Southwest Asia Conflicts

History of SW Asia: Continuing Conflicts (SS7H2c)

by Susan Reed

​Flat Rock Middle School

​7th Grade

Multiple Choice

The split into Sunni and Shia divisions of Islam can be traced to

• the failure to defeat invading forces from Persia.

• a loss of territory to religious rebels in Arabia.

• a dispute over the succession of Muhammad's wives.

• a dispute over the question of Muhammad's successor.

​Explanation

​The split into Sunni and Shi’a divisions of Islam can be traced to a dispute over the question of Muhammad’s successor, particularly since he left no direct male heir.

​

The Sunni believed his successor should be the strongest and wisest in the community, while the Shi'a believed his son-in-law, Ali, was the rightful heir.

​

​The Sunni make up the majority of Muslims at about 85%. The Shi'a are the minority at about 15%.

Multiple Choice

"Shari'a" refers to

• Holy War.

• Islamic law.

• Holy prayer.

• Buddhist prayer.

​Explanation

“Shari’a” refers to Islamic law. Many things make up the Shari’a, but chief among them is the Holy Qur'an.​

Multiple Choice

Although not a nation, Kurdistan is a region inhabited by a distinct ethnic group, the Kurds. Which number on the map is CLOSEST to the area known as Kurdistan?

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

• 5

​Explanation

​Kurdistan covers parts of eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, northwestern Iran, northern Syria, and Armenia, which would put it closest to number 3. The Kurds, an ethnic group originally from Northern Iran, were targeted for extermination by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussien during the 1980s and 1990s.

Multiple Choice

What is the MAIN difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims?

• The Sunni believe in the idea of Monotheism.

• The Shia pray towards Mecca five times every day.

• The Shia wanted a family member of Muhammad to succeed him.

• The Sunni fast from sunrise to sunset during the month of Ramadan.

​Explanation

​The major difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims is that the Shia wanted a family member of Muhammad to succeed him. The Sunni believed that the Muslim community should choose the successor.

Multiple Choice

· one of two branches

· based in part on the Qur'an

· the largest of all of the denominations of Islam

· holds that the first four caliphs were Muhammed's rightful successors

These details describe which denomination of Islam?

• Ahmadiyya

• Shi'a

• Sufism

• Sunni

​Explanation

​Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. It is also referred to as Sunnism, meaning “people of the example”. The Sunni consider their denomination the orthodox form of Islam.

Multiple Choice

Shi'a Islam and Sunni Islam are ALIKE in that they

• share key political beliefs.

• share fundamental Islamic beliefs.

• believe leaders should be politically elected.

• believe leaders should be from Muhammad's lineage.

​Explanation

​Both the Shi'a and the Sunni share fundamental Islamic beliefs.

​

They differ, however, in whether leaders should be elected (Sunni) or descendants of Muhammad (Shi’a).

Multiple Choice

Which of these branches of Islam has always had the majority of followers since the Sunni–Shia split?

• Shia

• Sufi

• Sunni

• Wahhabi

​Explanation

​From the time of the Sunni–Shia split, Sunni majorities have held the majority.

​

While there are smaller groups (Wahhabi, Druze, Sufi) outside of Sunni and Shia Muslims, the Sunni branch currently makes up the vast majority of Muslims and has since the 600s.

Multiple Choice

Which of these is a shared Sunni–Shia belief?

• Belief in reincarnation as the afterlife.

• Imams are holy men who hold the final say in Islamic law.

• Additional prophecies will come from Allah or his prophets.

• Following the Five Pillars of Islam is the way to achieve happiness in the afterlife.

​Explanation

​While Shia and Sunni Muslims have different beliefs in many areas, both believe that following the Five Pillars of Islam is the way to achieve happiness in the afterlife .

​

This deeply held belief pertains to the five duties all Muslims must perform during their lifetime, including testimony of faith, prayer, supporting the needy, fasting during Ramadan, and making a pilgrimage to Makkah.

Multiple Choice

What is the chief source of the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East?

• the creation of the State of Israel, which displaced the Palestinian majority

• the influx of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust to the Holy Land

• the desire of Zionist Jews to return to their biblical roots

• the persecution of Palestinians by the Jewish majority

​Explanation

​The chief source of the Arab-Israeli conflict is the creation of the State of Israel, which displaced the Palestinian majority.

​

When the State of Israel was created in 1948, it displaced Palestinians who had occupied the region since biblical times, increasing the tension between the two populations.

Multiple Choice

Which of these statements regarding Southwest Asia (the Middle East) is MOST correct?

• Most countries contain a single ethnic group.

• The Kurdish people do not have an ethnic homeland.

• Palestinians have been in frequent conflict with Egyptian settlers since the 1940s.

• Sunni and Shia Muslims disagree on religious matters but share power peacefully in many governments.

​Explanation

The Kurdish people do not have an ethnic homeland. They live within many countries in Southwest Asia in a region between southeastern Turkey, northeastern Syria, northern Iraq, and northwestern Iran.​

Multiple Select

Choose all of the items that relate to the division of Islam.

• Palestinian

• Saudi

• Shia

• Sunni

• Kurd

​Explanation

​Sunni and Shia are the two largest divisions of Islam. The other terms refer to ethnicities or nationalities.

Multiple Select

Choose all the statements that correctly describe the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

• It is a legacy of the British Mandate system following World War I.

• It is a struggle between Israel and Egypt for control over Gaza Strip.

• It is a conflict involving which country owns the right to oil in the area.

• It is a disagreement involving Kurdish people who want to form their own independent country.

• It is a conflict that stems from the Palestinian loss of land when the modern Israeli state was created.

​Explanation

​The Palestinian-Israeli conflict a conflict that stems from the Palestinian loss of land when the modern Israeli state was created. Actually, it goes back even further as a legacy of the British Mandate system following World War I. A century of upheaval in the area has- as of yet- not been able to be solved by numerous treaties and temporary agreements.