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=> "The Arabs" (College notes from U-M, 2006)

"The Arabs" (College notes from U-M, 2006)
Posted by Jeff (Guest) jeff@attoz.com - Friday, January 27 2006, 7:16:19 (CET)
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The Arabs

A. Pre-Listening Questions
1. How would you define yourself as an American?
2. How would you define an Arab?
3. What comes to mind when you hear the term “Arab”?
4. How large do you think the Arab population in the US is? Can you name any American Arab communities?


B. Outline
1. The Arab homeland
2. Traditional Arab livelihoods
3. Arabs and Islam
4. The Modern Arab World
5. Population
6. Religions
7. Ethnic Minorities
8. Languages
9. Arab Nationalism
10. Arab Resolution


1. The Arab homeland
Arabian Peninsula and Fertile Crescent
a. Earliest historical record of the Arabs
1) Inscriptions 854 BC (Saudi Arabia)
2) Nammarah inscription 300 AD (Syria)
3) Zabad inscription 512 AD (Iraq)
4) Umm al-Jimal inscription 600 AD (Syria)


A tombstone from Umm al-Jimal - 250 AD
(Photo of Inscription)


Nammarah inscription of Imru’u al-Qays - 328 AD
(Photo of Inscription)


1. The Arab homeland
Arabian Peninsula and Fertile Crescent
b. Arab traditions about their origins
Descendents of Prophet Abraham through his son Ishmael
1) Adnan (North Arabians)
2) Qahtan (South Arabians)
c. Ancient oral Arabic poetry and monumental architecture


Origin of the Arabs
(Genealogy Image)


2. Traditional Arab livelihoods
a. Sedentary
1) Urban centers (monumental architecture, historical record)
(a) Mecca
(b) Petra (Jordan), and Palmyra (Syria)
(c) South Arabian Civilization (Queen of Sheba)
2) Agricultural villages


Jordan: Petra
(Photo)


2. Traditional Arab livelihoods
b. Bedouin
1) Nomadic life
(a) Lived in tents and moved around with their flocks of sheep and camels to pastures wherever they found grass and water
(b) Followed strict ethical standards
(c) In some cases, the tribes formed confederations to gain political power and visibility


Nomadic Life
(Video Clip)



2. Traditional Arab livelihoods
b. Bedouin
2) Ancient poetry
(a) The 7 Muallaqaat (Odes) publicly displayed in Mecca, as models of poetic excellence
(b) Themes include life in the desert, tribal politics, blood feuds, self-glorification, loyalty, generosity, bravery, and love


2. Traditional Arab livelihoods
b. Bedouin
3) Tribal autonomy
(a) Majlis composed of tribe elders
(b) Majlis elects spokesman or Shaykh
(c) Followed a legal tradition (curf) to guide them in settling matters (inheritance, divorce, etc.)
(d) The tribe neither acknowledged nor obeyed any political authority above or beyond itself


2. Traditional Arab livelihoods
b. Bedouin
4) Religion
(a) Believed in fate
(b) Acknowledged the existence of gods (al-Lat, Cuzza, Manaat)
(c) Developed a ritual pilgrimage around the shrine of al-Kacba, involving Tawaaf (circling around the shrine), and wuquuf (stopping)


3. Arabs and Islam
a. The rise of Islam in the 7th century
1) The Prophet Muhammad 622-632, established the first Muslim community
2) The Caliphs rule 632-661, expansion of Islam outside Arabia
3) The Ummayad dynasty 661-750, Islamic conquests reached Spain
4) The Abbasid dynasty 750-1258, the golden period of Arab/Islamic civilization
5) The Ottoman Empire 1300-1914, conquest of the Balkans.



3. Arabs and Islam
• At its height, the Arab-Muslim Empire stretched from the Atlantic coast of Spain and Morocco across the Levant far into Central and South Asia.
• The Arab-Muslim civilization united many territories, peoples, and their diverse cultures and had a pervasive influence on the free-flow of commerce, trade, and ideas, similar to the impact of the Western civilization today.


3. Arabs and Islam
• The Arabs and the Arabic language played central roles in the spread of Islam, because Muslims consider the Qur’an, revealed in Arabic, the word of God.
• Arabic was the language of Islamic civilization, which flourished between the 8th - 14th century


The Qur’an
(Photo)



A Page from the Qur’an
(Photo)



3. Arabs and Islam
b. The defeat of the last Islamic Ottoman Empire during WW1.
1) Shift of the balance of power in favor of the European powers
2) European colonization of most Arab territories
3) Creation of Arab states by Britain, France and Italy


4. The Modern Arab World
• The Arab world was created by Western powers -Britain, France, and Italy- after the defeat of the last Ottoman Empire in WW1 (1914)
• The Arab world is not to be confused with the Middle East, which contains non-Arab countries, such as Turkey, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Afghanistan.


4. The Modern Arab World
• The Arab world today extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the west (Morocco) to the Arabian Gulf in the east. The Arab League has 22 member states, including Palestine


The Arab World Today
(Map)



4. The Modern Arab World
a. Middle Eastern
Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Palestine (12 countries)
b. Non-Middle Eastern
Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Tunis, Algeria, Morocco, Somalia, Djibouti, Mauritania, The Commoros Islands (10 countries)


5. Population
According to recent census figures,
a. The population is approximately 312 million
b. Bedouins account for a small number: 2%-4% of the population
c. The Arab world today includes a broad range of people: farmers, laborers, industrial workers, teachers, doctors, and all trades and services -just like other countries


6. Religions
a. Muslim, 90% of the population
• Sunni
• Shia
• Druze
b. Non-Muslim
• Christian: Copts, Maronites, Catholics, Protestants
• Jewish


7. Ethnic Minorities
a. Kurd (Muslim)
b. Berber (Muslim)
c. Circassian (Muslim)
d. Armenian (Christian)
e. Chaldean (Christian)
f. Assyrian (Christian)


8. Languages
a. Arabic (Formal language, Dialects)
b. English, French, Urdu, Berber, Persian, Somali, Kurdish, Armenian, Assyrian


9. Arab Nationalism
a. Before WW1 Arabs identified themselves by the name of their tribes or place of birth
b. After the creation of Arab countries, after WW1, 3 major national movements emerged:


9. Arab Nationalism
1) Pan-Arabists: call for Arab unity (BaCth Party in Syria and Iraq, and Nasser in Egypt)
2) Local Nationalists: preserve independence of existing states
3) Regional Nationalists: seek to establish regional unity (Greater Syria, Greater Maghrib, Gulf Council) as a step towards a larger Arab unity


9. Arab Nationalism
c. Factors for failure to achieve Arab unity
1) 1967 Arab defeat
2) Emergence of Islamic political movements (Muslim Brotherhood, Tahrir Party, al-Jihad, Hamas, Hizballah, etc.)
3) Tribal loyalties


9. Arab Nationalism
4) Social and economic differences; disparity between rich and poor Arab countries
5) Cultural diversity
6) “Reactionary” VS “Progressive” forces
7) Internal and external challenges


10. Arab Resolution
Despite all of the above obstacles and challenges, the majority of citizens of Arab countries still believe that Arab nationhood (al-watan al-cArabi) is -and will remain- their dream.

End



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