.) The
recent struggle in Kuwait would not have been as important to the
U.S. and Europe, if it was not for the tremendous oil reserves.
Oil has also brought tremendous wealth to formerly underdeveloped
countries. It allowed them to build modern cities, airports,
shopping centers, roads, universities etc. However, in the
background is a very traditional society which is struggling with
the Western ideas that are influencing them. Saudi Arabia, one of
the most conservative Islamic states, has modernized very rapidly
but one still such things as discrimination against women and a
very restricted society.
Islamic Fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is on the rise in Southwest Asia and
North Africa. Egypt has had major divisions in its politics
because of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism. There have been
several bombings, particularly directed toward tourists in the
last few years Iran is the focus of Islamic fundamentalism and
has a theocratic government. Turkey, one of the more liberal of
the Islamic countries, is undergoing pressure from Islamic
fundamentalists. The two divisions of Islam are Shiite and Sunni.
Shiite are radically fundamentalist and focus on the priesthood.
Sunni is more conservative and does not have as radical an
outlook (Saudi Arabia is predominately Shiite.)
Geographic Regions
The following are the regions of North Africa/Southwest Asia:
1) Egypt and Lower Nile Basin; 2)The Magheb and its Neighbors; 3)
Empire States; 4) Arabian Peninsula; 5) Middle East; 6)
Turkestan; 7) African Transition Zone; 8) Egypt and Lower Nile
Basin
Focus on Countries of Southwest Asia/North Africa
Israel
Here is an interesting
link discussing current issues in this country.
Israel has border conflicts with Egypt (Sanai), Jordan, Syria
(Golan Heights) and Lebanon. In addition, the Palestinians who
resided in this area before the establishment of Israel are
desiring their own sovereign state. Jerusalem is important to
three faiths
You might want to look here
concerning the importance of the temple mount
Why is the site important to the Islamic and Jewish faiths?
Saudi Arabia
Want to learn more? A very good
link about Saudi Arabia
It has a small population (only 20 million). It is a recent
modern state. Its climate is from arid to desert climate. It has
one of the largest petroleum reserves Saudi Arabia is a
stabilizing force in area. It is a highly traditional society but
also highly modernized.
Turkey
(The above link gives a good overview of this country.) Turkey is
in both the Islamic and the European realm It was once part of a
larger empire (Ottoman Empire). Modernized by Ataturk in the
1920's . It has a diversified economy It has problems with
Kurdish minority. Also there are conflicts with Greece over
Cyprus.
Egypt
Egypt is only a mere shadow of its former self. From being one of
the most prosperous in ancient times. Egypt is now a developing
nation. Its population is growing rapidly and is experience
crushing urbanism, particularly in Cairo. The Nile is still
important to Egypt as a source of food for its own people and for
export (i.e. cotton). However, Egypt has low levels of
industrialization. Egypt has played a major part in politics of
this area and is looked upon as leader in the Middle East. It has
spawned charismatic leaders in the twentieth century (Nassar,
Sadat) which have played actors in Middle East politics.
Links to other countries:
Jordan
Syria
(Another
good link for Syria)
Iraq
Iraq has some major
human violations (duh?)
Iran
Libya
Morocco
Tunisia
Central Asian Republic (Turkestan)
(See
Russia, List of Former Soviet Socialist Republics)
The Arab Net (a good source of information on many of the countries in this realm.)
Conclusion
This area is difficult to describe because of spectrum
of the characteristics of this area. Islamic dominates this area
and there seems to be some unity among some of the Islamic
nations. However, there is a wide spectrum of Islam practiced
from the very contrastive (Iran, Iraq) to more liberal (Turkey,
Egypt, Morocco,Algeria etc.,.) One of the powderkegs in this area
is Israel which is undergoing tremendous pressure from the world
community to resolve the role of Palestine in Israel. This area
also contains "rouge" states such as Iran, Iraq and
Libya who create instability for this area. Islamic
fundamentalism is on the rise in these countries and will
continue to play a major role in international and internal
politics. The economic situation is biased toward resources, be
they agricultural or petroleum. Most of the land is arid, but
there is still a significant amount of agricultural production.
This area will continue to intrigue and confuse as the dawn of
the Twenty-First dawns.