Middle East Countries

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Muhammad—Prophet of Islamic Religion Islam is believed by Muslims to be the unaltered original monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. Muhammad united Arabia into a single Muslim polity and ensured that his teachings, practices, and the Quran, formed the basis of Islamic religious belief.

After Muhammad’s death When Muhammad died, there were questions as to who should be his successor, how they should be elected, conditions of legitimacy and the role of successor. Answers to these questions have led to several divisions in the Muslim community since the first century of Muslim history, giving rise to the Sunni, Shia and Khawarij schools.

Sunni and Shia divisions in the Middle East-Shia is the red part, Sunni is the yellow part.

Major Products

Cyprus *Officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean and the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean. *The main two ethnic groups there are Greek and Turkish.

Turkey *After the Ottoman Empire collapsed at the end of WWI, the Allies (guys who won) were in charge of Turkey until the Turkish War of Independence (1919– 1922). After this ended it led to the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. *Turkey is a Constitutional Republic with a Parliament.

Syria *The modern Syrian state was established after the end of centuries of Ottoman control in World War I as a French mandate, and remained that until 1946. * Since March 2011, Syria has been embroiled in an uprising against Assad and the Ba'athist government as part of the Arab Spring, a crackdown that contributed to the Syrian Civil War and to Syria's becoming one of the most violent countries in the world

Jordan In September 1922, the Council of the League of Nations recognized Transjordan as a state under the British Mandate for Palestine. Transjordan remained a British mandate until 1946. *In 1946 after WWII, the Emirate of Transjordan became "The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and also became a Monarchy with a Prime Minister.

Lebanon *The region that is now Lebanon was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1918. Following the collapse of the empire after World War I, the five provinces that constitute modern Lebanon came under the French Mandate of Lebanon. *Lebanon gained independence in 1943, establishing confessionalism, a unique, Consociationalism- type of political system with a power-sharing mechanism based on religious communities

Egypt *Egypt has among the longest histories of any modern country, emerging as one of the world's first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. *Egypt was a province of the Ottoman Empire until 1914 when it was declared a British protectorate. In 1919 the Egyptians revolted against the British control and in 1923 Egypt set up it’s own government with a Parliament.

Saudi Arabia *The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud. Saudi Arabia has since been an absolute monarchy, effectively a hereditary dictatorship governed along Islamic lines. *Arabia is the world's largest oil producer and exporter, controlling the world's second largest oil reserves, and the sixth largest gas reserves. *"There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet."

Israel *The modern state of Israel was born in 1947 when the United Nations voted to establish a Jewish homeland. The surrounding Arab nations were not in agreement with this and Israel has been at war since the first day she existed. Efforts to resolve the Israeli– Palestinian conflict have not resulted in peace. However, peace treaties between Israel and both Egypt and Jordan have successfully been signed. Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories is the world's longest military occupation in modern times

Iraq *The region in Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known as Mesopotamia, is often referred to as the cradle of civilization. It was here that mankind first began to read, write, create laws, and live in cities under an organized government. *Iraq has belonged to many different groups (Ottomans, British..). There has been war in Iraq since the turn of the century.

Current situation: *The pink part is controlled by the Iraqi government. *The gray part is controlled by ISIS *The yellow part is controlled by Iraqi Kurds.

Iran *Beginning in 633 AD, Arabs conquered Iran and largely displaced the indigenous faiths by Islam. Iran became a major contributor to the Islamic Golden Age that followed, producing many influential scientists, scholars, artists, and thinkers. *The Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906, established a constitutional monarchy which was overthrown in 1953 with the help of the US and UK. Iran was pro American for a time, but the 1979 Revolution and the established an Islamic republic.

Yemen *Yemen is a developing country, and the poorest country in the Middle East. *Yemen has been in a state of political crisis since 2011, starting with street protests against poverty, unemployment and corruption.

Oman *Oman is an absolute monarchy. The Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said has been the hereditary leader of the country since 1970. Sultan Qaboos is the longest- serving current ruler in the Middle East, and sixth-longest current reigning monarch in the world.

United Arab Emirates *Emirate is the lands of a Muslim Ruler. *The UAE is a federation of seven emirates, and was established on December 2, 1971. The constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi (which serves as the capital), Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain. Each emirate is governed by an absolute monarch; together, they jointly form the Federal Supreme Council. One of the monarchs is selected as the President of the United Arab Emirates. *Emirate is the lands of a Muslim Ruler.

Qatar *Following Ottoman rule, Qatar became a British protectorate in the early 20th century until gaining independence in 1971. *Qatar is a hereditary monarchy *Qatar is a high income economy and is a developed country, backed by the world's third largest natural gas reserves and oil reserves. The country has the highest per capita income in the world.

Kuwait Kuwait is a constitutional emirate with a semi- democratic political system. It has a high income economy backed by the world's sixth largest oil reserves. The Kuwaiti dinar is the highest valued currency in the world *In 1990, Kuwait was invaded by Iraq. The Iraqi occupation came to an end in 1991 after military intervention by coalition forces.

Bahrain *It is a small Arab monarchy in the Persian Gulf. It is an island country consisting of a small archipelago centered around Bahrain Island. *In 1971, Bahrain declared independence from the British Protectorate. Formerly a state, Bahrain was declared a Kingdom in 2002.

Afghanistan *Afghanistan became a buffer state in the "Great Game" between British India and the Russian Empire. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, King Amanullah unsuccessfully attempted to modernize the country. It remained peaceful during Zahir Shah's forty years of monarchy. A series of coups in the 1970s was followed by a series of civil wars that devastated much of Afghanistan and continues to this day.