Southwest Asia

People and their Environment

Arabs

• Arabs: people in different countries who share a common culture and language

• Confusions

– Began when Arabs migrated throughout world– Spread their language and religion

Arabs-cont.

• 75% of the people who live in SW Asia are Arab

• All Muslims are not Arab– Only 25% of world’s Muslims live in SW Asia

• All Arabs are not Muslim– Arabs practice many religions

• Islam, Christianity, Judaism

Diversity of SW Asian People

• Migration and conquest contributed to diversity of people

• Ethnic Groups– Persians (Iranians), Greeks, Turks, Mongols

• Left their language and customs in the region

• Other ethnic groups– Armenians, Jews, Kurds, Africans

Diversity of SW Asian People-cont.

• Languages

– Armenian, Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew, Greek, Kurdish, Aramaic, Persian (Farsi), English, French

• Religions

– Christianity, Islam, Judaism

The Divided Muslim Population

• Muslims: people who practice Islam (religion)

– Makes up 90% of people living in SW Asia

• Muslim sects (different groups of Muslims)

– Sunni– Shiite

Creation of Israel

• Jewish people had been persecuted in Europe for centuries

• Israel created as a homeland for Jewish people in Palestine

– Created after WW II– Created in 1948

Adaptation to an Arid Environment

• Technologies developed to address issue of limited fresh water

– Irrigation (ancient technology)– Desalination (modern technology)– Fertigation (modern technology)– Breeding of plants to survive arid conditions

(modern technology)

Nomad Adaptations

• Nomad: person who moves from one place to another in search of food and water for animals

• Ways nomads adapted to arid environment

– Lived in small groups– Moved at certain seasons of the year– Followed well planned routes to places where animals could

graze– Skilled at finding water– Used all parts of animal– Traded goods with settled people

An Urbanized SW Asia

• Urban/urbanized: city life

• Reasons for population growth in SW Asia– Centers for business, trade, and culture– Better job and educational opportunities– More exciting daily life

• Countries with large urbanized populations– Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Israel

Key Vocabulary

• Islam: religion of Muslim people

• Sects: different groups of a particular category

• Holocaust: mass murder of Jewish population by Nazi Germany during WW II

Key Vocabulary-cont.

• Desalination: changing salty sea water into fresh water that can be used for drinking and irrigation

– Saudi Arabia built factories

• Fertigation: feeding water and fertilizer directly to roots of crops to prevent water evaporation

– Pioneered by Israel

Key Vocabulary-cont.

• Sown land: land that can support agriculture

– Found where rainfall is adequate

• Plains, river valleys, mountain sides

• Desert land: dry land that doesn’t support agriculture