Religion In The Middle East

The Middle East supports three major religions; Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. All three have a tie to Jerusalem as a Holy City. These religions don’t get along very well because of their differences, but they also have some unseen similarities.

Middle East had familiarized itself with farming, which in turn made it possible for people to advance in agriculture which gave them large amounts of food. They were able to spend less time gathering the food as it was farmed close to their homes. Another important aspect is that planting the wheat and barley was very simple, all it took was to spread the seed around the field. New Guineans learned about farming as well but they were not as fortunate as Middle East to have plants that grew from seeds, instead they had to dig an individual hole for each plant and then plant each plant separate. Once again they were not as efficient as Middle East. Middle East started to develop large communities and build cities and had great advantages. They were economically stable and had build militaries first for self defense and later to be used to conquer and expand. For thousands of years Middle East was booming but it all came to a stop. They had over used their land and water resources and followed by a drought they were forced to migrate and find a new place. They migrated towards west and east and stayed in the same latitudinal region, therefore the

The Middle East is home to the creation of so many different cultures and religions. It is the home to the most prominent monotheistic faiths of this lifetime. Those faiths are Christianity, essentially Catholicism, and Islam. They do not only share a similar origin, but share the same ancestors and stories of prophets and people. There is a connection between the profound values of truth, love, and mercy that Catholics and Muslims hold dear. Although there are a great many commonalities between Catholicism and Islam, it is important to note the key foundations that make both religions special.

The Middle East is a region centered on Western Asia and Egypt the region has generally been a major center of world affairs as the major religions of Islam and Christianity and Judaism were also established within the region. The region is made up of 18 countries and has vast reserves of crude oil. In modern times the Middle East remains a strategically, economically, politically, culturally and religiously sensitive region.

The Middle East is made up of many different countries including Turkey, Syria, Iran (formally known as Persia), Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. For the most part their culture, religion and cuisine is similar due to generations of outside influences. Countries such as Russia, India, America, Spain and even their Middle Eastern neighbours have influenced their cuisine over the years with the introduction of foods such as tomatoes, yoghurt, dates and figs that were introduced to the Persian diet during the Arab invasion, and olive oil (Food in Every Country, 2010).

Arab are an ethnic group native to the Arab world. Arab American trace their ancestor roots to several Arab countries. Lebanon is the homeland of majority of Arab Americans, followed by Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen, and Jordan. The Arab world consists of 21 countries that span from North Africa to the Persian Gulf. Arab Americans are as diverse as their countries of origin, with unique immigration experiences that have shaped their ethnic identity in U.S. While the majority of Arab American descend from the first wave of mostly Christian immigrants, Arab American Muslim represent the fasted growing segment of the Arab American community.

Arab people stem from many different regions including 22 countries: Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen ("Arab American," 2014). The Arab culture include several ethnicities such as Shias, Sunni, Druze, Ismalites, and Nusayr (Matusiak, 2013). It is important to know Arabs are not a race, but a diverse culture ("Facts about Arabs," 2014). The Arab people are measured as being among the “most educated” population with a higher percentage of college educations than the American population (Matusiak, 2013). Family is important in the Arab culture. Many Arabs live within close proximity of family and have close relationships ("Arab American," 2014).

Religion goes hand in hand with culture, and in the Muslim countries this is very apparent. The cultural importance of men over women may have stemmed from religion, however it was further recognized when imperialist countries introduced capitalism and class divides. “Islam must combat the wrenching impact of alien forces whose influence in economic, political, and cultural permutations continues to prevail” (Stowasser 1994, 5). Now, instead of an agrarian state where both men and women had their place, difficulties have formed due to the rise in education and awareness that women can and do have a place in society beyond domestic living Though women are not equal to men anywhere around the

The Middle East is far from monumental and homogenous. Its differences have been a source of both strength and inspiration. The most visible, most pervasive, and the least recognized aspects of

To even begin to delve into our topic, we must first define the following terms: Arab, Muslim and Middle East. Millions of the people that fall into these categories live in the United States, yet we hardly take the time to learn to differentiate between them thanks to the negative connotations that are associated with each of these terms (Chin, 2009).

Historians, specifically American historians of the 21st century have demonstrated an interest in the Middle East in Islam, due to Americans frequent contact with the Middle East in the early 1960s. Islam and the Middle East have played a remarkable role in Americans discussion and reaction to the events that took place on September 11th, 2001. During this time Americans were beginning to regard the Middle East, Muslims, and Islam as one entity. Americans and the world regarded the Middle East as Islam and Islam as the Middle East. Thus, this correlation between the two made Muslims say Muslim Americans and Muslims in America as less western and more of another, but they were also seen as untrustworthy individuals. Additionally, prior to the September 11th, attacks and an after effect of September 11, was that Muslim men were violent and Muslim women as oppressed individuals. Thus, the perception of Islamophobia and the threat it brings to western society has impacted the discussion of Islamophobia in America.

Another source of conflict as reported by Sørli et. al stems from the religious differences. As a whole, the Middle East is comprised of followers of Islam. But within the Islamic religion are the Sunni (which account for the majority), and the Shia. Tension lies between the two sects, especially given the fact that the Shia often hold the positions of power (Sørli, 147). Another major

of the intimate ties of the three Abrahamic faiths in the region. The middle east is the birthplace of the world’s three Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The fact

The majority of Iraqis practice the Muslim religion but there is still a small percentage of Iraqis that practice the Christian religion. For example, every Friday afternoon, Muslims gather at the Mosque to pray (Ghabra 10). On the other hand, for Christians, Sundays are a holy day for prayer

Middle East considers one of the most studied areas in the world due to its rich history of politics, social, economic, and its culture and civilization. Its borders are still arguable geographically, generally in the west it starts from morocco until Iran in the east, however, many scholars don’t agree on including Turkey either as a Middle Eastern or as a European country (Milton-Edwards, 2006. P: 4). The origin of the name was invented by the colonies as a necessity to describe the place geographically, which was the era of bringing “Middle East” the language of academic writings and political scientists. Changes, innovations, and new ideologies create gaps between the transformations of any perspectives to a different