Ethnic Groups of the Middle East

Ethnicity vs. Religious Group• What is the difference between an

ethnic group and a religious group?• An ethnic group (or ethnicity) is a

group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, consisting of a common language, a common culture and a tradition of common ancestry (what you are born into).

Religious Group• Shares a belief system in a god or

gods, with a specific set of rituals and literature (you have a choice)

Arabs• Largest ethnic group in Southwest

Asia• Most Arabs practice Islam• Speak Arabic• Have a long history and rich

traditions

Jewish• Anyone born to a Jewish mother or

gone through the formal conversion process

• Practice some form of Judaism• National language is Hebrew• Israel is home for most of the Jewish

population in the Middle East.

Berber• Minority group living mostly in North

Africa• First group to settle that region• Have their own languages.• Berbers that do not farm are

nomadic.• Majority are Muslim.

Bedouin• Speak Arabic• Most now live in cities in Saudi

Arabia, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq.• Ruled by tribal leaders called

sheikhs• Most practice Islam.• Well known for their dress & music

Kurds• Live in mountainous areas of Turkey,

Syria, Iraq, and Iran• Most Kurds are Muslims.• Speak Kurdish language, a branch of

the Iranian language• Kurdish women enjoy greater

freedoms; they do not cover their faces and they do not wear the full-cover garments

Persians• Ethnic group that lived in Iran before

arrival of Islam; today make up about half of Iran’s population

• Speak Persian or Farsi• Most practice Shi’i Islam• Persian women have faced many

challenges as a result of strict religious practices.

• Persian rugs are among the finest in the world.

Turks• Live in Turkey• Practice some form of Islam; rarely

strict about some Islamic practices• An ethnic group based on language,

Turkish• Well known for their architecture• Ancestors were part of the Ottoman

Empire

Literacy & Development• Education is free in many countries in the

Middle East.• Students required to attend school

through high school.• Literacy rates are 77% in Syria; 79% in

Israel; and 79% in Saudi Arabia• More men tend to be able to read & write• Women’s education not valued as much

as men’s• Literacy rates indicate a country’s

development• Increase in literacy rate leads to a better

economy