The Middle East, or the North Africa/Southwest Asia (NASWA) region stretches at least 6,000 miles west to east from Northwest Africa’s Morocco up to the Central Asian region of Afghanistan; while north to south, it spans 3,000 miles from Turkey in Southeast Europe to Sudan in the East African region. The location of the region is very unique and advantageous as its borders reach between the three continents of Africa (Southern Africa), Asia and Europe. The Suez Canal in North Africa allows merchants and travelers from the Mediterranean Sea to enter the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean without the need to travelling around Africa. The Persian Gulf and the Strait of Oman opens the oil-producing regions to the world as the Persian Gulf serves as the base of operations for oil distribution and trade. Finally, the Straits of Bosporus and Dardanelles allows travelers to travel around the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea directly without traversing around the region.
Ten thousand years ago, the Middle East became the home of early communities which domesticated the land and established the civilization of the Mesopotamia, which lies in the area of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers towards the Nile River. In the Nile Delta, the Egyptians were developing the Nile Valley, as an agricultural and trading region. The accomplishment of these civilizations are still used today by the modern world from the domestication of fruits, vegetables and cattle, the understanding of the sciences (engineering, science, math), to the understanding of the societies. In terms of culture and religion, the development of societies and the strategic location of the region enabled the development of monotheistic faith – Islam (Mecca), Judaism and Christianity (Israel). Diffusion of these religions became possible through trade and migration.
Aside from the establishment of civilizations and culture, the Middle East is mostly popular due to its oil reserves. It is estimated that 77% of the world’s oil reserves are located in five countries found in the Middle East – Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iran. With the discovery of the region’s oil and natural gas reserves, the region supplies high gas consumers such as Russia, Europe, Asia and the United States. The impact of oil to the region fostered immediate modernization and economic prosperity of many cities, mostly of the Big Five oil producers. However, it had also caused regional disparity between nations as oil became the source of power for many Arab nations, as well for foreign countries. Migration also became prominent due to the discovery of oil as many workers were needed to develop the region’s oil infrastructure.
The United States had also been in direct contact with the Middle East since the time of President Thomas Jefferson’s tenure in the 1800s. However, the encounter between the two had lessened through the 19th century as the region entered a state of isolation and limited contact to missionary work. By the time of the First World War, the US slowly redeveloped an interest to the region after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. By the Second World War, the US prioritized the Middle East due to the emergence of Israel and the regional disputes happening in the region. The US sent Combatant Commands to the region such as USCENTCOM (Iraq and Afghanistan), USEUCOM and USAFRICOM (Africa) to organize control over the Armed Forces and how they mobilize abroad as part of the US’ military policy.
Currently, the Middle East is experiencing a series of uprisings and political change known as the “Arab Spring” or “Arab Awakening”. The onset of the Arab Spring started on December 17, 2010 in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia when a vegetable seller’s cart was confiscated because of having no license. The inspector did not budge as the merchant did not have both influential connection and money to bribe people to gain a license. The seller tried to appeal to the courts for his case but the lack of action caused him to self-immolate in front of the government building. The story immediately travelled throughout Tunisia, causing mass riots and rallies to protest against the lack of action and rights given to the people. The rallies called upon change to their governments, influencing other Middle Eastern countries to revolt for political reform. After two months, the Middle East easily lost two of its stable autocrats: Zine el-Abidin Ben Ali (Tunisia/ January 14, 2011) and Hosni Mubarak (Egypt/ February 11, 2011). Protests continue to happen in each Middle Eastern country, fighting against social hardships, despotism and political instability.
Geography of Water and Energy Resources
The geography of the Middle East is also unique as compared to its counterparts as the region is mostly hot and arid as rainfall or precipitation is less than 10 inches each year. This disables dry farming practices, however, there are instances wherein local thunderstorms occur, enabling plant, animal and human life to prosper, especially for the nomads living in the desert. Despite being close to the Sahara, the desert system is filled with abundance that enables people to counter the possibilities of drought. Plant life has its own unique life cycle, which enables it to grow faster and adapt to the lack of moisture in the region. The region’s climate is also filled with high cloudless days, but at night, it is cooler. There are also mountainous areas in the Middle East –river valleys and margins throughout the Mediterranean. These areas mostly receive the highest amount of rainfall and are located in Northwestern Africa, the Atlas Mountains (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) and the mountains in the Red Sea (Yemen). The formation of these mountain regions are caused by the tectonic process that are pulling both the African and Arabian plates. As far as the river systems of the region, the Tigris-Euphrates and the Nile Systems play a crucial role in fostering fertility within he land and the waterways.
In terms of oil, the region possesses more than half of the world’s reserves of oil, enabling these oil producing nations to develop its territories. Since the oil-producing nations have immense oil reserves even in their small wells, many nations purchase their oil in the Gulf as it is cheaper to produce. The US is highly dependent of Gulf oil and had spent almost $50 billion worth of oil to maintain its military expenditures. In order to regulate the oil within the Middle East/North African territories, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was established in 1960 to call for higher profit from their buyers. Under the OPEC rule, barrel prices have increased from $2 to $37 per barrel. As a result of this price change, the world’s income shifted to the OPEC countries and caused several financial crisis around the globe, especially in the United States. The OPEC continued to influence oil production and profits, but had stopped in the 1980s as many nations have slowly adopted oil conservation measures and business had declined, thus the lowered demand for oil.
Geography of Islam’s Cultural Unity and Political Diversity
Out of the three monotheistic religions that had been developed in the Middle East, most of its population practices the Islamic faith. The Arabic word ‘Islam’ literally means ‘surrender’ to Allah (God), who is seen as the omnipotent who had created the world and is the Almighty. It was Prophet Muhammad who had become the founder of Islam to the region. Although there were no clear records as to when he practiced Islam, in 610 CE, Muhammad was approached by Angel Gabriel while on a retreat and was told that he is selected to be the messenger of God. Muhammad was scared of the idea, however, his wife encouraged him to accept it. While many did not take heed of Muhammad’s words, however, Gabriel enabled Muhammad to teach others of justice, giving alms and practicing equal kindness to all. The teachings of Muhammad were slowly accepted by listeners and Muhammad moved to Abyssinia, Medina and Mecca, spreading the teachings of Allah. Upon his death, Muhammad had been able to spread the religion throughout the Arabian Peninsula.
The teachings and the word of Allah is written in the Quran, which was given to Prophet Muhammad to contain the revelations or the Ayah. The Quran consists of 114 chapters or surahs with unequal length, presented in a beautiful style through stories and lessons. It is said that the Quran is the direct and true words of God. The topics covered by the Quran detail the power of Allah, as well as how his followers worship Him and how they can show their appreciation. The Quran also talks about the Day of Judgment, the differentiation of good and evil (Paradise and Hell), including the lives of previous messengers and the five major prophets of Islam (Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus and Mohammad). The lessons written in the Quran are also applied in the sharia or Islamic law.
Islam emphasizes that Muslims must uphold five important pillars, which would enable them to show their obedience to Allah and live as righteous followers of the faith. Once one of these pillars is violated, it would be taken as an act of forsaking the faith. The first pillar is the Declaration of Faith (Shahadah), which entails any person who wish to follow the faith to utter the line “I witness that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His messenger”. Once this is uttered, the Muslim is expected to adhere for the rest of his life. The second pillar entails the five time prayer or the Salah to show one’s devotion and to remind the person of their duty, relaxing the mind in the progress. The third pillar is called the zakah or yearly alms-giving and the amount may depend to the person’s financial capability. The fourth pillar is the fasting (sawm), done to develop selflessness and generosity in the time of the Ramadan. The final pillar of Islam is the Hajj or the pilgrimage to Mecca. Muslims are encouraged to do the act if they could even once.
Through its foundation and expansion, Islam had slowly enmeshed itself to Middle Eastern culture as Islam, through the Quran clearly outlined as to what should be done by followers. Islam prohibited any kind of vices and tolerated polygamy. It was also through Islamic faith that enabled the creation of many magnificent structures throughout the region such as schools, castles and mosques designed to introduce prayer and teaching. It is observed that Muslims mostly follow the imam pertaining to the traditions, rituals and laws they have to adhere and imams today currently are divided into several schools such as Hanafi, Hanbali, and the Shafi’I schools. In terms of women, Muslim women are required to cover their neck and hair as it is seen as a means to guard their purity from onlookers.
Geography of the Palestine-Israel Conflict and the United States
The Middle East has long been exposed to regional conflicts that has shook the balance of power in the region. One of the most crucial and still on-going conflicts in the region is the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, which predates back since the 19th century. The Zionists (leaders of Israel) and the Arabs (leaders the Palestinians) first came into contact when both parties tried to stake their claim over key religious sites such as Jerusalem, Canaan and Bethlehem. It was visible to both parties that they would not back down from their claims and other groups had also been claiming the sites due to their religious importance. At that period, the Palestinian territories were controlled by the Arabs and corruption was rampant, leaving the country behind its neighbors. By the time the British forces controlled Palestine after World War I, the region spanned almost 27,000 sq. km housing almost 700,000 Palestinians and Jews. It was visible that although there was a temporary truce between the Jews, Arabs and the Palestinians over the region, there were signs of revolt from the side of the Zionist Jews.
The United Nations, as response to the proposals of the committee it has sent to the region to resolve the conflict, adopted Resolution 181 or the UN Partition Plan of 1947. Under the Plan, Mandated Palestine would be divided into three: a Jewish state, a Palestinian State and the internationally administered areas that would cover the contested religious sites. However, the plan had met immediate hostility from the Arabs and Palestinians, who believed that the area must belong to them given their historical claim in the area. The Zionists surprisingly accepted the Partition because it would enable them to create Israel. Before the establishment of all three states through the plan, Israel had slowly declared its independence on May 14, 1948 and took more than their allotted region against the Plan. Israel’s actions agitated the Arabs and the Palestinians, who were driven out of their homes and prevented the establishment of the Palestinian state. As a result of this illegal expansion, Palestinians and Arabs were forced to flee to neighboring territories while those caught in the crossfire were prevented to leave the borders and restricted of aid packs from the international community.
Throughout the conflict, the United States had been pulled into the issue by the Israelis. The Western nations, including the United States, knew that the conflict would cause issues on regulating the Middle East’s oil supplies and prevent democracy from happening in the region. The US had already been providing assistance to Israel and Egypt since the Second World War, serving as a mediator in creating cease-fire agreements between the conflicting parties. When Syria and Egypt invaded Israel in October 6, 1973, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir asked President Nixon for military assistance as the Israeli army had already been wiped out form the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the 1967 Israeli War. The US had immediately supported the Israelis quadrupling the assistance it is already giving to Israel. Israel, to the US, was a great ally in order for the Americans to have access to the Middle East. The US continued to play as a mediator to the conflict, however, they turned away from the region as they were fighting the insurgencies happening in Iraq.
With Israel continuously trying its best to claim the remaining territories of the former Mandated Palestine, the international community had slowly tried to diffuse the tensions between the parties and create a compromise to save the refugees and the Palestinians caught in the crossfire. One of the most crucial proposals from the international community is the two-state solution that would create a separate Palestinian state alongside the Israeli state. Negotiations were slowly done to introduce this solution through the Oslo Accords, dividing the land into three as proposed through the Partition Plan. Saudi Arabia, the European Union and the United States slowly tried to ensure the creation of such solution and has met unanimous support from the public and from other international organizations interested in the conflict. Currently, discussions pertaining the two-state solution is influenced by the Israeli-Hamas (Palestinian) Gaza Conflict in December 2008 that also hampered the final discussions on the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation organization. President Barack Obama had continuously stressed his support towards the two-state solution in pursuant of UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. It is expected that the Roadmap to the Two-State Solution to end the Conflict would be attained under Obama Administration to improve the accords already in placed.
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