North Africa/Southwest Asia

Note that this realm is at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

What civilizations emerged in this realm?
Mesopotamian, Nile (Egyptian)

Defining the Realm

Why is the "Dry World" a misleading moniker for this realm?
Most of the poplation live where there is water available. The Tell, rivers, oases.

 Why is "Arab World" a misleading moniker for this realm?
Turks, Israelis, Iranians do not speak Arabic.

Memorize the Major Geographic Qualities of the Realm

Why is "Islamic World" a misleading moniker for this realm?
Islam extends outside the realm and is not the only religion within the realm: Christianity, Judaism too

Why is "Middle East" a misleading moniker for this realm?
Name is based on a European perspective.

Hearths of Culture

Note the historical and pre-historical significance of this realm.
Home of early humans, site of early plant and animal domestication, site of early irrigation technology, site of origin for Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.

What are culture hearths? Locate the realm's two hearths on the map on p 231.

Mesopotamia and the Nile Valley
"crucibles of civilization, sources of ideas, innovations, and ideologies that changed regions and realms."

Stage for Islam

Note the great world religions that emerged in this realm.
Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.

Learn the historical development of Islam and its precepts.

What are the 5 Pillars?
creed, daily prayer, Ramadan, almsgiving, pilgrimage

How is Islam an example of spatial diffusion?
Islam spread out of western Arabia to cover much of the region and beyond.

Islam Divided

What events brought about the two major divisions of Islam?
Muhammad's death; Shi'ites wanted blood succession, Sunnis didn't feel that blood succession was necessary.

How are the Sunni and Shia versions different?
Sunni: these reserved Muslims rely on family and community
Shi'ites: Fervent followers who seek Islamic states

When and where did Shi'ism gain unprecedented influence most recently?
Iran

Why does Bin Laden disapprove of Saudi Arabia’ s leadership?
He believes oil wealth and economic cooperation with US has led the country away from its Islamic roots.

  What is Wahhabism?  Where and when were its roots?
A strict, traditional practice of Islam that was promoted by Abd al-Wahhab in the 1700s.  Because of al-Wahhab's alliance with the Saud family, Wahhabism became the official form of Islam when the modern kingdom of Saudi Arabia was established in 1932.

How is fundamentalism at the root of the conflict between the Western and Islamic worlds?
Islamic fundamentalism seeks a society controlled by the faith as opposed to the secular liberal societies of the Western World.

Figure 7-6 Learn and look at the spread of the Ottoman Empire.
Turkish based Muslims spread into SE Europe (Balkans) 1300s-1500.

What was its duration? When was its height?
Height = 1522-1560; duration of more than 4 centuries

Look at Figure 7-7 and learn the European powers that colonized the Ottoman Empire during the early 1900s.
Britain, France, Italy, Austria, Russia, Persia

Who drew the boundary lines?  French, Italians, Austrians, and British, including Winston Churchill. How have they caused problems?   Boundaries were poorly marked.  They sometimes ignored  physical features and cultural regions.  This created the  potential for conflicts among Arab groups.

The Power and Peril of Oil

Summarize this section's first 3 paragraphs.
Oil represents wealth for minority, majority depend on soil and water as farmers.  Oil has increased tension between tradition and Western development values

Locate the "three discontinuous zones" of petroleum on Figure 7-8
Algeria to Egypt; Mesopotamia; Caspian Sea to former USSR's Islamic republics

What % of known reserves are in the realm?
>65%

Who are the “Big Five”?
Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Iran

How are the geometric political boundaries drawn by the Europeans a problem with regard to petroleum reserves?
Boundaries were drawn before oil was discovered.  Uneven distribution of oil = uneven distribution of wealth

Learn the 7 impacts of oil on the realm.
High incomes, Modernization, Industrialization, Intra-realm migration, Inter-realm migration, Regional disparities, Foreign investment

How old is the modern state of Israel? Why is Jerusalem a "crucible of confrontation"?
54 years; Judaism, Islam, and Christianity all claim the city as a sacred site

You are on your own for the Regions of the Realm section. I haven’t written any questions.  I want you to focus on the Middle East and Empire States sections, and the short section on Afghanistan p. 261-263. Read each section closely.