CULTURES OF SOUTHWEST ASIA SS7G8: The student will describe the diverse cultures of the people who live in Southwest Asia

ELEMENTS Students will explain the differences between an ethnic group and a religious group Explain the diversity of religions within the Arabs, Persians and Kurds  Compare and contrast the prominent religions in Southwest Asia : Judaism, Islam and Christianity  Explain the reasons for the division between the Sunni and Shia Muslims  Evaluate how the literacy rate affects the standard of living

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS What is the difference between an ethnic group and a religious group? How are the religions of the Arabs, Persians, and Kurds diverse? What are the similarities and differences between Judaism, Islam, and Christianity? What is the reason for the division between Sunni and Shia Muslims? How does literacy rate affect the standard of living?

Ethnic Groups and Religious Groups Southwest Asia is home to a lot of diversity and cultures. People show their culture in many ways A person’s culture can come in their ethnicity Ethnic group Identified based on race, color, national origin or customs A person’s culture can come from their religion Religious group Identified based on religious beliefs and practices

Ethnic Groups in Southwest Asia Kurds Reside in Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq Started out by being semi-nomadic Most Kurds practice Islam, some are Jewish and Christian Share their culture with the people of Iran Arabs Make up most of the population of Southwest Asia Speak their native language of Arabic Most Arabs practice Islam Persians Reside in Iran and make up half of the country’s population Speak Persian or Farsi languages Most Persians practice Islam, small part are Jewish and Christian Very strict laws on women in their group

Religions of Southwest Asia There are three major religious groups in Southwest Asia All three religions are based around monotheism Means that there is only one God Many wars are fought in this region because people take their religion very seriously

JUDAISM Began about 1800 years ago Beliefs are routed in Abraham and Moses as prophets and all Jews are awaiting the Messiah, called Yahweh The sacred book is called the Torah The Old Testament in the Bible Most Jews live in Israel 2% of SW Asia follows Judaism Some of the sacred places are the Jerusalem temple, Hebron, Palestine and the burial place of Abraham

ISLAM Started by the prophet Muhammad in the 7th Century Beliefs based on Abraham and Moses as the original prophets and that Muhammad is the last prophet Allah is the messiah and one true God The teachings are based in the Quran (Koran) The sacred places include Mecca and Medina and Jerusalem 90% of the population of SW Asia practices Islam

CHRISTIANITY Began with the birth of Christ in the 1st century Beliefs based on Abraham and Moses as prophets The messiah is Jesus, the son of God The teachings are based in the Bible Old and New Testaments Sacred places include the Holy Land in Israel 4% of SW Asia are Christian

Practicing Islam and Judaism

SUNNI MUSLIMS vs. SHIA MUSLIMS 90% of the Muslim population is Sunni Follow the customs of Muhammad Belief that leadership should be based on the community of Muslims 10% of Muslim population are Shias Follow the customs of Ali, Muhammad’s relative Belief that Ali is the new leadership of Islam and should be followed

SW Asia and the Standard of Living The area of Southwest Asia has had a very low literacy rate Percentage of adults who can read and write Best literacy rates reside in the countries of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria and Israel Israel has the highest at 97% Literacy rates drop due to a lack of education for children due to constant fighting between countries Because literacy rates drop, it effects the standard of living for citizens The financial health of a nation measured by how much that nation consumes The better a country reads = the more successful the country