2.2 KiB
2.2 KiB
Week 1
Goldschmidt & Marashi Reading
- What is "middle east"?
- Nile Valley to Muslim lands of Central Asia
- Geography: hot + dry, rainfall but small
- Many farming villages found, however
- Polar ice caps retreated, rainfall diminished. People move to Nile, Tigris, Euphrates, etc.
- Middle East more accessible than US, China, etc.
- Not endowed w/ nature; no grassy plains, scarce drinking water
- Meager mineral deposits
- Huge oil reserves (more than half of world's), but concentrated in few countries: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Iraq, UAE
- Exploitation started in 20th century
- Mountains shield minorities in countries (eg. Lebanon, Yemen, Iran) while invasions bring new races + culture into Middle East, resulting in cultural "mosaic" - many physical characteristics, belief systems, languages, cultures
\frac{9}{10}of ME is muslim, half / half speak Arabic / (Turkish + Persian)- "Mosaic" starts to crumble - modern information age (schooling, TV, etc) lead to universal culture (mostly) among young
- Cultural/religious difference persist -> conflicts. Muslims felt unequal to Christians -> Lebanon civil wars
- Iraq -> Suni vs. Shi'a Muslims
- Israel -> 1.7 million Arabs in borders
- Gaza Strip -> occupied between 1967 -> 2005, invaded 2006, 2009, 2014, contains 1.8 million Arabs. Jews (in Israel) divided between European or Asian and African origin (Ashkenazim vs. Mizrachim / Orientals).
- Interaction between humans + geography important
- Main causes of ME conflict
- Incomplete transfer from religious / theological government to secular government
- Resulting belief that governments are illegitimate, not willingly obeyed
- Quest for dignity + freedom by people determined to not lose independence (again)
- Involvement of outside gov't without regard for the people in ME
- Growing concentration of destructive weapons in volatile countries
- Scarcity of / demand for food, water, fossil fuels
- Overpopulation and widening inequality (wealth gap)
- Failure to resolve Palestine-Israel
- Sectarian / Ethnic tensions
- Palestinian, Iraqi, Syrian, Yemeni refuges. Internal displacement.