Religion in the

Middle East

Ethnic Group: These groups are defined by

common cultural characteristics like language, customs, and clothing.

They are usually descended from common ancestors or the inhabitants of a common country.

2 people can have different biological races and still be of the same ethnic group because they share the same cultural customs.

Ex: Jews-although they usually share the same religion, they are an ethnic group because they come from common ancestors and have their own unique customs.

There can be many religious groups within an ethnic group.

Religion is based on a common belief in a theological claim.

Unlike ethnic groups, religious groups do NOT always share common ancestors or customs.

Ex: Christians-there are many Christians across the world that are from different ancestors and have very different customs, but they are all part of the same religious group because of their common beliefs in Jesus Christ and the Bible.

Ethnicity vs. ReligionReligious Group:

1. Judaism:-A monotheistic religion of the Jews based on the Torah and the Talmud.

2. Islam:-the Muslim religion teaching that there is only 1 God and that Muhammad is his prophet.

3. Christianity:-a monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus Christ.

The 3 Main Religions:

What do all 3 of these religions have

in common??

SO, ….

1. They are all monotheistic religions.

Monotheism= believing in ONLY ONE God!

2. Also, ALL 3 religions were born in the Middle East!

% of population’s re-ligious beliefs in SW

Asia

MuslimChristianJewish

What religion is dominant in the Middle East??

• 90% of the population in the Middle East practice Islam.

• 4% are Christians

• 2% are Jewish.

A messiah is a savior

A prophet is one who spreads the word of God to others, and serves as a messenger for the religion.

Prophet vs. Messiah

Origins: began in about 1800 B.C.E. when God spoke to Abraham.

Beliefs: believe in Abraham and Moses as prophets.

The Messiah: Jews are still awaiting the Messiah.

Sacred Book(s) (or holy book): Old Testament of the Bible and the Talmud or Torah.

Written in Hebrew.

Holy City: Jerusalem

Place of Worship: Synagogue or Temple

Followers called: Jews

Judaism

Jews believe the purpose of life is to follow God’s will and rules. Your faith is demonstrated by their behavior.

God (called Yahweh) revealed Himself at Mt. Sinai by sharing the Torah

Covenant: An agreement between Yahweh (God) & the Jews: they obey Him & He protects them as His chosen people.

Other Facts about Judaism:

Other Facts about Judaism:• Rabbi: teacher who studies the Torah

• Talmud: supplemental guide to Judaism created

by Rabbis

• Sabbath: holy day of rest; Saturday

Origins: began with Jesus in the 1st century C.E. (common era)

Beliefs: believe in Abraham and Moses as prophets.

The Messiah: believe Jesus is the son of God, the Messiah

Sacred Book(s) (or holy book): Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible.

Holy City: Jerusalem

Place of Worship: Church

Followers called: Christians

Sabbath on Sunday (holy day)

Christianity

Origins: began in the 7th century by Muhammad

Beliefs: believe in Abraham and Moses as prophets; Muhammad is the last prophet in a long series of prophets.

The Messiah: believe Jesus was a prophet.

Sacred Book(s) (or holy book): Parts of the Bible’s New Testament and Old Testament and the Qur’an (or Koran).

Written in Arabic. This is easy to remember because most people in the Middle East are Arabs!

Holy City: Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem.

Place of Worship: Mosque

Followers called: Muslims

Islam

Mosque

*Usually decorated with domes and towers, like shown in the picture above.*

Mecca

Islam means “submission to the will of God”

God=Allah (Arabic)

Imam: religious leader

Umma- community of followers of Islam

Sharia: laws based on the Qur’an or teachings of Muhammad

The Qur’an says that people know good from evil and will be held accountable for their actions

Islam Continued…

There are divisions in many religions. (EX: denominations in Christianity-Cahtolic, Methodists, Baptist, etc.)

The 2 major groups within the religion of Islam are the Sunnis and Shias.

Ali was Muhammad’s cousin and was married to his daughter. After Muhammad died, Muslims split over who would succeed (follow) Muhammad as the leader of Islam. The Sunnis wanted the community to choose the best leader to succeed Muhammad. But, the Shia favored Ali, and felt that leadership of the religion should stay within the family.

A Division in Islam

Sunni

Make up about 90% of all Muslims.

Follow sunnah, or custom of Muhammad.

Believe the best person for the job should be picked to be the Muslim leader.

Muslims who follow Ali, Muhammad’s closest relative.

Believe that the leader of the Islamic religion should be a descendant of (or related to) Muhammad.

Shia

**This “leader” is a figurehead, or symbol, for the religion of Islam-not a political leader. An

example of a Christian leader is the Pope, who is the head of the Catholic church.

*Why don’t these 2 groups like each other if they are all Muslims??

The religion of Islam teaches that ALL Muslims equal before Allah (God in Arabic)

They even think that Muhammad is a “regular” person and should not be worshiped because only Allah should be worshiped.

Sunni’s disagree with the Shia’s because they believe that the Shia’s are glorifying Muhammad and making him better than just a regular person, because their leader must be related to Muhammad. By doing this, they believe that the Shia’s are making Muhammad more important (than a regular person), and better than everyone else, which is not what the Islam religion teaches (ALL Muslims are equal and only Allah is worshiped). Sunni’s believe that when the Shia’s making Muhammad more important, they are taking away from the importance of Allah.

Shia vs. Sunni: their dislike for one

another…

“Holy War”

Struggle to please AllahProtect heart against viceSpeak truth & spread the word of IslamBehave justly; do what is rightWar against enemies

Practiced by Sunnis

Only extremists see it as a justification for terrorism

Jihad

“rules” that Muslims are guided by

The Five Pillars are REQUIRED only of adults who are physically able to complete them

1. Profession of Faith

2. Prayer- 5 times a day

-Facing towards Mecca

3. Charity-giving to the poor through income taxes

4. Fasting -During Ramadan (holy month when the Qur'an was first revealed)

5. Hajj- Pilgrimage to Mecca -Once a lifetime

The 5 Pillars of Islam:

Secular= religion and government are separate!!

Turkey is the only secular country.

All of the other countries in the Middle East have laws based on their religion.

Shar’ia= laws based on Islam.

Secular Countries:

• No official state religion & religious freedom protected

• 99% Muslim (80% Sunni)

• Alevis: form of Shia Islam based in oral tradition; conflicts with Sunnis

Religion in Turkey

Religion in AfghanistanHazaras:

Shia MuslimsHeavily persecuted under the Taliban

99% Muslim84% Sunni, 15% Shia

Mullah: Muslim religious teacher/leader

Must memorize & recite the Qur’an

Conduct sermons, teach Islamic laws, solve disputes

Madrassas: mosque (religious) schoolsOnly boys attend

Shia Muslim (93%)

Women and men dress very conservatively because of their strict religious beliefs.

Religion in Iran

90% Muslim

60% Shia=majority in this country

Religion in Iraq

Home to 1/3 of world’s Jews

Immigrants of 100+ nations

82% Jews, 17% Arabs

Arabs (Sunni Muslims or Christians) living in Israel speak Arabic, live separately from Jews

Hebrew & Arabic are official languagesBoth taught in schools & used in government

Religion in Israel

89% Sunni

Shia Muslims often discriminated against

Very religiously conservative =Wahhabism) Women: few work; expected to dress

very conservatively

Uses Shar’ia (Islamic law) in government policy

In public, Saudis must follow strict religious rules• Monitored & enforced by the

government

Religion in Saudi Arabia