Notes for the first test

1. Posc 275 Notes 1/28/02
What is the Middle East?
The label Middle East is not a native label. When Europe (especially France and Great
Britain) colonized the region they termed the area farthest away from Europe to the East
the Far East and they termed the area closest to Europe the Middle or Near East. Within
the region known as the Middle East there are three subdivisions.
A. Levant / Arab East: In that region we have the following countries, Syria,
Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt.
B. North Africa: Morocco, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan, Moratoria, and Egypt.
Egypt is considered part of the Levant and part of North Africa because it is
involved in the politics of both.
C. Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar,
Kuwait, Bahrain, and Iran.
Why is the Region Important?
A. Oil: In the Arabian Peninsula, specifically in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE,
Bahaim, Qatar you will find 65% of the proven oil reserves. You will find 34% of
the world gas reserves. According to the American Department of Energy oil
production currently in the Middle East Is 23 million barrels per day. The number
is expected to rise to 44.8 million barrels by 2020. Why is this oil important to
the United States? Not only is the Middle Eastern oil abundant, Middle Eastern
oil is also shallow and cheap to extract. The U.S. imports most of its oil from
Mexico and Venezuela. Since the 1950s the U.S. has been losing its economic
competitiveness relative to Japan and Europe with Germany at its center. In the
1950s the U.S. produced 50% of the world’s gross domestic product. Today the
U.S. only produces 25% of the world’s gross domestic product. Today the world
has become economically multipolar, this means that there are three economic
regions in the world. First is the U.S. with Canada, Mexico and Latin America as
appendages. Second is Europe with Germany at its center and Africa and Eastern
Europe as appendages. Third is Japan/China with east and Southeast Asia as
appendages. Militarily the U.S. is still the most powerful country on earth. The
U.S. uses its military to control the resources that are needed by other economic
actors to exercise leverage over them.
B. Location: The region is the attachment point between three different continents.
Europe, Asia, and Africa. During the Cold War the U.S. relied on alliances in the
region to stop the spread of communism.
C. Arab/Israeli conflict: The region is the center of the longest lasting conflict.
D. Religion: The region is the center and the birth for the three worldly religions:
Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
E. Religious Revivalism: The region is witnessing a huge movement for religious
revivalism. Religious revivalist reject the secular nature of government. For
them a good government must have a religious identity. Islamic revivalism:
Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Islamic Jihad, Hamas in Palestine, National
Religious Party and United Torah Jewry in Israel and Kach.
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2. Diversity In the Middle East
A. Geography: With the exception of the central desert in Saudi Arabia the climate
of the Arab east is pretty much similar to that of the Southwestern United States.
The Red Sea region has a similar climate to the Gulf of California. The climate
of Israel and Lebanon is pretty much similar to southern and central California.
The climate of Turkey is pretty much similar to Northern California. Finally, the
climate of Syria, Jordan, North Arabia and parts of Iraq are similar to that of
Arizona and New Mexico. There are two central river systems. First is the
Tigris and Euphrates. Is begins in Turkey. They pass through Syria and snake
through Iraq creating a fertile valley between them. They finally meet and dump
into the Persian Gulf. They form a border between Iraq and Iran known as the
Shatt El-Arab waterway. The second major system is the Nile. It starts in
Ethiopia with different branches known as the White Nile and the Blue Nile. It
moves through the Sudan and moves through Egypt and finally dumps into the
Mediterranean Sea forming the Nile Delta. Egypt is 95% desert, the only
inhabited area is along the Nile.
B. Ethnicity
i. Semites: Refers to both Arabs and Jews. Arabs speak Arabic.
Arabic has a written formal form that everybody uses and several
spoken dialects that certain regions use. The biggest three are
Arab East Dialect, Egyptian Dialect, and the Saudi Dialect or
Saudi Arabian Peninsula Dialect.
What is an Arab? An Arab is a person who speaks Arabic and
identifies with Arab causes and shares Arab culture.
The majority of the Arabs are Sunni Muslims, the rest of the
Arabs are Shiites, Jews, or Druze. There are Arab Christians.
They mostly live in Lebanon 30-40% of the population, Syria 10-
15% of the population, Egypt 5% of the population and Iraq 3%
of the population who are Shiites who mostly live in Southern
Iraq (the majority of Iraq) and Southern Lebanon (largest
minority). The majority of Shiites live in Iran. The largest
Muslim country in the world is Indonesia.
A Jew is someone who identifies with Jewish religion and Jewish
issues and problems. It can’t be a nationality because there are
American Jews, French Jews, and German Jews. There is no
unified Jewish language.
ii. Turks: These are the second largest ethnic group in the Middle
East.. They are Sunni Muslims but are not Arabs. They
originated from central Asia and they went on to conquer the
Middle East from the 1500s onwards. The Ottoman Empire is a
largely Turkic empire that that governed the Middle East for 400
years. Today Turks live in Turkey and there are 60 million of
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3. them there, and there are 50 million Turks in the former Soviet
Republics of the Soviet Union.
iii. Iranians: The third largest ethnic group in the Middle East,
numbering around 50 million people. They trace their origins to
Indo-European descent. They are Muslims, but they are Shiite
Muslims. Most of them live in Iran. Most of them speak Pharsi
or Persian. They use the Arabic letter when they write their
language but the meaning is totally alien to Arabs.
iv. Kurds: The Kurds are a significant minority in the Middle East.
They are scattered between four different countries or states.
Four million live in Turkey, three million live in Northern Iraq,
two million live in Iran and a half million live in Syria.
Kurds are what we call a nation without a state. A nation is a
group of people that share a common culture, history and
language. A state is:
1) A state is a group of people who reside on a piece of
territory.
2) A state has a monopoly on the legitimate use of force.
3) Only the state can tax and borrow in your name.
4) A state is sovereign. It has sovereignty. A state gets to
decide what it gets to do within its own borders.
All boundaries are drawn by colonial and western powers, mainly
Britain and France. When these boundaries were drawn no
Kurdish state was given. The Kurds have struggled to obtain their
own state, but they have been oppressed by the states that they live
in.
Theoretical Framework
The blue book uses theory of modernization and political development to explain the
politics of the Middle East.
A. Modernization: At its base modernization is the ability of human beings to
control and change their environment. Modernization assumes the following.
1) The process of modernization is lengthy and time consuming.
2) It is a phased process, and it takes place in stages. It is inevitable; all
countries will modernize even if they have setbacks.
3) Modernization disrupts old values and old belief systems and installs
rational ways of thought.
4) According to the theory modern states diffuse their technology, their
knowledge, and their modernity to traditional states. If a traditional
state seeks to modernize it must open its values and its economy to the
world system.
We measure modernization by the health of a society, infant mortality rate, life
expectancy… Modernization is measured by the education of a society.
Education is measured by the literacy rate. Communication is a measure of
modernization and is measured by the number of TVs per population, radios per
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4. population, miles of railway and roadway, and newspaper circulation.
Modernization is measured by urbanization and that is measured by the
percentage of people who live in cities. Modernization is measured by
industrialization. We measure this by employment in agriculture.
B. Political Development: Political development is not the same as democracy. It
is the capacity of a political system to initiate, absorb, and sustain economic and
social change.
C. Relation Between Modernization and Political Development: In the Middle East
most countries are modernizing. Using all the measures there is improved
communication, education, and health care. The problem is that this
modernization has not made the political systems develop. The states remain
fragile and not responsive to people’s demands. The oil wealth has been used by
many states directly and indirectly to sustain modernization. The oil wealth has
also meant that states can improve their use of coercion. The wealth has been
used to obtain huge military arsenals. Oil wealth has made most Middle Eastern
states rentier states. A rentier state is a state that does not depend on taxing the
people for their existence. This phenomenon has made Middle Eastern states not
responsive and lacking in their political development.
Social Setting for Islam
Islam was born in Arabia around 620 A.D. This is the time when Muhammad started
preaching after his first vision. We do not know the exact birthday of Muhammad but it
is around 570 A.D. Before Islam Arabia was under the influence of two major Empires.
The Sunani Empire (Iraq & Iran), and the Persian Empire. The second empire was the
Eastern Roman Empire Byzantium, which was a Christian Orthodox Empire. These two
empires battled each other continuously and vowed for influence in Arabia.
A. Tribal Ethics: Different tribes dominated Arabia. There was no central authority
to maintain law and order. Order was maintained by the avenging of
wrongdoing between families. The problem with this system is that it often led
to unending family blood feuds.
1) Quarish: Quraish was one of the important tribes that were able to
create alliances with other tribes in order to avert blood feuds. Quraish
made their money from long distance trade. The biggest trading post
for Quraish was Mecca and trade coming from Europe, Asia, and
Africa used to go through Mecca. They made their money from Pagan
pilgrimages. The majority of the tribes in Arabia were pagans. They
worshipped small statues, and multiple gods. Again members of all
pagan tribes used to head to Mecca from pilgrimages at the Kaaba.
The financial a mercantile growth of Western Arabia brought along
with it inequality and the tribal social bond began to break and
relations were more and more based on financial reasoning.
Muhammad and His Teachings
Muhammad was born in a minor family known as the Hashinis within the tribe of
Quarish. Both of his parents died when he was six. By custom his grandfather took care
of him and when grandfather died his uncle Abi Taleb took care of him. Not much is
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5. known about his early life. There are no pictures of Muhammad. He was a trader and he
used to caravan between Syria and Mecca. He was not wealthy. He was a competent,
honest financial manager. He met and worked for a woman known as Khadija. She was
twice divorced and she was 15 years older than he was. He eventually married her when
she proposed to marry him. He married Khadija and only Khadija until she died. He had
three sons and four daughters from her. All of his songs died before they became adults.
A. Teachings: Muhammad began reflecting about the social problems of Arabia.
There was no sharing. Muhammad started withdrawing into a nearby cave to
meditate and then it happened. At 610 A.D. Muhammad had his first
revelation from the angel Gabriel. “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad
is the prophet of Allah.” Muhammad went and talked to his wife Khadija and
she became a believer. Then he talked to Ali Bin Taleb his cousin, then Zayd
Ibn Hartih. All became followers. His other revelation stressed the following:
“There will be a day of judgment. You must be pious, generous, share some
wealth, and material goods are not important.” The most important message
was monotheism. Monotheism was a challenge to Quarish because it
undermined their source of income that came from the belief in multiple gods.
Slowly but surely Muhammad’s message started catching on. Most of his
followers were young and less well to do. They collectively were known as
Muslims because they have submitted unto god. Quarish started getting
scared and they started persecuting the Muslims. All of them were persecuted
except Muhammad because his uncle Ali Taleb protected him. Ali Taleb died
in 619 A.D. and consequently lost his protection.
B. Move to Medina: In 622 A.D. Muhammad and his followers went to the city
of Medina (Yathrib). Yathrib had many social and conflictual problems and
they wanted to presence of Muhammad and his followers to help solve their
problems. When they leave to Medina this marks the beginning of Hidra
(migration) and marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar. In Medina
Muhammad established a new Muslim order known as the Umma. An Umma
for Muhammad is the community of believers. Loyalty to the Umma is to god
regardless of everything else. Muhammad’s revelations in Mecca dealt with
the basic ideas of Islam. In Medina the revelations changed to social
regulations in order to build the new Umma. The Koran outlaws blood feuds,
alcohol, pork, and gambling. The unification of one form of marriage, each
man is allowed to take four wives, but you must treat them equally. The
practice of killing female babies was outlawed. Women were given strong
property rights. A woman that enters into marriage will take her property into
the marriage and if she divorces then she takes her property out of the
marriage. Muhammad from Medina launched a jihad. Jihad means literally
“to struggle for Islam.” Jihad as the use of force to convert people into Islam
is only practiced against the pagans. Christians and Jews must not be forced
into Islam. They are called “People of the Book” or “Dhimmis.” Muhammad
started launching raids against the trade caravans of Quarish. These raids
became very successful, and they brought Muhammad more notoriety.
Eventually Muhammad peacefully marched to Medina and took it over. The
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6. first thing he did was smash the idol statues and declared the Kaaba a Muslim
place of worship.
Five Pillars of Islam
A. Al-Shahada: Done in front of two witnesses. “There is no god but Allah, but
Muhammad is a messenger of Allah.”
B. Pray: Muslims pray five times. They pray at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset
and evening. They pray facing Mecca. Must be clean and decently attired.
Friday is the holy day and people go to the mosque and pray.
C. Almar Giving: Two forms. One is known as Sadeqa which is voluntary. The
other is known as Zakat which is a fixed amount of money which you must
pay to the Islamic community.
D. Sawm (fasting): Sawm is done during Ramadan and it is a lunar month. You
fast during the daylight hours from sunrise to sunset. You don’t eat, drink,
smoke, have sex… Then at sunset you gorge. People exempt are sick people,
traveling people, and pregnant and nursing women.
E. Hajj (pilgramage): You must do it at least once in your lifetime where you go
to Mecca.
Sharia Law / Islamic Law
Islam is not only a religion. It is a worldview. There are laws that regulate every aspect
of a person’s life. Two sources:
A. Koran: Holy book of Muslims. The Koran is considered to be God’s word.
Therefore the Koran is divine, eternal and unchangeable. It is found in Arabic
and must be recited in Arabic. The Koran was revealed to Muhammad who is
only a messenger. He is not the Son of God. God has no sons. The Koran
recognizes Christ and Abraham as prophets of god. They recognize Mary as
the mother of Christ. Under Sharia law certain practices carry a stiff penalty.
If you steal and you are not in need your hand is chopped off. If you commit
adultery you are stoned. If you kill someone your life is taken. Some
countries apply Sharia law wholesale, including Saudi Arabia and Iran. Some
countries apply certain parts of Sharia law like Jordan and Egypt. Some
countries do not apply Sharia law like Lebanon and Syria.
B. Hadith (Said) / Sunna (Did): This basically is everything that Muhammad
ever said or did. Most of these are based on oral histories. The Koran was
collected into one book immediately after the death of the prophet. The
Hadith / Sunna was collected 260 years after the death of the prophet.
Muhammad’s Successors (Caliphs)
Muhammad was the center and leader of the Umma. He died in 632 A.D. He did not
designate any successors. He did not designate a process of succession. Influential sub
leaders around him decided on a process. The influential leaders of the Umma will get
together and name a successor.
A. Rightful Caliphs (632 –661 A.D.):
1) Abu Bakr Al-Sadiq: He was the first person to become a Muslim
outside of the family of Muhammad.
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7. 2) Umar Ibu Al-Khattab: Umar Al-Khattab was responsible for
expanding the Muslim empire and taking over Egypt, most of the Arab
East and Iran.
3) Uthman Ibn Affan: Uithman Affan was assassinated by a group
calling themselves “Kharijites.”
4) Abi Bin Ali Taleb: He eventually was assassinated by the Kharijites.
Kharijitah believed caliphs should be chosen by all.
Sunni-Shiite Split
90% of Muslims are Sunnis. 10% of Muslims are Shiites. When Ali was assassinated his
eldest son succeeded him, his eldest on Hasan succeeded him as caliph. Hasan was
challenged by Muawiyya who was the governor of Damascus, Syria. Hasam did not
want to put up a fight so he gave up in favor of Muawiyya. That point marks the
beginning of the Ummayad Dynasty. When Muawiyya dies his son Yazid becomes
caliph. The younger son of Ali, Husayn, challenges Yazid and wants to become caliph.
Husayn raises up an army to challenge Yazid’s army and they meet in Southern Iraq in
the town of Karbala. Yazid wins. Husayn is tortured to death. This incident marks the
split in Islam between Sunnis and Shiites.
A. Shiite Belief: Shiites believe that Ali should have been the first caliph, that
Muhammad on his deathbed designated him. They believe that the succession
should go through Ali to his descendants. They believe that Ali has a divine
authority to interpret the Koran. Ali and his descendants are referred to as Imams.
Shiite Islam has a class of clergy that is capable of interpreting the Koran and
guiding Muslims. Martyrdom in Shiite Islam is very important. Shiites
historically have been persecuted by Sunnis, but no longer. Shiites have resorted
to practicing Taqiya to protect themselves from persecution. Within Shiite Islam
there was another split between 12er Shiites and 7er Shiites. Right at the 7th
Imam, where he died, there was conflict. Some of them followed Ismalilis.
Where do we find Shiites? Southern Iraq, South Lebanon and Iran. Alawites are
an offshoot of Shiite Islam. Both the Sunnis and the Shiites considered them
heretics and historically they persecuted them. They believe that Ali is god.
Alawites mix their Islamic practices with Christianity. For example, they
celebrate Christmas. They are found in large concentrations in Syria as the area
known as Latakia and the people governing Syria are the Alawites. The Druzes
are an offshoot of the 7er or Ismaili Islam. They grew out of Egypt. There a
governor by the name of Al-Hakim believed that he was the incarnation of god.
His minister, Hamza, who established secretive rituals for the worship of Al-
Hakim. Al-Hakim and Hamza send out an envoy by the name of Muhammad Al-
Darazi to preach the new religion in the Arab East. The religion caught on in the
Arab East and today Druzes are found in Lebanon, Syria, and Northern Israel.
Historically in the past they were considered to be heretics and were persecuted
by Shiites and Sunni.
Spread of Islam
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8. When Muhammad died all of Arabia was under Muslim control. In a span on 30 years
his successors expanded the empire all the way to India and all the way to Spain and the
edges of France.
A. Why?
i. Islam provided the tribes of Arabia with a strong and unifying ideology.
There was no longer infighting and the energy that was wasted in blood
feuds was transmitted outwards towards the “enemies” of Islam.
ii. The two opposing empires, Byzantium and Susani, fought each other so
strongly that they were weakened and could not defend against the threat
from the south.
B. Stages of Expansion:
i. Caliphs: Umar, the 2nd
caliph, expanded the empire the most out of all the
other caliphs. Under his leadership Iran, the Arab East, and Egypt fell
under the control of Muslims. The importance of Umar is that he set the
pattern for future conquests. People who lived in that region who were
Christian and Jews were allowed to continue to live as they were before.
 Do not challenge Islamic control of the region.
 Dhimmis had to pay the Jizya which was equal to 2% of the
Zakat. The revenue that was taken from the Zakat and Jizya, and
the spoils of war, was put in a treasury known as the Diwan.
ii. Ummayads: The Ummayad empire begins when Muway forcefully takes
the caliphite from the son of Ali. From that point onwards the caliphates
become hereditary. Under the Ummayads the empire expands to the
borders of Anotolia and they expand by taking Northern Africa and Spain.
Under the Ummayads a lot of non-Arabs converted into Islam and wanted
to be treated as part of the Umma. However, they discovered that the Arab
rulers have become a caste system and they excluded them from power.
Because the new converts into Islam were not treated as equals the
legitimacy of the Arab rulers came into question. The rulers were viewed
as corrupt, impious and they strayed away from Muhammad’s path. The
Ummayad last from 661 A.D. to 750 A.D. It was followed by the third
Muslim empire known as the Abbasid Empire.
iii. Abassid Empire (750 – 1258): The disgruntlement with Ummayad rule
and the exclusion of non-Arab muslims from power caused a civil war in
the 740s. The civil wars started in the east, in Persia, and it spread like
wildfire in the empire. Eventually the Ummayad Empire ended and the
Abassid Empire came into being. The Abassid Empire was more inclusive
than the Ummayada and Arabs as well as non-Arab Muslim elites were
allowed into governing. The Abassid Empire did not expand
geographically, however, the Abassid empire was the pinnacle of Muslim
cultural, intellectual, architectural, scientific and artistic achievement.
Under the Abassids the city of Baghdad was created and the capital was
moved from Damascus to Baghdad.
The Ottoman Empire, Colonialism and Arab Nationalism
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9. I. Ottoman Empire: The Ottoman Empire was a Turkik Sunni-Muslim Empire. It
began in the 1300s from central Anatolia and spread to govern Egypt, North
Africa, the Gulf, and Southern Europe. The Ottoman Empire governed the
Middle East for almost 400 years. The Ottoman Empire was a multi-ethnic and
multi-religious empire.
A. Separation of Temporal from Religions: The Ottoman Empire
separated the temporal from the religious institutions.
 Temporal: The governing institutions were headed by a Sultan.
The Sultan had a Grand Mezir and the Grand Mezir had an
administration or cabinet. In the cabinet you had two
treasurers, two judges and two governor-generals. One for
Asia and one for Europe, and these governors appointed sub
governors for every region. Finally there was an Agha who
was the head of the armed forces.
B. Religious Institution: The religious institution had a bureaucracy that
was separate and distinct from the temporal institution. The leader of
the institution was Shiekh Ul-Islam. The Sultan appointed him. His
job was to make sure that laws and decrees passed by the Sultan were
in line with Sharia law. He also issued a fetwa, which is a religious
legal opinion that will give legitimacy to the temporal institutions.
Sheikh Ul-Islam is the leading religious scholar among a group of
scholars known as Ulema. From these Ulema Kadis, or judges, are
appointed to different regions of the empire. Their job is to enforce
Shira law on the Muslim subjects of the empire.
II. Millet System & Capitulation Treaties
A. Millet System: Since the empire was multi-religious and multi-ethnic it
created a system that allowed the religious communities within it to
become self-governing in their civil affairs. The Millet system draws its
roots from the Dhimmis in the Koran. They created five millets. A
Sunni Muslim millet, Greek Orthodox millet, the Armenian millet,
Jewish millet, and the Catholic millet. Each millet controlled the
administration of its holy places, marriage, inheritance, and property
relations. There was religious courts set up to deal with disputes
between members and between millets. Each millet had a representative
that served in the government in Istanbul. As long as the Ottoman
Empire was strong the Millet system was an asset in maintaining order.
However, by the beginning of the 1700s the Ottoman Empire began to
weaken relative to Europe. When the Ottoman Empire began to weaken
European powers began to claim protection and the defense of the rights
of minorities in the empire. Russia became protector and spokesperson
for the Greek Orthodox. France claimed protection of the Catholic
millet. Britain claimed protection of the Jews in the empire. At that
point the millet system because a liability and became an excuse for the
intervention of rising European powers in the affairs of a declining
empire.
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10. B. Capitulation: These are a series of treaties that a weakened Ottoman
Empire signed with European powers. It gave European powers special
privileges.
i. European merchants did not pay taxes.
ii. European merchants were immune from Ottoman law.
iii. The property of European merchants in the empire was protected
from expropriation.
iv. Extra-territoriality was established. Extra-territoriality meant that
European powers controlled portions of Ottoman land and
enforced their own laws in it.
III. European Colonialism: From 1683 until the dissolution of the empire in 1919 the
empire was in decline. European powers started referring to the Ottoman Empire
as the “sick man” of Europe and divvying up the Ottoman land became known as
the Eastern question. Divvying up the land had two phases.
A. 1603 – WWI: In 1830 and by 1845 France occupied large parts of North
Africa. In 1882 Britain occupied and took over Egypt then moved
southward to the Sudan. By 1912 Italy took over what is today Libya.
By WWI what was left of the empire was the Arab East, the Hijaz which
was semiautonomous.
B. Eve of WWI & During WWI: This period is known as Britain’s moment
in the Middle East because the British made most of the plans that
determined the Middle East that you know today.
i. Hussein – McMahon Correspondence: The area known as the
Hijaz, which was on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia, was under
the control of princes known as the Hashimites who claimed to be
descendants of the prophet of Muhammad. Their leader was
Physal. Sir Arthur Anthony McMahon was the governor of Egypt
on the eve of WWI. Between July 1915 and January 1916 Hussein
and McMahon exchanged letters. Britain promised Hussein an
independent Arab state in modern day Syria, Jordan, Iraq and
Lebanon. In exchange Hussein would lead a successful revolt
against the Ottomans from the south. In 1916 an army of Bedouin
Arabs launched a revolt under the leadership of Physal aided by
T.E. Lawrence. They rout out the Turkish garrisons and took
Syria, Jordan, and Iraq before the British could move in on Egypt.
They declare their independent Arab state in Damascus.
ii. Sykes – Picot Agreement: This was a secret agreement between a
British official by the name of Mark Sykes and a French official by
the name of George Picot to divide the land of the empire between
Russia, France, and Britain. When the Bolshevik Revolution took
place in 1917 the Bolsheviks published a plan to embarrass Britain
and France.
iii. Balfour Declaration (1917): A British foreign minister by the
name of Balfour pledged Britain to establish a “national home for
the Jewish people in Palestine.” In exchange for that pledge the
Jewish leadership around the world pledged support for the British
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11. war effort during WWI. Moreover, Britain favored a friendly
Jewish state on the other side of Egypt to control the Suez Canal
and the route to India which was known as “the jewel in the British
crown.”
C. After WWI: WWI ended in 1918. The victors held two peace
conferences to determine the future of the region.
i. Paris Peace Conference (1919): During that conference the U.S.
suggested that the people of the region should determine their own
future. It was known as self-determination. France and Britain
however wanted to colonize the region. However, the United
States forced the issue and sent the King-Crane commission to find
out what the people of the region wanted. This commission was to
submit its recommendation to the next peace conference that was
held in San Remo, Italy in 1920.
ii. San Remo (1920): First the commission found out that the people
of the region wanted independence under the control of the Arab
state created by Physal. However, if colonization was a must then
they prefer U.S. colonization over France and Britain. France and
Britain rejected the conference’s findings and the United States
turned isolationist and withdrew from world affairs. The French
and the British created a modified Sykes-Picot agreement. France
was given Syria and Lebanon as a colony. Britain was given Iraq,
Jordan, and Palestine as colonies. The only obstacle to this plan
was the army of King Physal who controlled most of Syria. France
and Britain sent their armies and crushed the Arab army and
occupied the land. From that point onwards the boundaries of the
Middle East has been written in stone.
IV. Arab Nationalism: Arab nationalism is the belief that the Arabs are one nation
united by a common language, common culture, and a common history. Arab
nationalism is a secular movement that seeks to separate religion from the state.
The aim of Arab nationalist has been to create one Arab state rather than twenty
two Arab state as currently exists. This aim has failed miserably.
A. Roots
i. Literature Revival: Around the mid 1800s Arab intellectuals
started a movement of Arabic language revival centered in the city
of Beirut (in modern day Lebanon) and the city of Cairo in Egypt.
These literary groups started publishing new Arab language works
and started translating Europe’s scientific works into Arabic
language. In 1866 the American University of Beirut was created
and this University was central in reviving Arab culture. With the
emphasis on Arabic language came the belief or idea that being an
Arab is different than being a Turk.
ii. Arab Christian Intellectuals: The intellectuals who were Christians
and who were active in the Arab literary revival were concerned
about the impact of Islam on their future role in the region. While
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12. these intellectuals spoke the same language and had the same
culture as their Muslim Arab intellectuals they did not share similar
religions. So, in their writing about Arab nationalism they de-
emphasized Islam and emphasized secularism. Michelle Aflaq is a
Christian Orthodox intellectual. He is part founder of the Baath
part that currently governs Syria and Iraq. The Baath part was
conceived as an Arab nationalist party. In his writing Aflaq says
that Muhammad was an Arab before he was a Muslim. He even
asserts that Islam itself is a manifestation of the Arab identity.
iii. Young Turk Movement (1908): In 1908 a group of Turkish
nationalists army officers created a coup de taut and kicked the
Sultan out of power. These officers believed that the strength of a
country depended on nationalism and they launched a process of
Turkification. Only the Turkish language was recognized and all
Turkish culture was to be imposed on all Turkish land. The rising
Arab nationalist identity was threatened by Turkification and from
that point onwards Arabs started thinking about independence.
iv. Arab Revolt: Was started by Sharif Hussein and his son Physal.
This event had a great impact on Arab psyche. The establishment
of the Arab state for a short period of time at the end of WWI and
before 1920 gave Arab nationalism a boost. The fact that the
French crushed the Arab state in order to colonize Syria and
Lebanon further unified the Arabs and helped promote Arab
nationalism as an ideology.
B. Scholar of Arab Nationalism: The most important person to write and
propagate about Arab nationalism other than Michelle Aflaq was Sati Al-
Husri (1882 – 1968). He was an Ottoman diplomatic official. His father
was a judge in the empire and he was a Muslim. He was well traveled
and visited almost all the regions of the empire. He was very well
educated, a graduate of the Sorbonne in France. He spoke Turkish,
French, and Arabic. He traveled to Europe and was exposed and
impressed by the Western concept of nationalism. He served as the
education minister in Syria and Iraq in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He
propagated the concept of secular Arab nationalism. Secularism for him
meant being loyal to the Arab nation rather than being loyal to religion,
family, or clan. He believed that a common history and a common
language was enough to unite the Arabs as a nation. He believed that
those who deny they are Arabs are misguided. He believed that
colonialism was responsible for people denying their Arab identity. He
stressed education about Arab history, language and culture as a way for
people to rediscover their Arab identity. When he became minister of
education in Iraq and Syria he launched a movement of Arabization of
the educational system.
C. Rise and Fall of Arab Nationalism: The idea of Arab nationalism was
dominant in Arab countries during the 1950s and the 1960s. This is
because it was supported by two principle institutions / people. The first
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13. institution to support it was the Baath party that was created by Michelle
Aflaq. This party was a middle class Arab nationalist secular party. It
became the party in power in Syria during the 1950s and actively sought
the promotion of Arab unity. The second person to promote Arab
nationalism was the President of Egypt Gamal Abdul Nasser. Nasser
and a group of military officers known as the “Free Officers” took power
in Egypt in 1952 by a bloodless coup de taut that ended British control
over Egypt. Nasser in Egypt and the Baath Party in Syria and later the
Baath Party in Iraq had political animosity to the conservative
monarchies of the Persian Gulf. That animosity during the 1950s and
1960s became known as the Arab Cold War. The pinnacle of success for
Arab nationalism took place when Syria and Egypt united as one country
known as the United Arab Republic and Nasser became President of
both. This unity lasted until 1961 where a coup de taut in Syria broke
off the unity. The decline of Arab nationalism began in June in 1967. In
June 1967 Israel launched a Blitzkrieg attack against Egypt, Syria and
Jordan decimating all three armies. After that attack Israel ended up
occupying the Sinai Peninsula, West Bank, Gaza Strip and the Golan
Heights. This stunning defeat showed the weakness of Arab nationalism
as an ideology capable of defending the Arab state. Since 1967 it has
been a period of continuous decline and rise of state / localized
nationalisms.
D. Rise of the State / Localized Nationalisms: After the death of Nasser in
1970 and the rise of Sadat Egyptian intellectuals started talking about the
Egyptianess and the Pheronic roots of Egypt rather than being an Arab
nationalist state. Another alternative was the rise of Syrian nationalism.
The idea of Syrian nationalism was created by Antun Saadé a Christian
Orthodox Lebanese in 1932. He believed that there is something known
as a greater Syrian race which included those who lived in Syria,
Lebanon, Jordan and parts of Iraq. The party that he created was the
Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party (SSNP). Eventually because of his
militancy members from the Lebanese government assassinated him. In
retaliation members of his own party assassinated the Lebanese prime
minister in 1957. After that the part was banned and now is a fringe
party. The third alternative was Islamic Revivalism (Fundamentalism).
Islamic movements in Arab countries date back to the 1930s. The oldest
Islamic party was the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. The Islamic
parties in the Arab world co-existed with Arab nationalism was very
strong. In fact both Nasser in Egypt and the Baath Party in Syria
persecuted Islamic movements. After the decline of Arab nationalism
(June 1967) Islamic Revivalism begins to grow and begins to challenge
local governments all over the Arab world. Specifically Egypt, Syria,
Algeria and Iran (1978 Islamic Revolution).
i. Islamists believe that Islam is a way of life.
ii. The failures of Muslim societies is the result of deviation from
Islam in favor of Western nationalism and materialism.
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14. iii. The renewal of Islamic society depends to a large extent on going
back to Islam.
iv. All Islamic countries must be governed by Sharia law.
v. Current “secular” states in the Middle East must be re-Islamized.
Today there are approximately 500 different Islamic groups in the Middle
East. They are not monolithic. Some of them are moderate and are
willing to compromise with the current government in power, examples of
these include Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Hizbolah. Some of the are
very radical, like the Islamic groups in Algeria and Islamic Jihad in Egypt.
They are not willing to compromise with the government and want to
replace it with a truly Islamic government.
Groups & Classes In the Middle East
I. Groups: Social scientists recognize two types of groups in a society. The formal
groups and the informal groups.
A. Formal: Formal groups are openly organized groups with known
membership. They include two subgroups, the associational and the
institutional.
i. Associational: Associational groups are highly organized and
represent certain economic or ideological interests in a society.
They are very common in western democratic societies. They
include the NRA, NAACP, AARP, American Petroleum Institution,
etc.
ii. Institutional: These are groups that usually exist within a
government bureaucracy. Often times they lobby the government
to increase their power an their share of the pie. Some examples
are the military, CIA, FBI, INS, Justice Department and the Energy
Department.
B. Informal: Informal interest groups do not have a clearly defined
membership. They do not have an organizational structure and are often
secretive about their activities. Examples include those of similar kinship,
those who belong to the same family, and same clan or tribe. Within
informal interest groups loyalty is to the individuals rather than to an idea.
Within Middle Eastern families there is a tremendous bond and loyalty
regardless of ideological differences.
C. Group strength: The weakest groups are associational groups. This is
because almost all Middle Eastern societies are authoritarian dictatorships.
Authoritarian governments do not tolerate the rise of a civil society. This
is when groups are allowed to exist and interact without government
control. Stronger than associational groups are institutional groups. The
strongest of them all is the military in authoritarian societies. Finally the
third and strongest group is the informal one. Even within institutional
groups there are informal cliques or factions that actually have power. An
examples of this is the Takritis within the Baath Party. Sadaam Hussein
and the Takritis come from a village in central Iraq known as Takrit. Most
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15. of the people in actual positions in Iraq are related to Sadaam Hussein
either by blood or by village.
D. The Family: The most important informal group in the Middle East is the
extended family. This includes a man and his wives, his sons and
daughters, their spouses and their children if they have any. Family
members in the Middle East will help each other in time of need. In order
to strengthen family relations and expand family tentacles arranged
marriages are undertaken. There is tension within Middle Eastern
families. However, when the family is threatened by outsiders the ties
tighten up and the tension is put aside.
II. Classes: Your blue book defines class in terms of power and terms of
employment status. Power refers to ones ability to shape and control the behavior
of others. The basis of a person’s power may be political, economic, and religious
or it can be educational or military.
A. Classes in the Middle East (“The Middle Eastern Class System” page 90)
i. The upper (ruling) class: Represents tiny part of the population,
usually less than 2 percent. The upper class was a ruling class
because it possessed a monopoly of the instruments of power and
authority in society. Composed of the elites that rested at the very
apex if the governmental, landholding, religious, tribal, military,
and business pyramids of influence. The rulers and the networks
of ruling families were at the core of the upper class.
ii. The bureaucratic middle class: Closely rings the ruling class. It is
an important intermediary class that translates the directives of the
ruling class into action. This administering class appears to be
almost an appendage to the upper class because of its many points
of contact with the rulers. Owing to this proximity, the
bureaucratic middle class has more often served the interests of the
ruling class than those of the other middle and lower classes.
While maintaining an important power of its own, this class
traditionally viewed its interests as intertwined with those of the
upper class. The proximity to power always held out to the
bureaucratic middle class the possibility of movement into upper-
class ranks.
iii. Bourgeois middle class: A class of businessmen, merchants, and
traders. The symbol and center of activity of this class is the
bazaar, or suq. As an individual, the merchant or trader has
relatively little economic power and virtually no political
influence. As a class, however, this bourgeoisie has considerable
political power. When ruling-class policies have seriously
endangered the interests of commerce and the lifestyles of the
merchant, the bazaar has often become the heart of opposition to
the regime in power.
iv. The cleric middle class: Composed of the lower and intermediate
ranks of the ulema, is the third traditional middle class. The
members of this class enjoy neither the political influence of the
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16. bureaucrats nor the wealth of the businessmen. They have,
however, possessed important religio-psychological influence over
these members of society who are practicing Muslims. They also
have controlled the educational system through their role as
teachers and directors of the traditional educational institutions
(maktabs and madrasas). The constituency of the clerics has been
largely concentrated within the lower classes, and because of this,
the interests of the cleric middle class have been closely entwined
with these below them in social structure.
v. Peasant class: In preponderantly agricultural societies, these are
the individuals who work the land under a variety of arrangements
that only alter the degree of their poverty, dependence, disease, and
ignorance. The peasant class, located at the very bottom of the
social structure, has very little power and is thus exposed to
exploitation by all the other classes in society.
vi. Nomadic lower class: The tribal masses have existed in a state of
subjection to a hierarchy of khans and have had to struggle to make
a living from an often inhospitable land. Because of a modicum of
natural freedom and their occasional importance as military forces,
the tribesmen have been a cut above the peasant in power structure.
vii. Traditional working class: Includes such groups as servants,
manual laborers, craftsmen, and artisans. Like the members of the
other lower classes, these workers have earned their livelihood
through the use of their physical skills. The members of this class
have often joined guilds and brotherhoods; accordingly, they have
enjoyed some organizational protection. This has placed the
traditional working class in the best power position among the
lower classes.
B. Professional Middle Class: This class owes its existence to the
modernization process that grew in the Middle East after 1950. This
professional middle class includes teachers, professors, engineers, doctors,
journalists, writers, and the lawyers. All these professions make the
intelligentsia of the Middle East. They make up around 12% of the
population of the Middle East. Modernization theorists argue that this
class is essential for political development of the Middle East. They
believed that the Western education that this class has received will lead
them to demand more equality, democracy, and more participation in
government. This did not happen; this class has failed to spur or initiate
political development in the Middle East.
i. This professional class lacks in unity among its members. This
class is torn by ethnic, religious, regional and social origin
cleavages. Members of that class will use their ethnic and
religious identities to promote their status rather than demand an
improvement in the political system as a whole.
ii. This class has failed because the ruling class has co-opted them
and pacified them into becoming a part of the establishment.
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17. Because of that there has been little demand from that class for
political reform and development.
iii. This class has proven that it cannot lead the masses. This class
tends to be westernized and highly educated while the masses tent
to be very traditional, religious and uneducated. Because of that
gap in political and social values this class cannot lead.
III. Group-Class Interaction: In the Middle East class conflict has been very muted.
i. Intra-Class Groups: There are groups in the Middle East that
straddle two different classes. And since loyalty in the Middle East
extends to the family, clan, tribe, or ethnicity this has meant that
conflict between classes is rare.
ii. Groups Provide Class Mobility: Because groups are spread
between classes they help people in a group climb up the class
ladder.
What is Patrimonialsm?
Max Weber is a German sociologist. One of his achievements is to explain how
leadership and control takes place in a society. He identified four patterns of leadership /
control. They exist as patriarchal, patrimonial, charismatic, and rational-legal. He argued
that patriarchal and patrimonial leadership and control usually exists in traditional
societies. Rational-legal patterns of control usually exist in modern societies.
Charismatic patterns of leadership control can exist in all societies. In the rational-legal
model control and the selection of leaders is done through a system of laws. In the
patriarchal unit the family is the unit that is important. The leader of the family is the
patriarch and everyone obeys him. In charismatic leadership the leader has charisma,
which is a quality in a leader that captures your imagination and makes you obey and
follow. The most important pattern is the patrimonial. The patrimonial pattern of
leadership and control starts and begins from the patriarchal pattern and extends through
a personal network of relationships into the bureaucracy, military, and other institutions in
society.
Origins of Patrimonialism in Middle East
A. During Muhammad: Islam began as the patriarchal system of leadership and
control. Later on Muhammad developed the Umma or the community of
believers and this was the origin of patriomonialism. Muhammad had charisma
derived from God. Muhammad created a patrimonial network through the Umma
where in he was the center of the Umma and everyone else revolved around him.
To create this patrimonial Umma Muhammad manipulated marriage. Muhammad
entered into two types of marriages. The first type is the marriage to integrate the
Umma. He married the daughters of the first two caliphs and he wed his own
daughters to Affan and Taleb. The second type of marriage Muhammad married
in order to pacify the opposition. He married the daughters of leaders of tribes
that were opposed to him.
B. After Muhammad: After the death of Muhammad the patrimonial system
developed from the Umma into the royal household tied through kinship under the
Ummayad Empire and the Ambassid Empire. A bureaucracy was created but
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18. those who served closest to the leader in the bureaucracy tended to be tied to the
leader through kinship or personal loyalty.
Patrimonialism Today
In a patrimonial system there is always a supreme leader, a sovereign, king, president,
tribal chief, etc. This leader is surrounded by advisors, ministers, and military personnel
that share unquestioned loyalty to the person of that leader.
 Vertical Emanation: This basically means that all major decisions in this
system should either emanate from the leader or appear to emanate from the
leader. In the presence of the leader subordinate leaders must appear passive
and submissive. They do not question the leader. The relationship between
subordinate leaders is that of competition. They compete with each other in
order to gain favor with the patrimonial leader. This patrimonial leader in turn
does his best to promote competition among subordinates. His biggest
premise is “divide and conquer,” otherwise they will grow strong and rise
against him.
Characteristics of Patrimonial Rule
A. Personalism: Just like the Umma current patrimonial societies are based on
personal relationships. Institutions do exist but the personal relationships within
institutions are more important than the institution itself. At the epicenter of a
patrimonial system is the leader and the closer you are to the leader the more
impact you will have on him.
B. Proximity: Those who have physical proximity to the leader hold the most
influence in decision making. Usually those who have proximity are the songs,
brothers, uncles and even the wives. Muhammad for example was influenced
greatly by Khadija and by her slave Zaib Ibn Harith.
C. Informality: Patrimonial systems are informal systems. The person who has the
power title is not necessarily the person who actually wields power. In 1952 a
coup de taut in Egypt brings to power 12 army officers and ends the British
supported monarchy. The official leader from 1952 until 1955 was Mohammad
Nagib. But in reality real power was in the hands of Nasser.
D. Balanced Conflict: A patrimonial leader lives and dies by the dictum of “divide
and rule.” In order to remain in power the patrimonial leader must manipulate his
subordinates to fight against each other. He must not allow his subordinates to
accumulate too much power otherwise they will overthrow him.
E. Military Prowess: The key to the success of a patrimonial leader is to have an
army that is loyal to him and that would not challenge him. Moreover, most if not
all of the leaders in the Middle Eastern societies have had a successful
background in the military. Mohammad was a prophet, a politician, and a military
leader. He used to lead raids on the caravans of Mecca. Nasser was a captain of
the army.
F. Religious Rationalization: Islam was not only a religion it was an ideology that
supported and gave legitimacy to Muhammad’s actions to what he did. Ever since
then patrimonial leaders have used what Muhammad said and did to legitimize
their own rule. For example, the Jordanian Royal Family constantly stressed the
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19. fact that they are from the family of Hashim, which is Muhammad’s family.
Another example is the king of Saudi Arabia’s official title is “Guardian of the
Two Holy Places,” the Kabba and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
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