A+-+The+Modern+Middle+East+-+Oil,+Religion,+Threats+to+Stability

The Modern Middle East - Oil, Religion, Threats to Stability The Middle East consists of the nations of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Israel/Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Yemen Qatar, Bahrain, and Cyprus. The Middle East is mostly Muslims, but has ethnic and religious minorities such as Jews.

The Kurdish people were a large ethnic group in the middle east. Europeans divided the region into the countries of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The Kurds were faced with harsh rules and in the 70s groups of Kurds began to rebel. Thousands died in the rebellions in 1991 Turkey legalized Kurdish language in public and the rebellions ended. Tensions are still high. After the Gulf War Kurds in Iraq rebelled and set up their own government in North Iraq with U.S. support. After the Holocaust the UN set up a homeland for Jews in Palestine. Which upset the Arabs in the area.. 1948 Jews made the state of Israel. Arab states attacked Israel, but were defeated by Israel. After the wars Jews began to migrate to Israel so they would feel safe. This created a refugee problem in both Palestine and Israel.
 * Diversity Brings Challenges: Kurdish Turkey, Israel**
 * Israel**

=Conflicts Over Resources and Religion= Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) The members are Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, UAE. Founded in the 1960s. Massive oil and gas reserves in the middle east.

In the 1970s Muslim leaders wanted Islamic law back. Islamists blame social and economic of western models. They argue that a renewed commitment to The country of Saudi Arabia doctrine is the only way to fix the regions problems. The Islamic movement appeals to to other Muslims some use violence to pursue their goals but many oppose violence.

=Building Nations in the Middle East; Egypt and Iran=
 * Egypt** has the largest population in the middle east. Mostly in Nile river valley . Shares border with Israel and owns the Suez canal. Ganel Abdul Nasser seized power in Egypt. Stopped western domination nationalized Suez Canal in 1956, ending British and French control. British and France responded militarily but the United States and Soviet Union told them to withdraw. Anwar Sadat became first Arab Leader to make peace with Israel. Sadat decided to strengthened ties with the U.S. and weakened Soviet Unions connections. But fundamentalists assassinated him because he didn't end corupption and poverty. But when Hosni Mubarak took over extremists turned to terrorist attacks.

=Oil/Religion/Threats to Stability= The country of Saudi Arabia is a __//** theocracy **//__, a country ruled by religious leaders. It is a vast dessert land that holds the worlds largest oil reserves. Saudi Arabia is mostly Muslim and since the 1920s the country has been ruled by the kings from the family of Sa' Ud. The Sa' Ud family have justified their rule with their commitment to the Wahabi sect of Sunni Islam.

After World War II Saudi Arabia's economic development as a whole depended on their oil exports to the western Nations. To build support in the country the royal family supported and backed fundamentalist religious leaders. Those religious leaders rejected the Arabs' close ties to the western nations because they considered the western influences on the kingdom a violation on Islamic principles. These resentment in years to come evolved into violent terrorist attacks on the west.

=Arab-Israeli Fighting= Israel was established in 1948 due to the United Nations Partition Plan. Palestinians rejected the state of Israel. Since 1948 the year of the creation of Israel three wars occurred in 1956, 1967, and 1973. In all of the wars Israel has won. the United states is the diplomat trying to bring peace. After 1967 Israel claimed parts of Jordan, Syria, and Egypt. After the war of 1973 Israel began to build settlements in the occupied territories. The Palestinian Liberation Organization(PLO) was formed and the PLO began to attack Israeli troops and citizens. Israel responded by sealing off towns and destroying the houses of terrorists and their families. Israel made peace with Egypt in 1979 and in 1994 Jordan made peace with Israel. Attempts were made at peace with Syria but they failed. In 1993 Israel and the PLO began talks and signed the Oslo Accord which would give Palestine the Gaza and West Bank and the PLO recognized Israel's right to exist, also pledged to stop terrorist attacks. However in 2000 terrorist attacks happened so Israel demanded the removal of the leader who said he would stop the attacks. Many obstacles they face towards peace are Land Claims Palestinians believe they should be able to settle anywhere in Israel.The second obstacle is Israeli settlements in occupied territories. The final obstacle is __//** Jerusalem ﻿ **//__ the holy city of both Jews and Muslims both Palestine and Israel both say they have a right to be in the city.Most Arabs don't recognize Israel has a right to exist. A new try at peace was made in the early 2000s the United States began talks again where Israel and Palestine could co-exist. Israel withdrew from Gaza. This didn't do very much towards peace but it was a step. In 2005 Mahmoud Abbas was elected in Palestine and he pledged to stop Palestinian terrorist attacks. Israel released over 100 of Palestinian prisoners.

=Civil War in Lebanon= Lebanon is a very diverse country. It is home to many different ethnic and religious g

Religious tensions plunged Lebanon into a civil war during the year 1975. The christian and Muslim groups both created militias, armed groups of citizen soldiers, and each other. Israel and Syria both invaded Lebanon to stop cross-border attacks. Israel invaded the south and Syria invaded from the East. The civil war finally ended in 1990 and soon the capital city, Beirut, rebuilt and economic growth onc e again prospered. Despite the success in economic growth, different divisions of Muslims and Christians still remained in the diverse population. Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000 and Syria withdrew from Lebanon in 2005.

=Iraq's Long History of Conflict= Conflict due partly to its oil wealth and ethnic diversity U.S. and Soviet Union competed for Iraqs friendship for oil. After WWll Iraq was close friends to U.S. But after it was overthrown in 1958 the Iraqi became closer to the Soviet Union.During the 1970's, Kurds took up arms to fight for power over the homeland in northern Iraq. Iraq's government violently. In 1979, Saddam Hussein took over in Iraq and ruled as dictator. In 1980, there was an Islamic revolution in Iran. Saddam tried to take advantage of the unrest by taking over a disputed border region. His actions started a war with Iran. The war continued until 1988 and cost both sides many lives. Hussein decided to use chemical weapons on Kurdish civilans, and most thought it was a genocide. In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait for their oil and access to the Persian Gulf. U.S. did not like this because it was threatening oil reserves. President George Bush formed an alliance with many Middle Eastern countries to stop Iraq's invasion, which quickly freed Kuwait and stopped Iraq's forces. Even with defeat, Hussein was still Iraq's dictator. To help the Kurds and Shiites, U.S. set up a "no fly zones" where Iraq aircraft were not allowed. United Nations tried to stop Hussein from using oil profits for building weapons of mass destruction. In 2002, United States and Britain thought Hussein still had weapons of mass destruction. President Bush thought Hussein supported terrorists. This is when U.S. invaded Iraq. U.S. tried to rebuild the country but were being effected by Iraqi guerrillas and bombings. Insurgents were conducting suicide bombings. There were elections held in 2005, and the Shiite were victorious. However, the new government faced terrorist attacks. Iraq tried to bring all minorities together.