Chapter 7A North Africa/Southwest Asia

Question 1

Why might it be inappropriate to characterize the whole realm with one of the following terms:
Dry World
Arab World
Islamic World
Middle East

Answer 1

Dry World- Dominance of aridity-Also has Mediterranean climate, also Taiga in the mountains
Arab World-implies they are all Arab-they are not all and don’t speak Arabic
Islamic World-main religion but not all Muslim
Middle East-East of Europe but North of Africa

Question 2

What are the major climatic patterns of the Middle East and North Africa?

Answer 2

Arid and Mediterranean

Question 3

European colonization has had a lasting impact on this region. Discuss several of the effects of colonization that can still be seen today.

Answer 3

Many ended up with an Autocratic government.
They had to decide between US or USSR allies.
Religious Revivalism: Taliban rose as Islamic militia and we are still fighting them today.

Question 4

What are the principle beliefs and milestones of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims?

Answer 4

Monotheistic=Believe in one god
All believe Abraham is the father of all three
Judiam is not proselytizing.

Question 5

What are the five pillars?

Answer 5

Profession of faith (shahada)
Prayer five times daily toward Mecca (salat)
Almsgiving (zakat)
Fasting during Ramadan (sawm)
A pilgrimage to Mecca (Islam’s holiest city)(hajj)

Question 6

What is the difference between Shiite and Sunni Islam?

Answer 6

Split over who should be Muhammad’s
Shiites wanted a blood relative of Muhammad or Ali.
Sunnis saw any devout follower as qualified.

Question 7

Where is oil concentrated in this region?

Answer 7

Persian Gulf region, North Africa and around the Caspian Sea

Question 8

Why is oil cheap to produce in this region?

Answer 8

It has a large lake of oil (oil bearing strata)under the grounds surface vs. us having smaller pockets and having to drill in multiple locations.

Question 9

List some of the effects that oil productions has had on the realm.

Answer 9

Manifestation is urban modernization
Glass skyscrapers are engineering marvels.
Variable Incomes-fluctuating oil prices
Infrastructure
Industrialization-building industries that will outlast oil exports =manufacturing and high technology

Question 10

Where is the majority of this Persian Gulf oil exported to?

Answer 10

Japan, China, Europe and Asian Tigers

Question 11

What is OPEC? Why was it created?

Answer 11

OPEC stands for Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. European and US oil companies were coming in and drill and extract oil not paying them enough for the resources. OPEC was formed to control their resources and use them against us.

Question 12

This realm has been and still is an area of many cultural conflicts. Why?

Answer 12

Foreign Workers vs. UAE the oil money stays with UAE

Question 13

What are some of the divisive (centrifugal) forces in the realm?

Answer 13

Four major divisive forces:

• Sunni-Shiite Division; other religions & ethnics
• Muslim fundamentalism vs. Modernaization
• Repressive regimes failing Econmic progress
• territory and boundaries

Question 14

List some of the recent and ongoing conflicts.

Answer 14

Libia and Syria are still in civil war today.

Syria conflict is between US and Russia

Question 15

Know where the conflict occurred and who is or was fighting them.

Answer 15

Palestinian-Israeli-water conflicts
Israel and Syria -water conflicts
Arab-Israeli conflict-land, water, religious beliefs

Question 16

Discuss the claims of Palestinians and Israelis to the lands of Israel and the Occupied territories.

Answer 16

Israel says that its The land that God gave them.

Question 17

What are the Gaza strip, the West Bank and Golan Heights?

Answer 17

Gaza strip-small Palestinian territory, in conflict with Israel for land
West Bank- landlocked territory near the Mediterranean
Golan Height-part of Syria that Israelis occupy. kept peace between Syria and Israel.

Question 18

How does the Gaza strip smuggle weapons into its territory?

Answer 18

Israeli Tunnels

Question 19

Discuss the Camp David Accords. Who signed the 1979 accords?

Answer 19

1979 Land for Peace-Israel returns Sinai to Egypt and Egypt recognizes Israel as a sovereign state. President Carter brokered the deal. Egypt and Israel signed the deal.

Question 20

Where are the largest number of Palestinians living outside of Israel and the Occupied territories located?

Answer 20

Jordan

Question 21

What are the two major oil-rich skeikdoms of the United Arab Emirates?

Answer 21

Abu Dhabi and Dubai

Question 22

Which city-state built whimsical islands to sale?

Answer 22

Dubai

Question 23

Define the following: Sharia Law, tell, Fertile Crescent, Mesopotamia, hajj, Maghreb?

Answer 23

Sharia Law-term means “way” or “path”; it is the legal framework within which the public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Islam.
tell-
Fertile Crescent- region in the Middle East which curves, like a quarter-moon shape, from the Persian Gulf, through modern-day southern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and northern Egypt.
Mesopotamia-meaning ‘between two rivers’ Tigras and Euphrates
hajj- pilgrimage to Mecca
Maghreb-the Arabic name for the NW part of Africa

Question 24

What is the significance of Shi’ites in Iran?

Answer 24

It is the only country with a majority Shi’ites.

Question 25

Discuss women’s role in the Muslim world.

Answer 25

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Question 26

Why did OPEC establish an oil embargo on the US in 1973?

Answer 26

US was being punished by the Arabs for providing weapons to Israel.

Question 27

Discuss the hydropolitics of North Africa and the Middle East.

Answer 27

Deserts, whoever controls the water has the power.

Question 28

How did the Arab Spring begin? Where?

Answer 28

Tunsia 2010, spread to Egypt in 2012

Question 29

Why is Turkey considered an “in-between” country?

Answer 29

Part of Turkey is in Europe and part in Asia

Question 30

Discuss the significance of the Ottoman Empire.

Answer 30

Empire that controlled this area until its demise in WWI.

Question 31

What countries have a significant Kurdish minority?

Answer 31

Turkey, Iraq, Iran

Question 32

Which body of water was devastated by Soviet irrigation schemes in central Asia?

Answer 32

Aral Sea

Question 33

In what country does 75% of the world’s heroin originate?

Answer 33

Afghanistan