Background: Middle East

2. Background: Middle East • Geographic position at the junction • Africa, Asia, and Europe

3. Background: Middle East • Origin of the 3 monotheistic religions • Judaism, Christianity, and Islam • largest reserves of petroleum in the world • Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries • non-Arab nations • Turkey, Israel, and Iran

4. Background: Islam • 2nd largest religion in the world • some 1 billion adherents • from West Africa to Indonesia • most Muslims are outside of the Middle East • most Muslims are not Arabs

5. Islam and Muslim • Islam literally means “submission” to God • Muslim literally means “one who submits” • recognize that there is only one God (Allah) • reject other gods or “associates” of God • His appointed messengers • Jesus and the Old Testament prophet • 7th century Arab prophet Muhammad

6. Central tenet of Islam • Muslim declaration of faith • “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His prophet” • e.g.: Saudi flag

7. Muslim Declaration of Faith • Flag of Iran • Flag of Iraq • “God is great”

8. The 5 pillars of Islam • The Muslim declaration of faith • plus 4 ritual obligations that faithful Muslims perform to the best of their ability

9. The 5 pillars of Islam • plus 4 ritual obligations that faithful Muslims perform to the best of their ability • prayer 5 times a day, facing the holy shrine of Kaaba in Mecca • give alms to charity • fast in daylight hours in the month of Ramadan • make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in life

10. The Koran (Qur’an) • written record of Muhammad’s revelations • said to be the exact word of God • a source of authority for religious truth • provide detailed rules by which the righteous can guide their daily lives with little dependence on the old sources of authority such as tribe and lineage

11. Sunnis and Shi’is • 2 major branches of Islam • differ mostly over who should have succeeded the Prophet Muhammad in 632 • Sunnis • literally mean “followers of tradition” • Shi’is • literally mean “partisans” of Ali • less than 10% of Muslims worldwide

12. Sunnis and Shi’is

13. Spread of Islam: 1500

14. Ottoman Empire

16. British & French rule: 1800s • Geopolitical rivalries instead of economic prizes

17. British & French mandates

18. Independence • By 1950 most countries in Middle East had achieved independence • Syria and Lebanon gained independence from French rule during World War II • Iraq and Transjordan gained nominal independence from Britain’s indirect rule • British protectorate in Egypt ended • continued Western economic and strategic interests in the region

19. Drive for self-determination • Direct European political control declined • Britain installed kings in Jordan and Iraq • economic dependence & independence • e.g. Iran’s attempt to nationalize British-owned petroleum company failed in 1951 • e.g. O.P.E.C. quadrupled oil prices in 1973

20. Cold War • Superpower, regional, and internal struggles • influence of U.S. and Soviet Union

21. Overthrow the monarchy • Kings perceived to be pro-Western, corrupt, and ineffective were overthrown by nationalist revolutions • 1952 revolt of the Free Officers in Egypt • 1958 revolution in Iraq killed King & P.M. • 1979 revolution in Iran led by Khomeini • exceptions: Jordan and Saudi Arabia

22. Arab nationalism • Physical, ethnic, religious, and cultural bridges across the national boundaries that were arbitrarily drawn by Europeans • pan-Arab movement • launched by Nasser of Egypt in 1958 • proposed unification with Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, and the Sudan at one time or another • governments suspected Nasser’s motives

23. Egypt under Nasser (1954-1970) • Arab nationalism & Arab socialism • Nasser’s particular vision of Arab socialism • socialism of secular Islam, not Marxist • nationalization of basic industries • elimination of foreign ownership • hospitals, mosques, and schools in villages • mass public participation in politics

24. Egypt after Nasser (1970-) • Nasser’s successors • Sadat (-1981) • Mubarak

25. 3 leadership styles • traditional leadership • legitimacy from historical forces and traditional practices • no substitute for effective policy • can not protect ineffective ruler forever • charismatic leadership • unique personal characters in a crisis • bureaucratic leadership

26. Baath Party • Arab Socialist Resurrection Party • Baath: to recover past Arab greatness • at once a political party, political philosophy, and political movement • ultimate goal of Arab unity through nationalism, socialism, and pan-Arabism • supporters among intellectuals and military of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq

28. Baathism in Syria and Iraq • Since 1963 Baath Party has successfully maintained itself in power in Syria • and until recently in Iraq • in Syria Baathist support came largely from the civilian sector • in Iraq Baathist power mainly in the military

29. Baathism in Syria and Iraq • both Syria and Iraq were in the forefront of supporting Palestinian organizations • In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel

30. Baathism in Syria and Iraq • Baathist regimes in Syria and Iraq • were often at head-on disputes • despite ostensible commitment to Arab unity • relatively long and potent nationalist feeling • Iraq and Syria split forcefully • during the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988 • during the Gulf War of 1991

31. Islam and politics • Pan-Arabism, Baathism, and traditional systems all stressed the importance of Islam • common source of tradition and identity • Islam conceived of in politically secular terms

32. Islam and politics • existence of Muslim society as desirable reality • reject the idea of an Islamic state based on the Koran and Islamic tradition • there are exceptions to the professed secularism