The Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf

Chapter 17

The Persian Gulf

• The Middle East, home to the Mesopotamian marshes, is the birthplace of the post-Flood world.

• The three major monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—began in the Middle East. Nabawi Mosque, Saudi Arabia

The Persian Gulf

• The Persian Gulf is the center of population and trade in the Middle East.

• The discovery of oil put the Persian Gulf back at the center of world politics.

Nabawi Mosque, Saudi Arabia

I. Saudi ArabiaChapter 17

I. Saudi Arabia

• Saudi Arabia is the most influential country in the Middle East.

• Saudi Arabia holds even greater sway in the Muslim world because it is the birthplace of Islam and home to its most holy sites. Mecca, Saudi Arabia

I. Saudi Arabia

• Saudi Arabia lies on the Arabian Peninsula.

• Two important arms of the Arabian Sea—the Persian Gulf on the east and the Red Sea on the west—lie on either side of the peninsula.

Mecca, Saudi Arabia

I. Saudi Arabia

• In the highlands are the two holiest centers of Islam: Mecca and Medina.

• Officially, people of other faiths can live in Saudi Arabia, but they cannot practice their faith openly, gather privately, or convert a Muslim to another religion. Mecca, Saudi Arabia

A. Deserts and Oases of Inland Arabia

• The interior of the peninsula is even drier than the coast.

• The nomads of the Arabian Desert are called Bedouins.


• The southern desert, the Rub al Khali, covers an area larger than California.

• This uninhabited wasteland covers one-quarter of Saudi Arabia and is aptly called the Empty Quarter.


• Riyadh, the capital, was built around an oasis.

• Ibn-Saud conquered the desert tribes of Arabia and formed the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the early twentieth century.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia


• The king is bound only by Islamic law and tradition as interpreted by the Wahhabi, leaders of a religious sect that is noted for its strict adherence to Islamic law.

B. Black Gold on the East Coast

• The eastern lowlands along the Persian Gulf are mostly sand and gravel, but there are several fertile oases.

• The discovery of oil in 1936 created a new economy for Saudi Arabia.

Section Quiz

1. Who founded Islam?

Muhammad

2. What are the two most holy cities of Islam?

Mecca and Medina

Section Quiz

3. What is another name for the Rub al Khali?

the Empty Quarter

4. Who founded the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?

Ibn-Saud

Section Quiz

5. Who are the Bedouins?

nomads of the Arabian Desert

❖ Contrast the spread of Christianity in the first century (Book of Acts) with the spread of Islam during the seventh century.

Christianity spread through witness and voluntary conversion. Islam spread through conquest and forced conversion.

II. Small States on the Arabian Peninsula

Chapter 17

II. Small States on the Arabian Peninsula

• In the West, the Muslim world is sometimes called the “Arab world,” although not all Muslims are Arabs.

• Muslims in every Muslim nation study and memorize the Qur’an in the original Arabic language.

A. Yemen

• Yemen has one of the lowest literacy rates, the lowest life expectancy, and the lowest per capita GDP in the Middle East.

• The country suffers from dwindling oil and water supplies while experiencing a rapid population growth.

A. Yemen

• Sanaa, the capital, lies in the highlands in the major agricultural area.

• The main cash crops are coffee and khat, a shrub whose leaves are chewed in East Africa as a narcotic.

A. Yemen

• The Red Sea is the westernmost arm of the Arabian Sea.

• Before its waters enter the Arabian Sea, they pass through a narrow spot called Bab el Mandeb and then pass into the Gulf of Aden.

B. Sultanate of Oman

• The present line of sultans came to power in 1740.

• The government is called a sultanate.

• Islam is the state religion in Oman.


• Southwestern Oman, around the cities of Salalah and Dawkah, is a plateau called Dhofar.

• It is known for its many frankincense trees.


• Before the Arabian Sea enters the Persian Gulf, it passes through the Gulf of Oman.

Muscat, Oman

C. Emirates on the Persian Gulf

• In the nineteenth century, various rulers on the coast of the Persian Gulf asked Great Britain to protect them.

• When Britain withdrew from the Persian Gulf in 1971, these tiny British protectorates became independent.

United Arab Emirates

• Each state is ruled by a prince, or emir, and its government is therefore called an emirate.

• These states have retained sovereignty over local affairs but are now united into a single country called the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

United Arab Emirates

• The UAE is the richest country in the Persian Gulf.

• This recent wealth has resulted from developing some of the largest oil reserves in the world.

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Qatar

• Qatar is on a peninsula that extends into the Persian Gulf.

• Since there is little water, the people distill seawater to drink.

• The process of desalination is too expensive for most countries.

Doha, Qatar

Kuwait

• Kuwait prospered immediately after the discovery of oil.

• In 1960, it joined Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Salmiya, Kuwait

Kuwait

• In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, claiming that it had exceeded OPEC production limits and that it was actually a territory of Iraq.

• The invasion sparked the Persian Gulf War.

Section Quiz

1. What Arab country has one of the lowest literacy rates and the lowest per capita GDP in the Middle East?

Yemen

2. What is a sultan? an emir? a sheik?

sultan—a Muslim monarch; emir—a prince ruling in an emirate; sheik—the male leader of an extended Arab family

Section Quiz

3. What factors caused the Persian Gulf War?

Iraq claimed that Kuwait exceeded its oil production limit. Iraq invaded Kuwait and threated Saudi Arabia. An alliance of Arab nations and Western powers formed to protect the flow of oil. The Persian Gulf War began after Iraq failed to withdraw from Kuwait by the date specified by the United Nations.

Section Quiz

❖What do you think the role of the United States should be in the Persian Gulf?

Possible answers: The U.S. should be a peacekeeper; it should be an active promoter of the spread of democracy to the region; it should have no involvement.

III. IraqChapter 17

III. Iraq

• The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are the most important rivers in the Middle East.

• Since ancient times, the land between them has been called Mesopotamia, meaning “(land) between rivers.”

The Euphrates River

A. Desert Zone

• The Syrian Desert covers western Iraq, and the Arabian Desert sprawls across southern Iraq to the Euphrates River.

• Without adequate rain or rivers, a warm and dry desert climate prevails.

B. Northern Highlands

• The area is inhabited primarily by Kurds (a non-Arab ethnic group in the Middle East).

• Following the defeat of the dictator Saddam Hussein, the Kurdish region became autonomous.

C. Rolling Uplands

• The rolling uplands are located between the Upper Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

• The zone includes the “Sunni Triangle” because it is heavily populated by Sunni Muslims, ardent supporters of Saddam Hussein.

D. Alluvial Plain

• The final zone is the alluvial plain of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

• The two great rivers of Iraq join in the far south to form the Shatt al Arab.

Duhok Dam, Iraq

Section Quiz

1. What two major rivers flow through Iraq and into the Persian Gulf?

Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

2. What is the fertile region between those rivers called?

Mesopotamia

Section Quiz

3. What cultural group dominates the population of northern Iraq?

Kurds

4. What is Iraq’s capital?

Baghdad

Section Quiz

❖Where would you, as a Christian, prefer to live—in Iraq or among the Kurds? Why?

Most will probably answer “among the Kurds.” The Kurds allow religious freedom and are not suffering from religious and political turmoil.

IV. IranChapter 17

A. Geographic Overview

• In area, Iran is the second largest country in the Persian Gulf (behind only Saudi Arabia).

• The climate of Iran is mostly arid and semiarid.

Tehran, Iran


• The ancient Persian Empire included all of modern Iran and the country was called Persia until 1935.

• The name Persia originally referred to a small region in the southern Zagros Mountains.

Persepolis, Iran


• Along the northern border of Iran run the Elburz Mountains.

• Tehran is the capital and largest city of Iran.

Tehran, Iran


• The Khuzestan Plain is an extension of the fertile plains of Mesopotamia.

• In the winter, the Persian kings moved to the Khuzestan Plain in the southwestern corner of Iran.


• Eastern Iran is desert.

• Most cities stand on the western edge of the Plateau of Iran.

B. Religious Overview

• Zarathustra founded the ancient religion of the Persian Empire, Zoroastrianism.

• Baha’ism is a religion based on the writings of two renegade Shiites, the Bab and Bahaullah.

B. Religious Overview

• Another Muslim minority that started in Persia is the Sufis, the mystics of Islam.

• Sufism teaches that nothing exists except God.

Section Quiz

1. From which mountain range did Persia emerge?

Zagros Mountains

2. During what season did the Persian kings go to the palace in Susa on the Khuzestan Plain?

winter

Section Quiz

3. What ancient religion is still practiced in small pockets on the plateau of Iran?

Zoroastrianism

4. What mountains cross Iran in the north?

Elburz Mountains

Section Quiz

5. Iran is the only country of the Persian Gulf that has an official language other than Arabic. What is it?

Farsi, or Persian

Section Quiz

❖ Baha’ism emphasizes unity in all world religions, stating that we should accept the good in each religion and practice tolerance and acceptance of all religions. Was Jesus tolerant of false religion? What can we learn from Jesus’s example and teaching regarding other religions?

Section Quiz

Jesus taught that He was the only way to God (John 14:6). He therefore did not treat other religions as legitimate paths to God. But He also was kind to those who did not understand the truth of Christianity. When He dealt with the woman of Samaria—a person who followed the false teachings of Samaritans—He was kind and gracious (John 4:7–29). We too should be kind and gracious when we talk to people who follow false religion. But, like Christ, we should tell them that their religion is not true.

People, Places, and Things to KnowChapter 17 Terms

Middle East

birthplace of the post-Flood world and the three major monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Persian Gulf

center of population and trade in the Middle East

mosque

an Islamic place of worship

Arabian Peninsula

land that juts down from the Middle East into the Arabian Sea

Mecca

holiest city of Islam

Medina

holy city of Islam

Qur’an

the holy book of Islam

Rub al Khali

southern desert on the Arabian peninsula; one of the largest deserts in the world

Empty Quarter

Rub al Khali is referred to as this because it is an uninhabited wasteland

Riyadh

capital of Saudi Arabia

Ibn-Saud

conquered the desert tribes of Arabia and formed the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the early twentieth century

Wahhabi

leaders of a religious sect that is noted for its strict adherence to Islamic law

Bedouin

a nomadic shepherd of the Arabian desert

Arabs

Arabic-speaking people

khat

an eastern African shrub with leaves that are chewed as a stimulant or made into a tea

Gulf of Aden

body of water south of the Arabian Peninsula

wadi

a usually dry streambed in a desert area

sultanate

a Persian Gulf country that is ruled by a sultan

Gulf of Oman

body of water between the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf

emirate

a country ruled by an emir, or prince

desalination

the process of removing salt from water

OPEC

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries; founded in 1960 with the goal of coordinating levels of oil production to sustain a desired price

Persian Gulf War

most significant war on the Arabian peninsula since World War I; sparked by Iraq invading Kuwait

Tigris River

important river in Iraq and the Middle East

Euphrates River

important river in Iraq and the Middle East

Mesopotamia

means “land between rivers”; home of several of the world’s earliest civilizations

Saddam Hussein

ruthless dictator who took over Iraq in 1979; used biological and chemical warfare; his invasion of Kuwait sparked the Persian Gulf War

Kurds

a non-Arab ethnic group in the Middle East

Baghdad

capital of Iraq

Shatt al Arab

the two great rivers (Tigris and Euphrates Rivers) of Iraq join to form this river

Persian Empire

ancient empire that included all of modern Iran

Zagros Mountains

rugged mountains covering most of the western third of Iran

Elburz Mountains

mountains which connect the Caucasus Mountains on the west with the Hindu Kush to the east in Afghanistan

Tehran

capital and largest city of Iran

Zoroastrianism

religion founded by Zarathustra during the ancient Persian Empire

Persepolis

largest and greatest Persian capital

Baha’ism

a religion developed in ancient Persia that emphasized the unity of all religions

sharia

a social and governmental system in which all activities are judged according to the Qur’an and Muslim laws

Sufism

Muslim minority that teaches that nothing exists except God

Documents

The Persian Gulf