Chapter 18 Section Two The Arabian Peninsula

The Countries of the Arabian Peninsula

Saudi Arabia Largest country on the Arabian Peninsula Saudi Flag Largest country on the Arabian Peninsula Nearly all Saudi’s are Arabs and speak Arabic About 85% are Sunni Muslims, the rest are Shia, and a small amount are others

Islam Islam is a religion founded in Saudi Arabia by Muhammad Islam is based on messages Muslims believe God gave to Muhammad These messages are written in the Qur’an – the holy book of Islam

Islamic Traditions Islam requires modesty Saudi’s keep arms and legs covered Saudi laws and customs limit women’s activities

Muslims Shia: Type of Islam Sunni: Type of Islam Believe the true interpretation of Islamic teaching can only come from certain religious and political leaders called imams Sunni: Type of Islam Believe the ability of the majority of the community to interpret Islamic teachings

Muslim Contributions to Math Introduced the numeric system to Europe Developed Algebra Made advances in geometry Used math to study astronomy and physics Calculated longitude and latitude Defined ratios

Government Monarchy Saud family rules since 1932 Most government officials are relatives of the king No elected legislature Local officials elected Only men allowed to vote

Economy Economy based on oil (world’s leading exporter of oil) Oil accounts for 91% of Saudi Arabia’s exports Influential member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC OPEC is and international organization whose members work to influence the price of oil on world markets by controlling the supply

Oil

Economic Challenges Oil has brought wealth Sizable middle class Free health care and education Must import much of its food because freshwater for farming is scarce Desalination plants remove salt from sea water, but this requires an extremely expensive procedure

Economic Challenges High unemployment rate High population growth rate Many young Saudi’s study religion instead of technology

Economic Challenges From National Geographic In the desert near the border with Iraq, a Bedouin father pauses to play with his children. Throughout Saudi Arabia, Bedouin ways and Islamic traditions are passed down from parent to child. Although clan and creed helped create the nation of Saudi Arabia, they may not be sufficient to sustain it. Far more Saudi students now graduate with degrees in theology than in engineering, which leaves the government with a massive challenge: how to train a labor force for the jobs of tomorrow in a culture that's focused intensely on its past.

Kuwait Oil based economy Invaded by Iraq in 1990, starting the Persian Gulf War Monarchy with a legislature elected in 1992

Bahrain Group of islands in the Persian Gulf Monarchy with a legislature Oil As oil began to run out, banking, and tourism became more important

Qatar Small peninsula off the Persian Gulf Powerful monarch with elected officials Oil and natural gas

The United Arab Emirates Seven tiny kingdoms Depends on foreign workers; outnumber citizens Oil and natural gas https://youtu.be/v5s5fv1m7BY

Oil Wealth

Oman Most of the southeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula Government attempting to develop new industries oil

Yemen Southwestern part of Arabian Peninsula Elected government with political corruption Oil Poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula

Iraq World’s first civilization was in Mesopotamia, a region that is part of Iraq today 500s BC. – Persian’s conquered Mesopotamia 331 BC. – it was part of the empire of Alexander the Great AD 600s – conquered by Arabs 1500s – became part of the Ottoman Empire

History During World War 1, Great Britain took over the region Iraqi army officers overthrew the government in 1950s After 1968, Bath party took power 1979: Saddam Hussein became Iraq’s president He controlled the media, restricted personal freedoms, and killed political enemies

Invasions 1980: Iraq invaded Iran. The war lasted until 1988 1990: Iraq invaded Kuwait 1991: An alliance of countries led by the U.S. forced Iraqis out of Kuwait: Persian Gulf War https://youtu.be/If71ek0iSIQ Saddam would not accept all of the United Nations (UN) peace terms UN placed and embargo, or limit on trade, on Iraq

Effects Soon after, Saddam crushed two rebellions from Shia Muslims and Kurds Iraq refused to cooperate with UN inspectors over weapons production Sept. 11 attacks led to more tension with the United States 2003: U.S. attacked Iraq. The Iraqi army was defeated and Saddam was captured and later executed

Ethnic Groups Population: 26 million 75% Arabs, speak Arabic 15 – 20 % Kurds Mostly farmers and live in northern Iraq Speak Arabic and Kurdish

Religion Nearly all Iraqis are Muslim About 60% are Shia and live in the south About 35% are Sunni and live in the north

Electricity, water, schools, homes, and businesses need to be restored Rebuilding Government Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, was severely damaged during the war with the U.S. Electricity, water, schools, homes, and businesses need to be restored 2005: first democratic elections Members elected to a national assembly New constitution written

Economy Trying to recover oil production Producing, barley, cotton, rice Facing huge challenges in creating a free and prosperous society ISIS The rise of ISIS, explained in 6 minutes

Iran Starting in the 500s BC the Persian Empire ruled the region around present day Iran For centuries Persia was the center for art and learning Known for paintings Carpets, Metalwork architecture

History The Persian Empire was later conquered by several Muslim empires The Persians converted to Islam, but kept their Persian culture In 1921: An Iranian military officer took power and claimed the old Persian title of shah, or king 1941: The shah’s son took control and tried to modernize Iran

Revolution 1978: Iranian’s began a revolution, or drastic change in a country’s government and way of life 1979: the shah is overthrown and Iran becomes an Islamic republic, following strict Islamic law Relations with the U.S. broke down 50 Americans were taken hostage for over a year https://youtu.be/A8bC1DEYbI4

Iran Today More than half of all Iranians are Persian and speak Farsi Population of 68 million Ethnic groups include Persians, Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Arabs, and Turks Most belong to the Shia branch of Islam Culture includes close knit families and respect for elders Tehran a bustling city of opportunity Tehran, Iran’s capital

Iran Today Huge oil reserves Beautiful woven carpets Economy Government Huge oil reserves Beautiful woven carpets Strong agricultural sector Theocracy: a government ruled by religious leaders Religious leaders, or ayatollahs, control Iran’s government The head of the ayatollahs has unlimited power Iran has an elected president and a parliament

Current Policies Called for the destruction of Israel Supported terrorist groups in other countries such as Yemen Since 1997, women are gaining more rights Page 452