The Middle East What is an ethnic group? People who share a common culture, including • Language • Ancestors • History • Food • Music, dance, art • Non-religious holidays, rituals They are united by these factors, and feel a common bond Three major ethnic groups of the Middle East • Arab • Persian • Kurd

*The major religion is , followed by Christianity and Judaism.

ARAB

ethnic group Arab Location Religion Important Facts • Majority of the • Jordan • mostly Islam Middle East (Largest (Sunni & Shi’a) ethnic group) • Syria • some Christianity • Believe themselves to be the • Saudi Arabia descendents of Abraham & Ishmael • Lebanon • Language = Arabic

• Iraq • Kuwait thawb or thobe

keffiyeh Music

• http://www.issaboulos.com/acms/www/abo ut_inst.html

One Thousand and One Nights

Kurdish (Kurds) ethnic group Kurd

Location Religion Important Facts • 1/5 of Turkey’s •Islam (mostly • Turkey population (Smallest Sunni) ethnic group in the • Iraq • less strict about Middle East) • Syria Islamic practices • Language = Kurdish • Hope to have their

• own nation some day, which causes conflict

Kurdish Language

Bezin bo şewêkîş bêt şwênî xoy xoş dekat.

The goat makes his place comfortable even if it’s for only one night.

Persian

ethnic group Persian Location Religion Important Facts • ½ of Iran’s population • Iran • Islam (mostly • Language = Farsi, Shi’a, some Sunni) uses Arabic alphabet\ • Art & architecture

well known

http://www.iranchamber.com/index/art_culture.php

Words are written from right to left, numbers are written from left to right.

setar

kamanche

Golestan Palace Tehran, Iran Architecture

Khalvat-e Karimkhani was a spot designed for quiet reflection inside the palace compounds.

Achaemenid Vase Handle, Achaemenid Golden Rhyton, 5th- carnelian, Silver and gold, 6th- 4th Century BCE 5th Century BCE Architecture

Architecture

Art

Art

Iran is filled with tombs of poets and musicians, such as this one belonging to Rahi Mo'ayeri. An illustration of Iran's deep artistic heritage. Shapur I- the second king of Sassanid Empire. Babak Khorramdin- one the Cyrus the Great - the main persian revolutionaryleaders first king of kings of Darius I of Xerxes I of Persia - the Mithridates VI of of the Iranian Khorram-Din Achaemenid Empire. Persia - the third fourth king of kings of Pontus- the king of pontus Shapur II- theagainst nineth Arab king rulers king of kings of Achaemenid Empire. and minor. of Sassanid Empire. Achaemenid Empire. . A montage of 21 notable Persian people. Top row, left to right: Cyrus the Great - the first king of kings of Achaemenid Empire. Darius I of Persia - the third king of kings of Achaemenid Empire. Xerxes I of Persia - the fourth king of kings of Achaemenid Empire. Mithridates VI of Pontus- the king of pontus and Armenia minor. Shapur I- the second king of Sassanid Empire. Shapur II- the nineth king of Sassanid Empire. Babak Khorramdin- one the main persian revolutionary leaders of the Iranian Khorram-Din against Arab rulers. Middle row, left to right: Ismail Samani - the Samanid amir of Transoxiana (892-907) and Khorasan (900-907). Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī - the persian mathematician, astronomer and geographer. - the Persian poet, and is regarded as the first great literary genius of the Modern Persian. - the highly revered Persian poet. He was the author of the Shāhnāmeh, the national epic of Persian people and of the Iranian World. Abu Rayhan Biruni - the Persian scholar and polymath of the 11th century. - the Persian polymath, foremost physician, philosopher,astronomer, chemist, geologist, logician, paleontologist, mathematician, physicist, poet, psychologist, scientist and teacher. Omar Khayyám - the Persian polymath, mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, physician, and poet. He also wrote treatises on mechanics, geography, and music. Bottom row, left to right: Al-Ghazali - the Persian theologian, jurist, philosopher, cosmologist, psychologist and mystic. Asadi Tusi - the second most important Persian poet of Iranian national epics, after Ferdowsi. Attar Neyshapuri - the Persian sufi poet. Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi - the medieval Persian alchemist. - the 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic. - the most celebrated Persian lyric poet and is often described as a poet's poet Amir Kabir - Prime minister of Qajar dynasty of Persia during Naser al-Din Shah. Three religions originated in this region: • Judaism • Christianity • Islam

Countries with the Largest Muslim Population

1. Indonesia 183,000,000 6. Iran 62,000,000 2. Pakistan 134,000,000 7. Egypt 59,000,000 3. 121,000,000 8. Nigeria 53,000,000 4. Bangladesh 114,000,000 9. Algeria 31,000,000 5. Turkey 66,000,000 10. Morocco 29,000,000

* make up only 20% of the total Muslim population of the world. Muslims practice Islam

• The word Islam means “submission or surrender to the will of God.” • An Arab merchant named Muhammed taught that there was only one Allah, or God. • He said that he was God’s messenger. • His teachings are the foundation of Islam. Don’t get confused!

• All 3 Middle Eastern Religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) are monotheistic (belief in one god) • Christians, however, believe in god as a trinity (father, son, holy spirit) and that Jesus was god’s son • Muslims believe that Muhammed was god’s messenger (not son) • All 3 share the same foundation through the lineage of Abraham Abraham’s Genealogy

HAGAR ABRAHAM SARAH

Ishmael Isaac

12 Arabian Jacob Esau Tribes

12 Tribes of Israel Five pillars of Islam…

• The hajj (the • The giving of alms pilgrimage to the city • Fasting during the of Mecca, the holy month of birthplace of Ramadan Muhammed) • Belief in one God • Prayer 5 times daily

The hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) is an important aspect of Islam *Millions travel to Mecca each year!

What about these required prayers?

The mandatory prayers performed 5 times a day: * dawn * noon * late afternoon * sunset * before going to bed Wash before praying. Face Mecca and use a prayer rug. Z The call to prayer by the muezzin in the minaret. Z Pray in the mosque on Friday. 2 Z Those who complete the pilgrimage can add the title hajji to their name.

5