WHY IS THE MIDDLE EAST THE WAY IT IS?

1. WHY IS THE MIDDLE EAST THE WAY IT IS? FOUNDATIONS OF THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST AFTER WORLD WAR I

2. CHARACTERISTICS OF MODERN MIDDLE EAST • GREAT WEALTH (GULF STATES) OR GREAT POVERTY • RELIES ON EXPORT OF RESOURCES – Little manufacturing • UNDEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENTS (DICTATORSHIPS OR ONE-PARTY STATES) • “FAILED STATES” and “ROGUE STATES” • RISE OF MILITANT ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM • CONFLICT AND STRIFE – “HOLY HOT SPOTS” • BORDERS ARE GEOMETRIC, NOT NATURAL

3. MODERN MIDDLE EAST TAKES SHAPE DURING AND AFTER WORLD WAR I

4. WORLD WAR I – DECLINING OTTOMAN EMPIRE (“Sick man of Europe”) SIDES WITH GERMANY DEFEATS INVASION AT GALLIPOLI MASSACRE OF CHRISTIAN ARMENIANS

5. ARABS REVOLT • “LAWRENCE OF ARABIA” – British agent, helps organize Arab tribes • BRITISH PROMISE ARABS INDEPENDENCE After the war

6. Just kidding. British and French divide up most Arab lands from Ottoman empire after the war. SYKES-PICOT AGREEMENT

7. TREATY OF SEVRES – 1920Allies propose to break up the Ottoman empire. Christian Greece and Armenia get territory, Kurdistan to be independent.

8. TREATY OF LAUSANNE - 1923 • Oops, jk again! • Turks under General Ataturk defeat Greece, expel Greeks from Anatolia, and proclaim republic. New treaty has to be signed recognizing Turkish republic under Ataturk.

9. TURKEY MODERNIZES UNDER ATATURK • Ataturk’s laws: • Replaces Arabic alphabet with Western • Bans wearing traditional dress like men’s fez or women’s headscarves • All marriages must be civil • Army, schools strengthened • Manufacturing introduced • LEGACY: Today, Turkey REALLY REALLY WANTS to join European Union; is only Muslim country allied to Israel.

10. Iran becomes a Shi’ite nation under the Safavid dynasty, 1521-1722. Shi’ite Islam becomes the state religion, with a formal hierarchy of clergy. In 1906, the weak kings are overthrown and a parliament (majlis) established. Oil already discovered in Persian Gulf. The kingdom is a pawn of Britain and Russia through spheres of influence and extraterritoriality. PERSIA BECOMES INDEPENDENT IRAN

11. THE SHAHS • Reza Shah Pahlavi stages a coup in 1921, strengthens central authority, begins modernization, builds railroads. • Under his son Mohammed, (right) Iran becomes an ally of the U.S. in the Cold War.

12. A NEW COUNTRY – SAUDI ARABIA • A powerful Sheik, Saud ibn Abdul-Aziz, unites Bedouin tribes in alliance with strict WahhabiMuslims – the Ikhwan. • Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is created in 1926. • Oil discovered in 1930s. • US forms alliance during World War II.

13. NEW COUNTRY CREATED - IRAQ

14. “MESSPOT” • British put Iraq together, partly to secure oil near Mosul in north. • Hope to control it with Indian troops • Lots of revolts and problems; British reportedly gas Kurdish villages • British pull out in 1930, leaving a monarchy

15. PALESTINE • Jewish settlers hoped to establish homeland for their people in Palestine (Zionism). Bought mostly waste land from locals under Ottoman law. • By World War I, local Arabs were already beginning to clash with the settlers, who used only their own labor. • However, more Arabs were moving in to the territory because the general economy was improving.

16. BALFOUR DECLARATION • BRITISH APPEAR TO PROMISE ZIONISTS A FUTURE HOMELAND IN PALESTINE AFTER THE WAR • BID TO ENCOURAGE AMERICAN JEWS TO SUPPORT THE WAR

17. McMAHON AGREEMENT • Hoping to get the Arabs’ support against Turks, British officials appear to promise them Palestine also. Woops!

18. "Sir Henry McMahon (1862-1949), British High Commissioner in Cairo, negotiated in 1915-16 with Husain Ibn Ali, the Sherif of Mecca. The British government promised to support his bid for the restoration of the Caliphate (and leadership in the Arab world)...." October 24, 1915. I have received your letter of the 29th Shawal, 1333, with much pleasure and your expression of friendliness and sincerity have given me the greatest satisfaction. I regret that you should have received from my last letter the impression that I regarded the question of limits and boundaries with coldness and hesitation; such was not the case, but it appeared to me that the time had not yet come when that question could be discussed in a conclusive manner. I have realised, however, from your last letter that you regard this question as one of vital and urgent importance. I have, therefore, lost no time in informing the Government of Great Britain of the contents of your letter, and it is with great pleasure that I communicate to you on their behalf the following statement, which I am confident you will receive with satisfaction. - The two districts of Mersina and Alexandretta and portions of Syria lying to the west of the districts of Damascus, Homs, Hama.and Aleppo cannot be said to be purely Arab, and should be excluded from the limits demanded. With the above modification, and without prejudice to our existing treaties with Arab chiefs, we accept those limits. As for those regions lying within those frontiers wherein Great Britain is free to act without detriment to the interests of her ally, France, I am empowered in the name of the Government of Great Britain to give the following assurances and make the following assurances and make the following reply to your letter: (1) Subject to the above modifications, Great Britain is prepared to recognise and support the independence of the Arabs in all the regions within the limits demanded by the Sherif of Mecca. (2) Great Britain will guarantee the Holy Places against all external aggression and will recognise their inviolability. (3) When the situation admits, Great Britain will give to the Arabs her advice and will assist them to establish what may appear to be the most suitable forms of government those various territories. (4) On the other hand, it is understood that the Arabs have decided to seek the advice and guidance of Great Britain only, and that such European advisers and officials as may be required for the formation of a sound form of administration will be British. (5) With regard to the vilayets of Bagdad and Basra, the Arabs will recognise that the established position and interests of Great Britain necessitate special administrative arrangements in order to secure these territories from foreign aggression to promote the welfare of the local populations and to safeguard our mutual economic interests. I am convinced that this declaration will assure you beyond all possible doubt of the sympathy of Great Britain towards the aspirations of her friends the Arabs and will result in a firm and lasting alliance, the immediate results of which will be the expulsion of the Turks from the Arab countries and the freeing of the Arab peoples from the Turkish yoke, which for so many years has pressed heavily upon them. (Signed): A. HENRY MCMAHON.