Unit 1 Geography of the Middle East (Ethnic/Religious Groups of the Middle East)

Unit 1 Geography of the Middle East (Religious and Ethnic Groups)

• Religious Group

• Religious Group- Shares a belief system in a god or gods

• Three (3) Major Religions in the Middle East are Judaism(Oldest), Christianity, and Islam

• Islamic religion is divided between the Sunni and Shia Muslims

Unit 1 Geography of the Middle East (Religious and Ethnic Groups)

• Ethnic Group

• Ethnic Group- people who share cultural ideas and beliefs that’s a part of their community

• Major Ethnic Groups of the Middle East are;1. Persians 4. Jewish2. Turkish 5. Kurdish3. Arabs

Arabs

• Largest ethnic group in Southwest Asia• Descendant of Abraham in the bible,

through his son Ishmael• Most Arabs practice Islam• Speak Arabic• Have a long history and rich traditions,

using calligraphy and geometric designs

Jewish

• Anyone born to a Jewish mother or gone through the formal conversion process

• Descendant of Abraham in the Bible, through his son Isaac

• National language is Hebrew• Read the Torah• Israel is home for most of the Jewish

population in the Middle East.

Kurdish• 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

Turkish• Live in Turkey (mostly Muslim)• 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

Persian• Ethnic group that lived in Iran before

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

• Speak Persian • Most practice Shia Islam• Persian women have faced many

challenges as a result of strict religious practices.

• Persian rugs are among the finest in the world.