Civilizations of the Middle East

1. Civilizations of the Middle East Unit 2

2. Why is the Arab world so wealthy in natural resources and so poor in human resources? • Why does human knowledge elsewhere steadily grow while in the Arab world what expands instead is illiteracy, ideological fear, and mental paralysis? • Why do expansions of tolerance, moderation, rationalism, compromise, and negotiation horrify Arabs, but when there are cries for vengeance, they all dance the war dance? • Why do other people live life, while the Arabs love death and violence, slaughter, and suicide, and call it heroism and martyrdom?

3. Environment has shaped the Middle East. • The world’s oldest agrarian societies were in the Middle East, in Egypt and Sumer. • Sumer is located in Mesopotamia, below the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers • Phoenicians were the world’s mariners, traders, and colonizers • Phoenicians invented the phonetic alphabet • Judaism also profoundly affected the intellectual history of the Middle East and the West

4. Conquerors • Persia • King Cyrus • From his reign to today, the Middle East has been conquered by the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Seljuk Turks, Mongols, and Ottomans • Cyrus’ empire stretched from the Indus Valley to the Nile River. • Cyrus’ family’s reign ended with the invasion of Alexander the Great

5. Alexander the Great set up the Egyptian city of Alexandria • Romans invaded taking control of Syria and Egypt • Both did well economically under Roman rule • Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity • Byzantium was renamed Constantinople • Rome’s major rival for power was Persia • Persia captured Syria, Palestine, and Egypt in the 600s

6. Rise of Islam • Also in the 600s, Muhammad founded Islam • Born in Mecca • Orphaned • Raised by an uncle who was a trader • At 40 years old, he heard God speak to him • Koran/Qu’ran is the Islamic Holy Book • It is kind of like a combination of the Old and New Testaments of the Jewish and Christian faiths • I does not deny the importance of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus

7. The five pillars of Islam • God is only one and Muhammad is his prophet • Pray at least 5 times each day • Fast during daylight during Ramadan • Payment need to be made to provide for the needy • Make a pilgrimage to Mecca in your lifetime • In 622 • Muhammad and his followers left Mecca for Medina they called this the hijrah (emigration) • The founded an ummah (community ruled by a divine plan) • Islam is a way of life, not just a religion

8. 630 c.e. • Muhammad returned to Mecca and went to the Ka’bah • He smashed the idols • He united the Arabs with Islam • 632 c.e. • Muhammad died • Trouble began… • 1st Caliph – Abu Bakr – took over after Muhammad’s death • 2nd Caliph – Umaribn al-Khatab – he led the Muslims to conquer Egypt and Syria. They also had control of Jerusalem • 3rd Caliph – Uthman – was murdered • 4th Caliph – Ali – was Muhammad’s son-in-law

9. 5th Caliph was Mu’awiyah • His family held onto the Caliphate until 750 c.e. • Husayn was Ali’s son and he hated Mu’awiyah and his family. Husayn was martyred in battle which would lead to the formation of Shi’ism • Shi’as – Caliphs should come from Muhammad’s family • Sunnis – Caliphs should come from Muhammad’s family or be an appointed ruler

10. 1st Islamic Empire • Umayyad (Sunni) set up the Caliphate in 750 in Baghdad • They even had control over Spain • Fatimids (Shi’as) had control of Tunisia and Egypt • Abbasid overthrew the Umayyads and ruled until 1250 c.e. • Helped contribute to the Renaissance

11. Ottoman Empire Kept colonization out of the Middle East until the mid-1800s

12. Sykes-Picot Agreement, 1916 Divided the Ottoman Empire into Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine The Arabian Peninsula was ignored until the 1930s when oil was discovered Iran was under Russian/Soviet control Egypt would be under British control due to the Suez Canal.

13. 20th Century • Boundaries drawn by Europe were random and didn’t consider cultural differences. • Kurds, Kuwaitis, Lebanese • Most of 20th Century, Lebanon was under French control • 1st half of 20th Century, Palestine was under British control/Balfour Declaration • Jordan was also under British control

14. Downfall of the Middle Eastern Civilization • All of the conquering and colonization did not cause the initial humiliation of the Muslims in the Middle East. It was the… • Formation of Israel

15. A small Israeli army made up mainly of guerillas held off and defeated the surrounding Arab armies • An even worse defeat came 19 years later in 1967 with the Six Days War. The Muslims call it… • An-Naksah– “The Setback” • Arabs lost faith in their dictators and began to feel that the Palestinian Liberation Organization was their best bet.

16. Religious leaders, like Khomeini, began to subtly preach that the Arab failures were due to the fact that the people were “bad” Muslims. The urged the people to rejoin the Islamic faith and purify themselves to begin to win. This is when Islamic jihad - based on the Qur’an, began to be encouraged.

17. Six years later, in 1973, the Arab countries whose dictators were backed by the USSR launched an attack on Israel • The Yom Kippur War • Israel was almost defeated until the U.S.A. came to her aid • The Islamic mantra became: • “Islam is the answer, and jihad is the way.” • The mantra of the Muslim Brotherhood: • “Allah is our objective • The Prophet is our leader • The Qur’an is our law • Jihad is our way • Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope”

18. Two types of Jihad • Greater Jihad – aka “inner jihad” – • This is the highest most important type of jihad • Spiritual and intellectual striving to do the will of Allah and abstain from sin and temptation • Lesser Jihad – aka “outer jihad” – • Violent, holy war used to punish infidels and expand the kingdom of Allah on earth • This is the jihad definition in the hadiths – sayings of Muhammad