Middle East Geography

What is the primary disagreement between Sunni and Shia Muslims?

• Should the religion of Islam be monotheistic?
• How should water and oil rights in the region be divided?
• Who should be Muhammad's successor?
• Should Kurds or Arabs be in charge of the religion?

Which of the following statements below least likely describes where most people in the Middle East live?

• in large cities located on bodies of water
• in the mountains away from the pollution of the cities
• away from bodies of water due to flooding
• in the rain forests of the interior regions

Which describes the climate of much of Southwest Asia?

• hot and dry
• windy and cold
• moderate and cool
• tropical and rainy

Which statement is correct when comparing Judaism, Islam, and Christianity?

• Only Christianity causes controversy in Southwest Asia (Middle East).
• All 3 religions use the Holy Bible as their primary religious text
• All 3 religions are monotheistic
• Only Judaism has its roots in Southwest Asia (Middle East).

The natural resource that Saudi Arabia is most known for is

• coal
• oil
• copper
• iron

Many of the largest cities in Southwest Asia are located on or near

• deserts
• major rivers
• large grasslands
• mountain ranges

How has building of dams created problems for countries sharing rivers in Southwest Asia?

• Countries in Southwest Asia are not allowed to build dams along shared rivers.
• Dams are too expensive to build to be practical.
• Few countries have the technology needed to be able to build dams.
• Dams limit the water available to countries further downstream

As environmental problems increase in the Middle East, water pollution is a growing concern. Which is a direct consequence of water pollution?

• Decrease in government stability.
• Reduced amounts of drinking water.
• More deforestation
• Increase in population.

Throughout the Middle East, oil industry wealth has fueled a growing clash between

• traditional Islamic values and Western materialism
• the United States and Great Britain
• educated people and uneducated people 
• Christians and Jews

Vast areas of the Middle East are deserts. How has this impacted the use of water?

• Irrigation is essential for growing crops.
• In the Middle East, few people use water.
• Water is plentiful in the Middle East.
• All water is piped in from the Arabian Sea