Southwest Asia (The Middle East)

Turkey Syria Lebanon Iraq Iran Afghanistan Israel Kuwait Jordan Bahrain Saudi Arabia Qatar United Arab Emirates Oman Yemen Yemen

History All three religions of this region originated in Southwest Asia Judaism Christianity Islam All three religions are monotheistic Meaning you believe in only one god Each religion also has its own sacred text, or book, which stand at the center of their beliefs.

Judaism- facts Judaism is the oldest of the three religions. Its sacred book is called the Torah Part of the Hebrew Bible is made up of five books called the Torah which talk about Jewish laws and history The central belief for the Jewish people is that: they believe one day a human leader will come as a messenger from God and restore the greatness of Israel. This leader is called the messiah

Judaism- facts Also central to the Jewish religion are the ideas of justice and righteousness in dealing with people Justice- Righteousness- *Hanukkah and Passover are main holidays

Judaism- origin Abraham is considered the father of the Jewish people. God came to Abraham and told him to leave his home in Ur (today’s Iraq) and move his family to Canaan (today’s Israel), which he promised to Abraham and his descendents This is why Jews believe that Israel is considered their “promise land”. The Hebrews (Jewish people) lived in Canaan for many years but eventually… The Hebrew people began to migrate to Egypt- probably because of a famine in the area In Egypt they were forced into slavery by the Pharaoh. The Hebrews were eventually freed from slavery by Moses This was called the Exodus

Judaism- origins continued Moses -> Judaism- origins continued The Jewish people eventually made their way back to Canaan, but were forced off their land by invaders. This scattering of Jews outside of Israel is known as the Diaspora. The fight for Israel will continue for many years….. which we will come back to later!!!

Christianity- facts The Christian religion grew out Judaism. The holy book for the Christian religion is the Bible—made up OLD & NEW Testaments—Gospels are parts of the life of Jesus It is made up of two parts the Old Testament (which is very similar to the Hebrew Bible) and the New Testament (stories of the life and teachings of Jesus and the early history of the Christian religion) The central belief is: that Jesus died for our sins and will return one day to restore the greatness of Israel.

Christianity- origins Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem and raised a Jewish boy. At the age of 30 he began to teach ideas that challenged the authority of political and religious leaders He believed that the old laws should be replaced by a simpler system based on love of one’s fellow human beings The Jewish leaders fearing loss of power asked the Romans to arrest him Jesus was crucified (nailed to a cross) for speaking out against Jewish According to Christian belief Jesus rose from the dead 3 days later- resurrected- and appeared to his disciples

Christianity- origin con. After his resurrection, Jesus stayed with his 12 disciples (or apostles) to teach them so they could continue what he had started. 12 apostles spread Jesus’ word after he died As Christianity continued to spread and become popular the Roman leaders became worried. Christians were often arrested or killed for refusing to worship the gods of Rome; forcing many to practice the Christian religion in hiding.

Christianity- origin con. Though the religion was made illegal, it continued to grow and spread Eventually reaching members of the Roman Emperor himself- Constantine. 313 C.E.- Going into battle he had his soldiers fight with the Christian symbol- they won the battle. Shortly after Constantine he removed bans against the practice of Christianity and formed a council of Christian leaders to help unify the religion

Islam- Facts The Third religion to develop Its holy book is called the: Qur’an The central belief Allah is their God and Muhammad is the prophet & founder! The Five Pillars – Five main beliefs 1. Believe in only one God and Muhammad 2. Pray in the direction of Mecca 5 times a day 3. Give money to the poor 4. Fast during the holy month of Ramadan 5. Make a journey (Hajj) to Mecca (Saudi Arabia) at least once

Islam- origin Muhammad was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. At the age of 40 the angel Gabriel (a figure from the Hebrew Bible) appeared to Muhammad while he was praying in a cave The angel gave him messages from Allah, which he began spreading the teaching of Islam throughout parts of the Middle East.

Islam Branches There are TWO branches of Islam: Sunni: 90% of the world Muslims, DO NOT believe you have to be related to Muhammad to be a supreme leader Shia: 10% of the world Muslim population, DO BELIEVE you have to be related to Muhammad to be a supreme leader (tend to be more strict)

The majority of people living in the Middle East (Southwest Asia) follow ISLAM.

Since all 3 major monotheistic religions originated in the Middle East…what are some problems that could arise because of this?