Introductory Notes: Part One

OVERVIEW

Geography: arid country side, mountainous
Population: stereotypically bedouin, most are traders
Economic: industrial growth leads to large working class
Borders: hard definition to define because of cultural/geographic boundaries.
Regions: Fertile Cresent, Arabian Peninsula, Nile Valley, Maghreb
Ethnicities: Arab, Azeris, Baluch, Berbers, Kurds, Black Africans... etc.
Diversity: ... a lot
Islam: Sunni vs. Shi'ites
Christianity: Various eastern rites. Most are Protestantism.
Judaism: Israel as a Jewish state, Zionism

Time Line (circa):
600- Islam emergence in Mecca, spread across M. East
1100- Turks arrive, Ottoman Empire, unified Islam, spread to S.E. Europe
1800- Ottoman states deteriorating. Britain and France make presence in M.E.
WWI- Europe strong hold in M.E. strengthens. Britain topples Ottoman Empire.

Declerations/Agreements
Sykes: Picot agreement: 1916 divided Arab territories into European Zones.
Balfour Declaration: 1917 paved way for the State of Israel

Conflict (Jews Vs. Arab):
-Israel created in 1948
-300,000 Palestineans displace in Israel; 300,000 Jews displaced in Muslim Countries
-Transjordan absorbed the West Bank and Gaza Strip
-SUEZ WAR (Oct-Nov 1956): Israel, Britain, & France invaded Egypt. The U.S. called and end to it
-SIX DAY WAR (June 1967) border tension led Israel to sieze the Golan Heights (from Syria), West Bank and East Jerusalem (from Jordan), and the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip (from Egypt)
-YOM KIPPUR WAR (Oct 1973): Syria and Egypt surprise attacked Israel on the Holiest day to regain borders lost. Ended in stalemate, led to...
-CAMP DAVID (1979): a peace treaty returning Egypt's land and a cold peace.
-LEBANON WAR (1982): Israel invaded Lebanon to wipe out the PLO (Palestinean Liberation Organization) who were launching attacks. Israel reached Beruit, got rid of PLO, and moved to S. Lebanon and kept a presence until 2000.


Political Handbook of the Middle East 2006.
Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2006. Print.