1. Circle the groups that live inthe Middle East:

Arabs

Armenians

Kurds

Persians

Jews

Turks1

1. Circle the groups that live inthe Middle East:

Arabs

Armenians

Kurds

Persians

Jews

Turks2

Majority Arab Populations

CIA The World Factbook 2004

3

Sizeable Armenian Populations

Armenia: 93% - 2.7 million

Azerbaijan: 1.5% - 120,000Georgia: 5.7% - 270,000

Syria: 9.7% (w/Kurds) -1.8 million

CIA The World Factbook 2006

4

Lebanon: 4% - 160,000

Sizeable Kurdish Populations

Turkey: 20% - 14 million

Iraq: 15-20% - 3.9 - 5.2 million

Iran: 7% - 4.76 million

Syria: 9.7% (w/ Armenians) - 1.8 million

CIA The World Factbook 2006

5

Significant Persian Populations

Iran: 51% - 34 million

CIA The World Factbook 2004

6

Kuwait: 4% - 100,000

Qatar: 10% - 90,000

CIA The World Factbook 2006

Sizeable Persian Populations

Sizeable Jewish Populations

West Bank: 17% - 420,000

CIA The World Factbook 2006

7

Israel: 80.1% - 5 million

Significant Turkish Populations

Turkey: 80% - 56 million

Cyprus: 18% - 150,000

Bulgaria: 9.4% - 750,000

CIA The World Factbook 2004

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Germany: 2.4% - 1.98 million

CIA World Factbook 2006

Sizeable Turkish Populations

2. Arabs are…

A) A religious group

B) A language group

C) A national group

D) An ethnic group

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2. Arabs are…

A) A religious group

B) A language group

C) A national group

D) An ethnic group D) Yes. Ethnicity is defined byreligion, language, nationality orculture, therefore Arabs ARE anethnic group.

A) No. Arabs are NOT a religiousgroup although MOST Arabs areMuslims, there are Christian andeven Jewish Arabs.

B) Yes and No. Although theArabic language is a core anddefining aspect of Arab culture,some Arabs, particularlyimmigrants of non-Arab nationssuch as the United States, do notspeak Arabic.

C) No. There are 22 differentnations with majority Arabpopulations, therefore Arab doesnot suggest one particular nation.

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3. All Arabs are Muslims.

True False

11

3. All Arabs are Muslims.

True False

12

4. All Arabs speak Arabic.

True False

13

4. All Arabs speak Arabic.

True False

14

5. All Arabs live in the Middle East.

True False

15

5. All Arabs live in the Middle East.

True False

16

6. Circle the religions thatoriginated in the Middle East:

Bahaism

Buddhism

Christianity

Hinduism

Islam

Judaism

Zoroastrianism17

6. Circle the religions thatoriginated in the Middle East:

Bahaism

Buddhism

Christianity

Hinduism

Islam

Judaism

Zoroastrianism18

Origins of Religions in West and South Asia

CIA The World Factbook 200419

7. What is the definitionof “Muslim”?

20

7. What is the definitionof “Muslim”?

A Muslim is a follower of the religion of Islam.

21

8. What is the definitionof “Christian”?

22

8. What is the definitionof “Christian”?

A Christian is a follower of the religion of Christianity.

23

8. What is the definitionof “Jew”?

24

8. What is the definitionof “Jew”?

People who practice Judaism arecalled Jews, but Jew is alsoconsidered an ethnic term forpeople descended from Jews evenif they no longer practice Judaism,such as “secular Jews.”

25

10. All Israelis are Jews.

True False

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10. All Israelis are Jews.

True False

Although Israel was established tobe a haven for Jews from aroundthe world and more than 5 millionJews live in Israel, there are morethan a million Muslims in Israel aswell as over 300,000 Israelis who

are Christian, Bahai or Hindu.27

11. What nation in theworld has the largestJewish population?

28

11. What nation in theworld has the largestJewish population?

The United States: 5.7 million

29American Jewish Yearbook (2002)

World Distribution of Jews

U.S.: 5.7 million

American Jewish Yearbook (2002) 30

Canada: 364,000

Israel: 5.03 million

France: 519,000

UK: 273,500

Russia: 265,000

Argentina: 195,000

Germany: 103,000

Ukraine: 100,000

Australia: 99,000

Brazil: 97,300

South Africa: 78,000

12. What nation in theworld has the largestChristian population?

31

12. What nation in theworld has the largestChristian population?

The United States: 224 million

32

World Distribution of Christians

CIA The World Factbook 2004

33

CIA The World Factbook 2006

13. What nation in theworld has the largestMuslim population?

34

13. What nation in theworld has the largestMuslim population?

Indonesia: 180 million

35

14. Most Muslims live in theMiddle East.

True False

36

14. Most Muslims live in theMiddle East.

True False

37

The Muslim WorldThere are 55 members of the Organization of Islamic Countries..

CIA The World Factbook 200638

Most Arabs are Muslim but most Muslims are not Arab

Indonesia: 181 million Muslims

Pakistan: 142 million Muslims

Bangladesh: 110 million Muslims

India: 124 million Muslims

Turkey: 65 million Muslims

Iran: 65 million Muslims

Nigeria: 63 million Muslims

Egypt: 53 million Muslims

China: 38 million Muslims

National GeographicCIA The World Factbook 2004 39

15. All Middle East nations have aMuslim majority.

True False

40

15. All Middle East nations have aMuslim majority.

True False

41

CIA The WorldFactbook 2004

42

Non-MuslimMajority Countriesin the Middle East

MajorityMuslim

Countries inthe Middle East

Shown inWhite with

Name

16. All Middle East nations have aArab majority.

True False

43

16. All Middle East nations have aArab majority.

True False

44

CIA The WorldFactbook 2004

45

Non-ArabMajority Countries

MajorityMuslimCountriesShown inWhite withName

BlackAfrican

17. What is the largest ethnicgroup in the Middle East

without a state of its own?

46

17. What is the largest ethnicgroup in the Middle East

without a state of its own?

Kurds

47

Sizable Kurdish Populations

Turkey: 20% - 14 million

Iraq: 15-20% - 3.9 - 5.2 million

Iran: 7% - 4.76 million

Syria: 9.7% (w/ Armenians) - 1.8 million

CIA The World Factbook 2004

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