MIDDLE EAST CULTURES

Words to Know

Arab Berber Bedouin Jewish Kurd Persian Turk

Graphic Organizer (one of these will be used for each culture)

Culture

Location Language

ReligionLife

Style

Ethnic group vs. Religious Group Ethnic groups share many common

characteristics such as language, physical features, customs, and traditions

Religious groups share a common belief system but are not necessarily composed of a single ethnic group.

Arab Arabic culture was first spread in the Middle East beginning in the

2nd century as ethnically Arab Christians such as the Ghassanids, Lakhmids and Banu Judham began migrating into the Northern Arabian desert and the Levant. The Arabic language gained greater prominence with the rise of Islam in the 7th century AD as the language of the Qur'an.

Genealogical: someone who can trace his or her ancestry to the tribes of Arabia - the original inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula - and the Syrian Desert.

Language is Arabic, including any of its varieties. Location-throughout the world however mostly in North

Africa and the Middle East.

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Arab

Middle East and North

AfricaArabic

Predominately Islam

Varied (Modern,

nomad, to poor)

Jewish Judaism shares some of the characteristics of a nation,

an ethnicity, a religion, and a culture, making the definition of who is a Jew vary slightly depending on whether a religious or national approach to identity is used.

Israel is home for much of the Jewish population in Southwest Asia. Many of the people who live in Israel today where born there. However, the ancestors of these people moved to Israel from many other countries. Much of the migration happened during the 20th century, after the formation of Israel in the late 1940’s. The Law of Return in Israel says that a Jew from any other country can automatically have citizenship in Israel.

Language: Hebrew although English is spoken throughout Israel.

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Jewish

Predominately Israel although found

throughout the worldHebrew

JudaismModern

(House, car, TV, and so

on)

Berber The Berbers where the original people of

North Africa west of the Nile Valley. Between fourteen and twenty-five million Berber speakers live within this region, most densely in Morocco.

Most Berbers live a traditional way of life and have their own language. The Berbers that live in the mountains are farmers while those living in the desert are nomads. Most practice Islam although other religions are allowed.

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Berber

North Africa

Berber

IslamFarmers, Nomads

LFS Question

Which culture is for the most part limited to one country in the Middle East?

Bedouin Bedouin, are a desert-dwelling Arab nomads, found

throughout most of the desert belt extending from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara via the Western Desert, Sinai, and Negev to the Arabian Desert. Non-Arab groups as well, notably the Beja of the African coast of the Red Sea are sometimes called Bedouin.

Starting in the 1950's as well as the 1960s, many Bedouins started to leave the traditional, nomadic life to settle in the cities of the Middle East. In Syria, for example, the Bedouin way of life effectively ended during a severe drought from 1958 to 1961, which forced many Bedouin to give up herding for standard jobs. Similarly, government policies in Egypt and Israel, oil production in Libya and the Persian Gulf, and a desire for improved standards of living have had the effect that most Bedouin are now settled citizens of various nations, rather than nomadic herders.

Language: Arabic Religion: Islam

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Bedouin

Arabian Peninsula

Arabic

Islam Nomads

Kurd The Kurds are a group

indigenous to a region often referred to as Kurdistan, an area that includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Kurdish communities can also be found in Lebanon, Armenia, Azerbaijan, some European countries and the United States. They speak Kurdish, an Indo-European language of the Iranian branch.

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Kurd

Turkey, Iraq, Iran

Kurdish

Most are Muslim

Varies (Modern to

Poor)

Persian

The Persians are an ethnic group that lived in Iran before the arrival of Islam in the 7th century. Persians make up about half of Iran’s current population. They have their own language called Persian or Farsi. Most Persians practice Shi’a (Shiite) Islam however Sunni and other religions are present. Persian art, architecture, and rugs are world renown for their beauty.

Graphic Organizer

Persian

Iran Persian

Shi'a Muslim

Modern

Turk

The Turkish people also known as "Turks” are a nation defined mainly as being speakers of Turkish as a first language.

Most Turks practice Islam, are well known for their architecture, and continue to fight for control in SE Turkey against the Kurds.

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Turk

Turkey Turkish

Islam Modern

LFS Question

Which culture is found in Turkey, Iraq, and Iran and could be considered their own country within these others?

Learning Log

On the left side of your paper, answer these questions:1. Today I learned…2. Which culture did you struggle with?

Bibliography Grade Seven GPS. Georgia Department of Education. September 2, 2008.