Middle East and Arab

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Way of life in the Middle East range from modern cities to traditional farms. The city scene shows a square in Istanbul, Turkey, dominated by a huge mosque— an Islamic house of worship. The farming scene shows traditional farming methods being used in southern Lebanon.

Oil is the Middle East's most important mineral product. Workers at Port Rashid in the United Arab Emirates, above, are load­ing barrels of oil onto oil tankers.

Middle East is a large region that covers parts of northern Africa, southeastern Europe. Scholars disagree on which countries make up the Middle East. But many say the region consists of Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tur­key, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Altogether, these countries cover an area of about 9,694,000 square kilo­metres and have a population of about 262 million.

Much of the Middle East is hot desert. But the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq and the Nile in Egypt were the homes of two of the world's first great civilizations, Sumer and ancient Egypt. These civiliza­tions developed in the area after 3500 B.C. The region is also the birthplace of three major religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Since the birth of Islam in the A.D. 600's, Islamic pow­ers have dominated the Middle East. More than 90 per cent of the people are Muslims—followers of Islam. The Muslim world is split into two main groups—Sunni and Shi'ah. Sunni Muslims are in the majority. But many peo­ple in Iran and Iraq are Shiites.

Most of the people of the Middle East are Muslim Arabs. Other religious and ethnic groups include black Africans, Armenians, Copts, Greeks, Iranians, Jews, Kurds, and Turks.

The Middle East is an area of great economic impor­tance as one of the world's major oil-producing regions. It is  also a scene of much political instability, unrest and conflict.

People

Ancestry. The people of the Middle East belong to various ethnic groups, which are based largely on culture, language, and history. Ethnically, more than three-quarters of the Middle Eastern people are Arabs. Al­though they live in different countries, the Arabs share a common culture and a common language, Arabic. Irani­ans and Turks also form major ethnic groups in the re­gion. Smaller groups in the Middle East include Arme­nians, Copts, Creeks, Jews, Kurds, and various black African groups.

Way of life. Until the 1900's, most Middle Eastern people lived in villages or small towns and made a liv­ing by farming. Only a small number lived in cities.

Since World War II (1939-1945), many people have moved away from the rural villages to urban areas. Today, in most Middle Eastern countries, more than half the people live in cities. Middle Eastern people have strong ties to their families and to their religious and language groups.

In general, city dwellers in the Middle East have a more modern way of life than the rural villagers. In the cities, cars and people move about at a fast pace. People hold jobs in business, education, government, and the media. Television, which is widely viewed, introduces Western ideas and tastes, though some Muslim leaders are opposed to Western influences.

In rural areas of the Middle East, the way of life is slowly changing. Better fertilizers, irrigation methods, and machinery have made life easier for some farmers. But many farmers still use the same kinds of tools and methods that their ancestors used hundreds of years ago. Some people of the Middle East are nomads. These people live in the desert and herd cattle, goats, and sheep.

Since the mid-1900's, changes have occurred in the status of urban women in the Middle East. Women in rural areas have always done farm work alongside their husbands, but most urban women were confined to their home. Today, many women in the cities have jobs in business, education, and government. For more infor­mation on the people of the Middle East, see the People section of the various country articles.

Religion and language. The Middle East is the birth­place of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. More than 90 percent of the area's population, including most Arabs, Iranians, and Turks, are Muslims. Christians make up about 7 per cent of the population. The largest Christian groups are the Coptic, Greek Orthodox, and Maronite denominations. Jews, who make up only 1 per cent of the population, live in Israel.

The chief language of the Middle East is Arabic. Writ­ten Arabic is the same throughout the region, but the spoken language differs from country to country. Per­sian is the official language of Iran. People in Turkey speak Turkish. Most Israelis speak Hebrew. Other lan­guages of the Middle East include Baluchi, Greek, and Kurdish.

Land

In the northern part of the Middle East, mountains border interior plateaus. The Pontic Mountains and the Taurus Mountains rise in Turkey, and the Elburz and Zagros mountains extend across Iran.

The southern part of the Middle East is a vast arid pla­teau. Several large deserts lie in this area. The Western and Eastern deserts of Egypt are part of the Sahara. The Rub al Khali, known in English as the Empty Quarter, stretches across southern Saudi Arabia.

The Middle East has two major river systems—the Tigris-Euphrates and the Nile. The Tigris and Euphrates begin in the mountains of Turkey and flow through Syria  Iraq. In Iraq, the rivers meet and form the Shatt al Arab, which empties into the Persian Gulf. The Nile flows north through Sudan and Egypt to the Mediterra­nean Sea.

Economy

Agriculture has long been the Middle East's most im­portant economic activity. More than half the people are farmers. But the discovery of oil in the Middle East in the early 1900's has radically changed the economy of some countries. Oil production has become a major in­dustry. Manufacturing is increasing, particularly the manufacture of products made from oil. In some coun­tries, especially Egypt, tourism is a major industry.

Agriculture. The chief crops of the Middle East in­clude barley, cotton, oranges, sugar cane, tobacco, and wheat. Many Middle Eastern farmers do not own their land. But since World War II (1939-1945), a growing number have become owners of the small farms they work. In such countries as Egypt and Iraq, the amount of farmland has doubled since the late 1800's. The use of fertilizers, improved equipment, and better irrigation methods have helped bring about the increase. But many farmers continue to use traditional machinery and methods.

Mining. Oil is by far the most important mineral product of the Middle East. The region has about three- fifths of the world's known oil reserves. The major oil producers are Iran, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Most of the oil is sold to Euro­pean countries and Japan. The governments of the oil- producing countries use much of the income from oil sales to build roads, develop new industries, and pro­vide services for their people.

In 1960, some oil-producing countries formed the Or­ganization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to gain more control over oil prices. During the Arab- Israeli War of 1973, some Arab members of OPEC stopped or reduced oil shipments to countries support­ing Israel. Prices of oil in those countries rose sharply.

Other minerals mined in the Middle East include coal, iron ore, and phosphates. Coal- mines operate in Iran and Turkey. Egypt and Turkey produce iron ore. Jordan supplies a fifth of the world's phosphates.

Manufacturing. The major manufacturing countries of the Middle East are Egypt, Iran, and Turkey. Together, these three countries produce 6 per cent of the world's refined sugar and 5 per cent of its cement and cotton cloth. The Middle East also produces small amounts of fertilizers, paper, and steel. Israel manufactures a variety of specialized technological products, such as computer parts and fighter aircraft. In the late 1960's, the oil- producing countries began to develop industries that make use of oil. These industries include the manufac­ture of chemicals and plastics.

History

Early civilizations. People lived in parts of the Mid­dle East as early as 25,000 B.C. It was in this region that agriculture began around 8000 B.C. Between 3500 and 3100 B.G, two of the world's earliest great civilizations— those of Sumer and Egypt—developed in the region. The Sumerian civilization developed on the fertile plain be­tween the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (see Sumer). It was later absorbed by the Babylonian Empire. The Egyptian civilization arose in the Nile Valley (see Egypt, An­cient). About 1900 B.C., a people called the Hittites came to power in what is now Turkey. Other peoples, such as the Hebrews and the Phoenicians, also organized socie­ties in the region.

Beginning in the 800's B.C., a series of invaders con­quered these civilizations. The invaders included the As­syrians, the Medes, the Persians, and, finally, Alexander the Great. Alexander conquered the Middle East in 331 B.C. and united it into one empire. He died in 323 B.C. The next 300 years, called the Hellenistic Age, brought great achievements in scholarship, science, and the arts.

By 30 B.C., the Romans had conquered much of the Middle East. During Roman rule, Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem and died in Jerusalem. Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, replacing pagan cults. Christianity was the major religion of the Middle East until the rise of Islam in the A.D. 600's.

Islamic empires. Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was born in Mecca in about 570. In 622, he moved to the oasis of Medina, where he became the head of a small religious and political community. After his death in 632, his followers, called Muslims, conquered what are now Egypt, Iraq, and Syria. Many of the conquered people adopted Islam and the Arabic language. By 711, Arab Muslim rule extended from what is now Spain in the west to Iran in the east. Muslims of the Umayyad family ruled these lands from the city of Damascus. In 750, the Abbasid family overthrew the Umayyads and made Baghdad the capital of the Islamic Empire.

During Abbasid rule, groups of Muslim Turks in­vaded from central Asia. The most important were the Seljuk Turks. They took over Baghdad in 1055, and then they conquered what are now Syria and Palestine. In 1258, Mongols from China conquered Baghdad and de­stroyed the remains of the Abbasid government.

In the 1300's, the dynasty (family of rulers) of the Otto­man Turks became established in Anatolia (now Turkey). In the early 1500's the Ottomans added the Arab lands of the Middle East to their empire. By that time, they had also advanced into the Balkan Peninsula. In the 1700's and 1800's, the Ottoman Empire declined in power and size in the face of new, strong states that developed in Europe. By World War I (1914-1918), some European countries had gained much economic and political influ­ence in the Middle East.

World War I. During World War I, the Ottoman Em­pire joined with Germany against Britain (also known as the United Kingdom), France, Italy, and Russia. Arabs who hoped to win independence from the Ottoman Turks supported the European Allies. Britain promised to help create Arab governments in the Middle East after the war. But Britain also agreed with France to di­vide the Middle East into zones of British and French rule and influence. In 1917, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration, supporting the creation of a Jewish home­land in Palestine—but without violating the civil or reli­gious rights of the Arabs (see Balfour Declaration).

In 1923, the defeated Ottoman Empire became the Re­public of Turkey. The League of Nations divided most of the Arab lands of the Middle East into mandated territo­ries (see Mandated territory). France took control of Lebanon and Syria. Britain received the mandates for Iraq, Jordan (called Trans-Jordan until 1949), and Pales­tine. Britain also kept control over Egypt, which it had conquered in 1882. The Arabs conducted a struggle for independence in the years after the war. Many territo­ries gained independence in the 1930's and 1940's.

Palestine. Between 1933 and 1935, more than 100,000 Jewish refugees fled to Palestine from Nazi Germany and Poland. The Jewish immigration alarmed the Pales­tinian Arabs, who wanted Palestine to become an inde­pendent Arab state. In 1936, they called a general strike that almost paralysed Palestine. They declared the strike would last until the British halted Jewish immigration. But after about five months, the Arabs ended the strike without achieving their goals.

In 1947, the United Nations (UN) voted to divide Pales­tine into two states, one Arab and one Jewish. The Jews accepted this solution and established the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. The Arabs, who made up about two- thirds of the population of Palestine, rejected the plan. The next day, five Arab states—Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Leba­non, and Syria—attacked Israel. The Israelis defeated the Arabs.

When the war ended in 1949, Israel had about half the land that the UN had assigned to the Arab state. Egypt controlled the Gaza Strip, and Jordan occupied and later annexed the West Bank of the Jordan River. The city of Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan. About 700,000 Palestinian Arabs had fled or been driven out of the land that was now Israel. They became refu­gees in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, and Lebanon.

Continuing conflict. During the 1950's and 1960's, a new generation led by young army officers took over the governments of many Arab states. They overthrew leaders who had cooperated with Great Britain and France. They hoped to bring about a political unification of the Arab world and to remove any European influ­ence. Gamal Abdel Nasser, the leader of Egypt, became the symbol of these hopes. In 1956, Nasser seized the Suez Canal in Egypt from its British and French owners. Britain, France, and Israel invaded Egypt. Pressure from the United States, the Soviet Union, and other nations forced the invaders to withdraw.

In May 1967, the Arabs believed Israel was planning* major attack on Syria. Nasser sent Egyptian troops into the Sinai Peninsula and closed the Straits of Tiran, the entrance to the Israeli port of Elat. On June 5, the Israeli air force retaliated by destroying most of the air forces of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. In the following six days, Is­rael seized the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the West Ban (including East Jerusalem) from Jordan. Almost 1 million Palestinian Arabs came under Israeli rule.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), founded in 1964, became an important force in the Middle East after the 1967 war. The PLO is a confederation of Palestinian Arab groups that wants to establish an Arab state in Palestine. The Arab nations recognized the PLO as representative of the Palestinian people.

In October 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a  surprise attack against Israel. They were driven back by the Israelis. Most of the fighting ended by November.            ^

Attempt at peace. In 1978, Egyptian President  Anwar el-Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and

U.S. President Jimmy Carter held discussions at  Camp David in the United States. The result was an agreement called the Camp David Accords. Israel agreed to with  from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Egypt and Israel pledged to negotiate with Jordan and the Palestinians to draw self-rule to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Egypt  and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979, and Is­rael l withdrew from the Sinai. But many Arabs strongly criticized the Egyptian-lsraeli treaty. No progress was made in deciding the future of the West Bank and Gaza.

Recent developments. In the 1970's and 1980's, Islam emerged as a strong force in Middle Eastern poli­tics. The region continued to be troubled by conflicts.

In the 1970's in Lebanon, an uneasy balance between the Muslim and Christian communities collapsed. The conflict was sparked by the presence of armed PLO members in the country. The Muslims supported the PLO fighters, and the Christians opposed them. But at the heart of the conflict was the fact that Lebanon's - growing Muslim population demanded more power in the government. The Christians opposed Muslim de­mands for increased power and resented the Muslim- PLO alliance. In 1975, civil war broke out. In 1976, neigh­bouring Syria sent troops to Lebanon to help restore order. In 1991, agreements between the opposing sides led to an end of most of the fighting in Lebanon.

A revolution occurred in Iran in 1979. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his followers took control of the government. Khomeini declared Iran to be an Islamic re­public. In 1980, Iran and Iraq went to war over territorial disputes and other disagreements. The fighting contin­ued for eight years. In August 1988, the two nations agreed to a cease-fire plan.

The Arab-lsraeli conflict flared up again at the end of 1987. Arab residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip demonstrated against Israel's occupation. Israeli troops killed about 300 protesters. Several Israelis were also killed. Violence has continued. In July 1988, Jordan broke ties with the West Bank and abandoned the ad­ministrative and financial functions it had handled.

In December 1988, the PLO renounced terrorism and recognized Israel's right to exist. It also proclaimed a state of Palestine, although this state had no territory.

In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. The United States and other nations sent military forces to Saudi Arabia to defend that country against a possible Iraqi in­vasion. These nations and Saudi Arabia formed an allied military coalition. In January 1991, war broke out be­tween Iraq and these nations. In February, the allied coalition defeated Iraq and forced its troops to leave Ku­wait. See Persian Gulf War.

In October 1991, a peace conference began between Israel, Arab nations of the Middle East, and residents of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. In 1993 Israel and the PLO agreed to recognize each other. On Sept. 13,1993, they signed an agreement that included steps for end­ing their conflicts. The agreement provided for the start of a plan for self-government for, and Israel's withdrawal from, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Israel completed its withdrawal from Jericho and most of the Gaza Strip in May 1994. The Palestinian Na­tional Authority, with Yasir Arafat as president, took over as governing body of the zones of Palestinian self-rule.

In 1994, King Hussein of Jordan and Israel's prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, made a non-belligerency (non- aggression) pact between their two countries.

Related articles include:

Countries

Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

Other related articles

Arab, Desert, Islam, Petroleum, Mediterranean Sea

Outline

People

Ancestry, Way of life, Religion and language

Land

Economy

Agriculture, Mining, Manufacturing

History

Questions

What is the major religion of the Middle East?

What is the region's most important mineral product?

Whose discussions resulted in the Camp David Accords?

Why did some oil-producing countries form OPEC?

When did the Middle East become part of the Ottoman Empire?

What were the sources of conflict between Christian and Mus­lim groups in Lebanon in the 1970's?

When did the PLO become prominent?

What is the chief language of the Middle East?

Where is the Empty Quarter?

Parsely populated deserts cover much of the Arab Nomads once roamed these deserts with their herds, but parly all livestock herders live in towns or villages. The ids in this photograph are drawing water from a well.

Traditional Arab architecture places great importance on privacy. Many houses are constructed around a central court­yard, like the homes in this neighbourhood in Damascus, Syria.

Arabs follow many ways of life. But they are united by their history, their culture, and the diffi­culties of life in a land with few resources. Most Arabs are Muslims, like these men praying on a street in Amman, Jordan, left. Islam requires its followers to pray five times a day. The Egyptian po­tato farmers on the right live in one of the Arab world's few fertile regions.

Arabs are a large group of people whose native lan­guage is Arabic and who share a common history and culture. Most Arabs live in southwestern Asia and north­ern Africa. Arabs have also migrated to such countries as Brazil, Canada, France, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States.

This article discusses the approximately 200 million Arabs who live in the Arab  world..  There are two chief definitions of the Arab world, a political definition and a linguistic (language-related) one. Politically, the Arab world is usually said to include 18 countries—Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. These are called Arab countries because a majority of their people are Arabs and their govern­ments regard themselves as Arab.

Two other countries—Djibouti and Somalia—have only small Arab populations, but they are sometimes in­cluded in this political definition because they belong to an organization of Arab states called the Arab League (see Arab League).

In a linguistic sense, the term Arab world refers to those areas where most people speak Arabic as their native language. This linguistic definition differs from the political one because some Arab countries include large areas populated by non-Arabs, and some non- Arab countries have significant Arab minorities. For ex­ample, the Kurds of Iraq and the Berbers of northern Af­rica are non-Arabs inhabiting Arab countries. At the same time, many Arabs live within the borders of such non-Arab nations as Iran and Israel. In this article, the term Arab  world  chiefly refers to the 18 countries usually considered Arab in a political sense.

Originally, the word Arab was probably associated with the camel-herding nomadic tribes of the Arabian Peninsula and nearby parts of the Middle East. Later, it was applied to settled people who spoke the Arabic language. The number of Arabs who follow a nomadic way of life has gradually shrunk over the years. Today, almost all Arabs live in cities, towns, or villages.

Arabs today are united mainly by aspects of their culture—above all, by the Arabic language and Arabic literature and music. Religious and historical factors also bind the Arabs together. Most Arabs are Muslims, followers of a religion called Islam. The Arabs' rise to political and cultural importance during the Middle Ages was closely associated with the rise of Islam. For the reason, even non-Muslim Arabs hold Islam in special regard. The modern Arab identity emerged during the 1800’s and 1900's, when most Arab lands were colonies of European powers. Thus, Arabs also share a sense of themselves as former subjects of European rule.

Despite this common heritage, deep differences exist among the Arab countries. For example, many Arab countries possess valuable petroleum deposits. The export  has made some of these countries, such as Kuwait  and Qatar, extremely rich. But such countries as Sudan and Yemen remain poor. Some countries, including Jordan and Lebanon, have highly urban societies, where many people work in industry or commerce. Oth­ers, such as Mauritania and Yemen, have rural societies and rely on farming or herding. Some nations, such as Lebanon and Tunisia, have been heavily influenced by Western culture. Others, including Oman and Saudi Arabia, remain strongly traditional. These and other dif­ferences have caused conflicts, and even wars, within the Arab world.

Land of the Arabs

Arab world extends over about 13 million square kilometres. It covers roughly three main regions: the Arabian Peninsula (sometimes called Arabia); northern and part of an area called the Fertile Crescent, which includes Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the historical and of Palestine. Palestine today consists of the non-Arab state of Israel and two Arab territories—the Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Despite the vast area of the Arab world, only a small percentage  of it is suitable for human settlement. Much of the region is hot and dry, and it has large desert  areas. These include the Sahara in northern Africa, the desert of the Arabian Peninsula, and the Syrian Desert. At the other extreme are snow-capped mountains, such those of the Grand Atlas range in Morocco and parts Lebanon Mountains. The vast majority of Arabs live in well-watered hilly regions, fertile river valleys, and humid coastal areas. The most densely settled area is the Nile Valley and Nile River Delta of Egypt. Virtually all the people of Egypt—about a quarter of all Arabs— live in this area. A large number of Iraq's people live in the fertile delta between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Other population centres include the coastal and hill zones of northwestern Africa and of Lebanon, Syria, and parts of Palestine.

Historically, the scarcity of water and the resulting limited farming capacity have hampered population growth and economic development in Arab lands. How­ever, they may have encouraged the development of trade, especially before the 1800's.

Life in the Arab world

When people think of Arabs, they often picture no­madic herders, or Bedouins, living in tents and crossing the desert with their camels, sheep, goats, or cattle in search of water and grazing land. Today, less than 1 per cent of Arabs are nomads. Livestock herding now re­sembles ranching rather than nomadic life, and ani­mals—even camels—are usually transported by truck.

About half of all Arabs live in cities and large towns. Many of these people work in factories or in such fields as business, government, and health care. Most other Arabs live in villages or small towns and work as farm­ers or in local trades. In many Arab countries, the cre­ation of modern road networks has enabled industries to spread to rural areas, and some villagers have jobs in nearby factories.

Language. Virtually all people who consider them­selves Arabs speak Arabic as their native language. But the forms of spoken Arabic vary considerably from one region to another. Arabs who speak different dialects can communicate through a common form of Arabic, usually called Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)— fusha  in Arabic. MSA is a simplified version of the Arabic of the Quran, the sacred book of Islam. MSA serves as the chief form of written Arabic in all Arab lands. It is also the language used in most schools and in radio and TV news broadcasts throughout the Arab world.

Many other languages are used in various parts of the Arab world. For example, French is widely spoken in the former French colonies of Algeria, Morocco, and Tuni­sia.

Religion. More than 90 per cent of Arabs are Mus­lims. Most belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. How­ever, significant Shiite Muslim communities exist in Iraq, the eastern Arabian Peninsula, and Lebanon. Some Shi­ites live in most other Arab countries. Small numbers of Arabs belong to other Muslim groups.

Druses, who follow a religion related to Islam, live mainly in Lebanon, Syria, and the historical region of Palestine. Most non-Muslim Arabs are Christians. The Copts of Egypt belong to one of the oldest Christian sects. Other Christian Arabs belong to various Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, or Protestant churches. They live mainly in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. Small communities of Jews live in some Arab countries.

Family life. Arabs strongly value family ties and hos­pitality. Traditionally, Arabs have placed great impor­tance on belonging to family or kinship groups, includ­ing the extended family, clan , and tribe. An extended family includes members of two or more generations, many of them sharing one home. A clan consists of several related families. A tribe might include hundreds of families. In the past, most social and even many busi­ness activities took place within these groups. Often, parents sought marriage partners for their children from within the clan or tribe. The kinship system also empha­sized hospitality as a source of honour. A host who could entertain raised the standing of the entire tribe.

Today, some kinship ties have loosened, especially in the cities. The impact of Western values and the need for some people to move far from home to earn a living have tended to weaken family relationships. But for many Arabs, the family continues to be the main source of social and economic support. Many rural Arabs still live in extended families, and even most city dwellers live near relatives. It is still common for parents to ar­range their children's marriages.

Traditionally, women supervised the raising of chil­dren, the preparation of meals, and the organizing of family celebrations. In some countries, economic pres­sures and educational opportunities have led a growing number of women to work outside the home.

Education. Until the 1900's, religious authorities op­erated most schools in the Arab world. Today, all Arab nations also have free, nonreligious primary and sec­ondary schools. In most Arab countries, about 90 per cent of all children receive at least a primary school ed­ucation. Some Arabs consider education less important for girls than for boys. But all Arab nations provide pub­lic schooling at all levels for both sexes.

Some Arab institutions of higher education have ex­isted for centuries. For example, al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, was founded about 970. Today, there are approximately 85 universities in the Arab world.

Literature and the arts. Arabic literature began about 1,500 years ago. The first major Arabic work was the Quran, the holy book of Islam, which dates to the 600's. The Quran is still regarded as the greatest master­piece of Arabic literary style. See Quran.

Classical Arabic literature extends from the time of the Quran to about the mid-1800's and includes a rich tradition in both poetry and prose. Prose literature covers a wide range of forms and styles, from the popular tales of the Arabian Nights to such scholarly works as the Muqaddama  of Ibn Khaldun, a historian of the 1300's. The Muqaddama  examines the rise and of civilization. A highly developed poetic tradition flourished beginning in the 700's. Arabic poets produced verses of great lyric beauty as well as poetic works expressing deep philosophical or religious thought. Today poetry remains especially beloved by Arabs. Stories, novels and plays are also published in great numbers.

Arabs took part in the flowering of art and architecture throughout the Muslim world from the mid-700’s to about 1700 (see Islamic art). Such traditional crafts as glass blowing, metalworking, and pottery makinq all flourish today. During the 1900's, painting and sculpture have become popular in many Arab lands.

Traditional Arab music, with its strong rhythmic patterns, is closely linked with the poetic tradition. Today many musicians experiment with new styles, mixing aspects of Arab and non-Arab music or combining style from different parts of the Arab world.

Food and drink. Beans, chickpeas, lentils, and rice are basic foods in most Arab lands. They may be made into stews, or cooked with water, oil, vegetables, and seasonings to form various pastes. People eat the pastes by scooping up mouthfuls with thin Arab bread, called pita in the West. In northern Africa, couscous (steamed cracked wheat) replaces rice as a basic food to some extent. Arabs also enjoy meat, fish, and a wide variety of salads, cooked vegetables, and yoghurt. Sesame seed paste or oil adds a special flavor to many dishes.

Fresh and dried fruit are the main desserts. But sweet pastries such as baklava, which is made with honey and chopped nuts, are served on special occasions. Coffee and tea are the most popular beverages.

Clothing. Because of the hot climate of most Arab lands, both men and women have traditionally worn loose-fitting garments that cover most of the body and head, shielding them from the sun. Women's garments usually consist of a floor-length dress and a headscarf or hood. In areas where Islam is a strong force, women may wear a veil in public. Many women wear Western style dresses or slacks. They rarely wear short or sleeveless dresses or slacks. They rarely wear short or sleeveless dresses or let their hair hang free.

Traditional men's clothing might consist of a full-length robe, or a cloak over some combination of shirt, vest, skirt, and loincloth. Some farmers wear baggy trousers. Many men also wear a turban, skullcap, or kaffiyeh – a  loose, folded headscarf, often held in place by a decorative cord called an agal, also spelled iqal.  Today, many men wear Western-style clothing, especially in the cities. Some men combine elements of Western and traditional dress.

Shelter. Most rural Arabs live in one-or two-storey houses of brick, mud-brick, or stone. Mud-brick archi­tecture, in particular, takes a wide variety of forms, from simple rectangular structures to the beehive-shaped houses of northern Syria. Mud-brick is cheap and easy to use, and it provides excellent in insulation against heat and cold. However, concrete and cinder blocks are increasingly replacing mud-brick.

Western-style apartment buildings are common in large cities. But traditional Arab architecture can also be found in urban areas. The distinctive many-storey mud-brick or stone buildings of Yemen and southern Saudi Arabia rank among the world's first “skyscrapers”.  Many homes or buildings open onto a private or semiprivate central courtyard, while blank walls face the street.

Economy - For centuries, the Arab world was a crossroads of international commerce. Arab and other merchants carried such goods as spices, textiles, and glass between Asia, Africa, and Europe. Beginning in the 1700’s, the expansion of European commerce and industry led to economic decline in the Arab world. Then, during the 1900's, petroleum became one of the world's most important economic resources.

Together, the Arab land hold about three-fifths of the world's reserves of oil. Petroleum has brought enormous prosperity to many Arab governments, permitting rapid improvement in education, health, healthcare, transportation, and other serv­ices. However, some Arab countries still face poverty.

The countries most dependent on petroleum include Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabian and the United Arab Emirates. But nearly all Arab states rely heavily on the export of petroleum, other raw materials and agricultural products. Manufacturing is developing slowly in the Arab world.  Only Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and to a lesser extent, Egypt receive a significant amount of income from manufacturing.

A scarcity of fresh water limits agricultural development in most areas. Agriculture can be extended only through large-scale irrigation projects. In addition, in many countries, a small number of wealthy landowners once controlled most of the farmland, which was worked by poverty-stricken peasants. Since the mid-1900’s, Arab governments have put more land in the hands of the farmworkers. But most of them remain poor.

History

The Arabs before Islam. The word Arab first appears in documents dating to about 850 B.C. The documents  - written by the Assyrians, a people of what is now Iraq — suggest that the early Arabs were nomadic camel herders centred in what are now Jordan and Israel. The Arabs then spread north and east through present-day Syria and Iraq, and south into the central Arabian Peninsula.

About the 400's B.C, Arab families or tribes began to establish small states, often at centres for the overland caravan. Two important states were centred at Petra and Palmyra. Petra, in what is now Jordan, was the capital of Arabs known as Nabateans. It was conquered Romans in A.D. 106 but continued to flourish until the early A.D. 200's. Palmyra, in the Syrian Desert, fell under Roman domination by about A.D. 160. It reached its in the mid-200's.

The rise and spread of Islam. Muslims believe that God revealed the teachings of Islam to the prophet Muhammad. Muhammad was born about A.D. 570 and grew in Mecca, a town in western Arabia. He began to preach about 610. Muhammad founded the first community of Muslims in Medina, then called Yathrib, north of Mecca. This community rapidly grew into a state that controlled much of much of the peninsula.

After Muhammad's death in 632, leaders called ca­liphs headed the Islamic state. Armies under the caliphs soon seized the rest of Arabia and an area stretching from Egypt to Iran. The result was a vast new empire dominated by Arabian Muslims, with Islam as the offi­cial religion and Arabic as the official language.

For several hundred years, the political life of the em­pire was dominated by three families from Muham­mad's tribe of Quraysh: the Umayyads, the Abbasids, and the Alids. The Umayyads ruled from 661 to 750. They extended the empire as far west as Spain and as far east as India. In 750, the Umayyads were overthrown by the Abbasids, but retained control of Spain. After about 850, the Abbasids increasingly lost control of distant parts of the empire to local Islamic dynasties (ruling families).

The Alids, main rivals of the Umayyads and Abbasids, made many unsuccessful attempts to overthrow them. The Alids finally established the Fatimid dynasty in northern Africa in 909. It ruled untill 171.

A sense of Arab identity resulted partly from use of the Arabic language and partly from pride in the Islamic empire. It also stemmed from identification with the rich literary culture that developed under the Umayyads and Abbasids. For the history of this period, see Muslims (Early period; The spread of Islam).

From the 1000's to the 1500s, parts of the eastern Arab lands were conquered by several waves of non- Arab invaders. Chief among these were the Seljuk Turks and the Mongols, who executed the last Abbasid caliph in 1258. Northern Africa remained in the hands of local groups, mainly Arabs and Berbers.

Ottoman and European rule. By the mid-1500's, most Arab lands were controlled by the Ottoman Em­pire, centred in what is now Turkey. Many high Ottoman officials were of Arab origin. The Arabs regarded them­selves as Ottomans and Muslims, not as Arabs.

Beginning in the mid-1700s, the rapid economic and military development of much of Europe gave European states an advantage over the Ottomans. In their efforts to modernize their economies, the Ottomans often devel­oped large debts to European financiers. The financiers then sometimes persuaded their governments to seize economic or political control of Ottoman possessions to ensure repayment of the debts. In other cases, European nations simply invaded Ottoman territories. France began occupation of Algeria in ,1830, and it controlled Tunisia and Morocco by the early 1900's. Beginning in the late 1800's, the United Kingdom took over Egypt and Sudan, and it controlled many coastal areas of Arabia. Italy gained control of Libya in 1912.

Arab nationalism arose against the background of both European colonial rule and increasing nationalist feeling among the Ottoman Empire's Turkish majority. It was part of a nationalist idea that spread through much of the world during the 1800's and 1900's. This idea stated that humanity was divided into distinct nations or peoples. The members of each nation shared a common history and language, and each nation had a historic claim to a particular national homeland.

Among most Arabs, Islam remained the main binding force for many years. Significant Arab nationalist move­ments did not develop until the early 1900's. These movements then took two forms. In some cases, nation­alist feeling arose around particular areas. In others, it centred on the Arabic language as a source of unity.

This form of nationalism later grew into the movement for Arab political unification called Pan-Arabism.

After the Ottoman Empire entered World War I on the side of Germany in 1914, the British helped stir up an Arab nationalist revolt against the Ottomans. The Brit­ish promised the leaders of the revolt that they would recognize an independent Arab government in former Ottoman territories after the war. But they also made a secret agreement with France to divide these territories into British and French spheres of influence after the war. When the war ended in 1918, the League of Nations — a forerunner of the United Nations—divided the Arab lands still held by the Ottomans between the United Kingdom and France. In turn, the UK and France were expected to supervise these lands—known as man­dated territories — and  help them attain self-government. The UK received mandates over Iraq and over Palestine, which included present-day Jordan and Israel. France re­ceived what are now Syria and Lebanon.

Struggles for independence. By the early 1920's, the main centres of population in the Arab world had been split into more than 15 European colonies and pro­tectorates  (territories under partial control). These colo­nies had become divided politically, economically, and increasingly, culturally. For this reason, the goal of Pan-Arab unification became less important than that of in­dependence within each colony.

Beginning in the 1920's, the Arab countries gradually gained independence. Some, such as Bahrain and Ku­wait, made the change peacefully. In others, notably Al­geria, violent struggles took place. The last colonies to become independent—British-ruled Bahrain, Qatar, and the states that now make up the United Arab Emirates— did so in 1971.

Since independence. Traditionally, political life in most Arab lands had been dominated either by a small number of wealthy individuals or by the army. The Euro­pean powers took limited steps toward developing institutions of democratic government in their Arab colonies. But they kept such institutions from becoming strong enough to threaten colonial rule. They also failed to create economic or educational systems that would stimulate the growth of a middle class. As a result, the independent Arab states have continued to be ruled by traditional wealthy families or by the army.

The search for unity. Several times, two or three Arab nations have attempted to unite into a single state. For example, Syria and Egypt joined to form the United Arab Republic in 1958. The union ended when Syria withdrew in 1961. Such efforts have stemmed partly from a belief in Pan-Arabism. But in many cases, they also represented attempts by a weak government to maintain its rule by uniting with a stronger neighbour.

In 1945, seven countries founded the Arab League. Today, 20 countries belong to the league. The organization works to promote closer political, economic and social relations among its members.

Pan-Arab unity remains an ideal for some Arabs. But the different economic needs and political goals of the Arab states have at times made them bitter rivals. The wealth of some Arab countries from petroleum exports has contributed greatly to tension. Petroleum-poor states resent the wealth of their richer neighbours and seek to share in the oil income. Sharp disagreements have also occurred among petroleum exporters over pricing and production policies. Such disagreements helped set off the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990, which severely divided the Arab states. Several Arab countries, most notably Saudi Arabia and Egypt, took part in the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and helped expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

The Arab-lsraeli conflict can best be understood as a struggle between two nationalist movements, both of which claim Palestine as their homeland. The conflict dates to the early 1900's, after significant number of European Jewish immigrants began to enter Palestine. In 1917, the United Kingdom declared its support for the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. But the UK had also promised support for an independent Arab state in former Ottoman Arab provinces, which included Palestine. Tension between the Arabs and the Jewish settlers grew. In 1947, the United Nations adopted a plan dividing Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish one. The Arabs rejected this plan, and in 1948 several Arab nations invaded the newly formed state of Israel. During the war that followed, thousands of Palestinian Arab refugees fled to neighbouring Arab countries.

The war ended in 1949, but no peace treaty was signed. Since then, the Arab-lsraeli conflict has been of major importance in the Arab world. Thousands of people died in wars fought in 1956, 1967, and 1973, and in an Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Hundreds more died in Palestinian guerrilla attacks and in the intifada,  a series of violent demonstrations by Arabs in Israeli occupied territories that began in 1987.

In 1993, Israel reached a peace agreement with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a group ap­proved by Arab countries to represent the Palestinians. The agreement covered the start of a plan for self-government for Palestinians in parts of the Israeli-occupied territories. In May 1994, Israeli forces completed their withdrawal from these territories. Peace talks

between Israel and Jordan ended the state of war between the two nations. For more details, see Israel (History); Middle East Story.

The Arabs today  continue to face major challenges. The problems of poverty, overpopulation, poor health, inadequate educational facilities are severe in some Arab states. In other countries — especially thinly populated ones -enormous oil wealth has enabled governments to establish high-quality medical care and education. But an effective way of bringing those benefits more populated to poorer, more populated countries has yet to be found. In addition, the oil-rich states must plan for the day when the oil reserves run dry. Many Arab countries are therefore working to develop other economic activities.

While some Arab countries, such as Yemen, have adopted democracies similar to those practised in the West, others are seeking alternative ways to resolve conflicts between Islamic tradition and Western influence. A further challenge facing several countries is to find ways to solve religious or ethnic disputes, such as those among Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Christians, and Druses in Lebanon or between Islamist movements and the governments of Algeria and Egypt.

Related articles.

See the separate articles on the countries where Arabs live.

See also the following articles:

Africa (Way of life in northern Africa), Muslims, Avicenna, Palestine, Bedouins, Palestine Liberation Organization, Arab league, Arab Language, Gaza Strip, Harun al-Rashid, Arabic literature, Islam, Sahara, Arabic numerals, Islamic art, Semites,  Asia( way of life in sourthwest Asia), Israel, Suez Canal, Middle East, West Bank, Muhammad, and Zionism

Outline

Land of the Arabs

Life in the Arab world

Language, Religion, Family life, Education,  Literature and the arts, Food and drink, Clothing, Shelter, Economy, History

Questions

What percentage of Arabs today are nomads?

What Mat is the most densely settled area in the Arab world?

When did a sense of "Arabness* first appear? Why?

What kind of literature is especially beloved by Arabs?

In what way is privacy important in much Arab architecture?

How did European nations gain control of many Arab lands in the 180as and 1900s?

Where is French widely used in the Arab world?

When did significant Arab nationalist movements develop?

What is an extended family? A clan? A tribe?

What two groups have traditionally dominated Arab politics?

Middle East and North

Putting Education to Work: Panel Discussion

Published on Oct 7, 2014

Globally, nearly 75 million or 13 percent of young people are unemployed. In the Middle East and North Africa region, this number rises to more than 28 percent. The issue is compounded when factoring in the over 127 million adults worldwide who are also unemployed. Meanwhile, 40 percent of employers in the United States, 65 percent of Brazilian employers, and 64 percent of Indian employers report they are unable to fill job vacancies, potentially causing billions of dollars in losses. Connecting youth and adults to a value chain stretching from education to job opportunities is essential for achieving long-term economic growth and unlocking the human talent that drives the prosperity of businesses. In this session, key leaders across sectors will reimagine how CGI members can:
• collaborate across sectors—specifically companies, government, education, and training providers—to create real education-to-employment journeys for young people, as well as skills conversion for adults
• eliminate the barriers that keep those traditionally left behind from gaining meaningful employment opportunities
MODERATOR:
Nicholas Kristof, Columnist and Author, The New York Times
PARTICIPANTS:
John Chambers, Chairman and CEO, Cisco
Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State, United Arab Emirates
Nisreen Mitwally, Alumna, Education For Employment (EFE)
Ashish Thakkar, Founder, Mara Group;, Founder, Mara Foundation
Commitment Announcements

United Arab Emirates

Oil pipelines cross desert regions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The oil industry provides jobs for thousands of people from the UAE and from several neighbouring Arab countries.

Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates and the capital of the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The city is mod­ern, but it retains many of its traditions. The picture on the left shows a modem street alongside a traditional mosque (Muslim house of worship).

Facts in brief about the United Arab Emirates

Capital: Abu Dhabi.

Official language: Arabic.

Area: 83,600 km². Greatest distances— north-south, 402 km; east-west, 563 km. Coastline—111 km.

Elevation: Highest— Jabal Yibir, 1,527 m above sea level. Lowest — Salamiyah, a salt flat slightly below sea level.

Population: Estimated 1996population—1,820,000; density, 22 people per km²; distribution, 78 per cent urban, 22 per cent rural. 1980 census— 1,043,225.

Estimated 2001 population— 2,007,000.

Chief products: Agriculture— dates, melons, tomatoes. Fishing —fish, shrimp. Mining— petroleum, natural gas.

Flag: The flag has a vertical red stripe and horizontal stripes of green, white, and black. It was adopted in 1971. See Flag (pic­ture: Flags of Asia and the Pacific).

Money: Currency unit— UAE dirham. One dirham = 100 fils.

United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven inde­pendent Arab states in southwestern Asia. These states lie along the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, at the south end of the Persian Gulf. From west to east, they are Abu Dhabi, Dubayy (also spelled Dubai), Ash Shariqah, Ajman, Umm al Qaywayn, Ras al Khaymah, and Al Fujayrah. The capital city of each state has the same name as the states.

Most people of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are Arab Muslims. About four-fifths of them live in urban areas. The city of Abu Dhabi is the federation's capital and second largest city. Dubayy, the largest city, is an important port and commercial centre.

Beginning in the mid-1800's, Great Britain began to protect the states from attack by outsiders. By the early 1900's, Britain had taken control of the states' foreign af­fairs and guaranteed their independence. Known as the Trucial States, the states remained under British protec­tion until 1971, when they gained full independence. That year, six of the states joined together and formed the United Arab Emirates. Ras al Khaymah joined the union in 1972.

Before the mid-1900’s, the region that is now the UAE was one of the most underdeveloped in the world. Most of the people earned a living by fishing and pearl fish­ing, herding camels, trading, or date farming. The dis­covery of oil during the late 1950's brought sudden wealth to the region and led to the development of modern industries and cities. Many people left their tra­ditional ways of life and took jobs in the oil industry and other modern fields. By the 1970’s, the United Arab Emir­ates had one of the world's highest per capita (per per­son) incomes.

Government. Each of the seven states of the UAE is called an emirate and is ruled by an emir (prince). Each emir controls his state's internal political and economic affairs. The federal government controls the UAE's foreign affairs and defence and plays a large role in the federation’s economic and social development.

The seven emirs form the Supreme Council of the UAE. The council appoints a president, who serves as chief executive and head of state of the UAE. It also appoints a prime minister. The prime minister heads a Council of Ministers, which has about 25 members who supervise various federal government departments.

Each emir appoints representatives to the federal legislature, called the Federal National Council.

People. Most of the people of the UAE are Arabs. They belong to tribes that have lived in the region for hundreds of years. Each tribe has its own traditions. Rivalries among the various tribes have made it difficult to establish a unified nation.

Since the 1960's, thousands of people from neighbouring Arab countries and from India, Iran, and Pakistan have come to the UAE to work in the oil and construction industries and in commerce. The rapid release in population has caused housing shortages and other problems. But money from the oil industry and other economic activities has enabled the UAE to build apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, and roads to meet the needs of the growing population.

Most city-dwellers in the UAE live in modern houses apartment buildings. But in rural areas and on the outskirts of the cities, many people live in small thatched huts, much as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. Some of the people wear Western clothing, but most pr<5fer^traditional Arab garments. Arabic is the official language^ the UAE. About half of all the people 15 years of age or older can read and write. Today, about three-quarters of all school-age children attend primary school.

Land and climate. The UAE covers 83,600 square kilometres, including some islands in the Persian Gulf. Swamps and salt marshes line much of the northern coast. A desert occupies most of the inland area. Water wells and oases dot the desert. The largest oasis, Al Buraymi, is located in both the UAE and in Oman, the country's neighbour to the east. Hills and mountains cover much of the eastern part of the UAE.

The United Arab Emirates has a hot climate with little rainfall. The humidity is often high along the coast, but the inland desert regions are dry. The mountainous areas are generally cooler and receive more rainfall than the rest of the country. Summer temperatures in the UAE average more than 32° C and often reach 49° C. In winter, temperatures in the UAE seldom drop below 16° C. The country receives an average of less than 13 centimetres of rain a year.

Economy of the United Arab Emirates depends largely on the production and export of petroleum.

Most of this oil production takes place in the states of Abu Dhabi, Dubayy, and Ash Shariqah. The rulers of these emirates earn large profits from the sale of oil to foreign countries. Much of the petroleum is exported in crude form. But the UAE also has refineries that process some of the crude oil. The UAE is a member of the Or­ganization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The production of natural gas, and trading and banking ac­tivities also bring income to the UAE.

Less than 1 per cent of the land of the UAE is suitable for growing crops. Farmers in the desert oases and the hilly regions of the eastern UAE grow dates, melons, to­matoes, and other crops. Desert nomads tend herds of camels, goats, and sheep. People who live in the coastal areas catch fish, shrimp, and other seafoods.

Dubayy, Abu Dhabi, and Ash Shariqah are the chief ports of the UAE. In addition to oil, the country exports natural gas and small amounts of dates and fish. Leading imports include building supplies, clothing, food prod­ucts, household goods, and machinery.

Roads link the major cities and towns of the United Arab Emirates. The country has four international air­ports. Several of the states operate radio stations, and Abu Dhabi and Dubayy have television stations.

History. People have lived in what is now the UAE for thousands of years. The chiefs of Arab tribes gradually gained control of the region. The tribes adopted Islam, the Muslim religion, by the A.D. 600's.

The Persian Gulf region lay on a major world trade route. Beginning in the 150ffs, various European nations established trading posts in the area. Great Britain be­came the strongest European power in the Persian Gulf region. During the 1700's, the Arab states that now make up the UAE began to develop. At first, Ras al Khaymah and Ash Shariqah were the strongest states. Their strength came from their naval power, and from the wealth they obtained from such activities as pearl fish­ing and trading.

In the late 1700's and early 1800's, Ras al Khaymah and Ash Shariqah fought many wars with other gulf states for control of the region's trade. The British aided the ri­vals of Ras al Khaymah and Ash Shariqah. In 1820, after destroying the city of Ras al Khaymah, the British forced all the states in the region to sign a truce forbidding warfare at sea. Other truces were signed in the 1800's, and the region became known as the Trucial States be­cause of the truces. By the early 1900's, Abu Dhabi and Dubayy had become the leading states. But Britain had taken control of the states' foreign affairs and had guar­anteed them protection from attack by outsiders. The states' rulers continued to handle internal matters. Until the mid-1900's, traditional rivalries over boundaries, pearl fishing rights, and other disputes led to wars among the states.

In the mid-1900's, foreign oil companies began to drill for oil in the Trucial States. In 1958, oil was discovered in Abu Dhabi, and the state began to export crude oil in 1962. Large oil deposits were found in Dubayy in 1966. Oil production began in Ash Shariqah in 1974. Money Irom oil production enabled Abu Dhabi, Dubayy, and Ash Shariqah to begin to develop into modern states. Other states later began to produce some oil. But they continuecTttTrSly^hiefly on agriculture and fishing as the basis of their economies.

In 1971, the Trucial States gained full independence from Britain. In spite of traditional rivalries, all the states except Ras al Khaymah joined together and formed the United Arab Emirates on Dec. 2,1971. That same year, the UAE became a member of the Arab

League and the United Nations. Ras al Khaymah joined the UAE in Febru­ary 1972.

Under the Provisional Constitution adopted by the UAE in 1971, each emir continued to handle the internal affairs of his state. But the rulers agreed to share their resources and work for the economic development of all the states. The UAE's economy boomed in the 1970's and production increased. In addition, natural gas deposits were discovered in Ash Shariqah. But in the 1980’s, worldwide oil prices fell, causing difficulties for He LAE's economy.

In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. In early 1991, the EAE and other GCC members took part in the allied air arc ground offensive that liberated Kuwait. See Persian Gulf War. See also Abu Dhabi; Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

United Arab Republic (U.A.R.) was a union of two independent Middle Eastern countries, Egypt and Syria. President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt and Shukri al- Kuwatly of Syria proclaimed the union on Feb. 1,1958. Syrian rebels ended it on Sept. 29,1961, setting up an independent government for Syria. Egypt continued to use the name United Arab Republic until 1971, when it changed its official name to the Arab Republic of Egypt, In April 1963, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq agreed to form a new U.A.R. But because of political differences among the countries, the agreement was not carried out.

Government. The U.A.R. of 1958 had a centralized government, with Cairo as the capital. Egypt and Syria became provinces, with provincial capitals at Cairo for Egypt and Damascus for Syria.

Soon after the merger, the people adopted a provincial constitution and chose Nasser as president. He appointed all members of the National Assembly, selecting half from Egypt and half from Syria. The assembly supposedly exercised legislative power, but Nasser made many decisions without consulting it.

History. Before World War I (1914-1918), most of the Middle East was part of the Ottoman Empire. However, Great Britain had gained control of Egypt in the 1880's, and kept it until Egypt became independent in 1922. After World War I, the Middle East was carved into a number of political divisions. Syria, along with Lebanon, became a League of Nations mandate of France, which controlled them until after World War II (1939-1945).

Following World War II, many Arabs wanted to be united under a single government. Nasser came into power in Egypt during the 1950s, and became the leader of the Arab unity movement. Many Arab leaders suspected the West and turned to the Soviet Union for assistance. Nasser accepted Soviet aid, although he sup­pressed Communism within Egypt. The Communists also gained great power in Syria. The desire for Arab unity, the fear of Communist influence in Syria, and Nas­ser's ambition all contributed to the formation of the United Arab Republic.

Nasser regarded the union of Egypt and Syria as the first step toward uniting all Arab states. On March 8, 1958, Yemen agreed to form a federation with the U.A.R. The union was called the United Arab States, and had Hodeida (now Al Hudaydah), Yemen, as its permanent seat. The United Arab States was not a true federation. Yemen maintained its own membership in the United Nations and separate relations with other countries. Nasser dissolved the United Arab States in December 1961.

Nasser made clear that the U.A.R. would be neutral in world affairs. In 1959, he accused the Soviet Union of trying to interfere with the internal affairs of the repub­lic. He also improved relations with the West.

The government introduced many reforms in both provinces. But many Syrians began to feel that Nasser was raising the level of living in Egypt only by lowering it in Syria. Finally, late in 1961, Syrian officers in the U.A.R. army carried out an almost bloodless revolt and proclaimed an independent Syria. The Baath Party, the ruling party in Syria and Iraq, blocked a new federation attempt in 1963. The party opposed Nasser's attempt to control the new U.A.R. See also Egypt; Iraq; Nasser, Gamal Abdel; Syria; Yemen.

Kuwait
Kuwait (pop. 44,335) is the capital and chief port of the country of Kuwait. It lies on Kuwait Bay, a natural har­bour in the northwest corner of the Persian Gulf (see Ku­wait/map). Kuwait is the centre of a large urban area in which about two-thirds of the country's people live.

Kuwait is a modern city, whose economy is supported by the country's enormous petroleum wealth. Residen­tial areas lie between ringlike roads that form a grid around the city centre. Many of the city's Kuwaiti citizens live in attractive, villa-style homes. Most non-Kuwaitis live in modest flats.

Modern Kuwait was founded in the 1700's by the Utab (or Utub), a branch of the Anaza tribal confederation of north-central Arabia. Kuwait became an important port and shipbuilding centre in the 1700's. In the mid-1940's, the country of Kuwait became a leading producer of pe­troleum. The wealth from petroleum led to the growth and modernization of the city of Kuwait. Today, most manufacturing involves petroleum-related products.

From August 1990 until February 1991, troops from Iraq occupied the city and the rest of Kuwait. The Iraqis killed many people and caused enormous damage. See Kuwait (country [History]).

Kuwait is made up of Kuwaiti citizens. Most of the other people of Kuwait are Arabs from other lands, Asian Indians, Irani­ans, and Pakistanis. Palestinian Arabs are by far the larg­est single group of non-Kuwaiti residents.

Relatively few Kuwaiti children attended school until the 1950's,, when oil wealth enabled the government to begin building many schools. Today, more than 85 per cent of school-age children in Kuwait attend school. Special schools provide education for disabled people, and for adults who want to learn to read and write. The University of Kuwait opened in 1966. Kuwait also has several commercial and technical schools.

Until the mid-1900's, few Kuwaiti women held a job outside the home or received much education. Today, increasing numbers of women work in business offices and earn college degrees.

Kuwait has one doctor for every 600 people. In con­trast, there were only four doctors in the country in 1949. There are more than 10 hospitals.

Land. Kuwait, including its offshore islands, covers 17,818 square kilometres. Faylakah, the most important island of Kuwait, lies about 19 kilometres off the coast. Bubiyan, the largest island, is uninhabited. The city of Kuwait lies on the southern side of Kuwait Bay, which is an important harbour.

From April to September, Kuwait is very hot. Temper­atures often exceed 49° C in the shade. But the climate is not extremely unpleasant until August and September, when the humidity is relatively high. In January, the cold­est month, temperatures average between 10° and 16° C.

Facts in brief about Kuwait

Capital: Kuwait.

Official language: Arabic.

Official name: Dowlat al Kuwait (State of Kuwait).

Area: 17,818 km², including offshore islands. Greatest distances -east-west, 153 km; north-south, 145 km. Coastline—193 km.

Population: Estimated 1996population—1,626,000; density, 91 people per km^!; distribution, 97 per cent urban, 3 per cent rural. 1985 census— 1,697,301. Estimated2001 population—

1,762,000.

Chief products: Petroleum, natural gas.

Flag: Horizontal green, white, and red stripes join a black, verti­cal stripe at the flagstaff. See Flag (picture: Flags of Asia and the Pacific).

Money: Currency unit— Kuwaiti dinar. One dinar = 1,000 fils.

Besides desert scrub, Kuwait has little vegetation most of the year. Some grass grows during the cool weather from October to March, when an average of 5 to 15 cen­timetres of rain falls.

Kuwait has no rivers or lakes. Before 1950, it had few known sources of fresh water apart from the scanty rain­fall. Ships carried drinking water to Kuwait from Iraq. Most of the wells in the country yielded only brackish (salty) water. But in 1950, engineers began producing fresh water by distilling seawater and mixing it with well water. Today, distillation provides most of the country's fresh water. The discovery of a large underground source of fresh water in 1960 also increased Kuwait's fresh-water supply.

Economy. The petroleum industry is the single most important economic activity in Kuwait. The government of Kuwait owns almost all of the industry. The sale of oil to foreign nations by the government created most of Kuwait's wealth. Following the Persian Gulf War in 1991, international teams worked to put out fires at hundreds of oil wells. Kuwait's government also receives large amounts of money from earnings on investments it has made in the United States and other foreign countries. Kuwait is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Ex­port.

Kuwait is a small Arab country in southwestern Asia, at the north end of the Persian Gulf. It is bordered by Iraq and Saudi Arabia. This desert land is one of the world's leading petroleum producers. It has over one-tenth of the world's known petroleum reserves.

A poor country until 1946, Kuwait is now one of the richest and most progressive. With wealth gained by selling oil, Kuwait's rulers turned desert into a prosper­ous welfare state. Kuwait is one of the wealthiest nations in terms of national income per person. The country has free primary and secondary education, free health and social services, and no income tax.

The city of Kuwait, the country's capital, is the centre of a large urban area that has about two-thirds of the country's people. Kuwait gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1961. In 1990, an invasion of Kuwait by Iraq triggered the Persian Gulf War. For details, see the History section of this article.

Government. Kuwait is governed by a ruler called an emir, or amir. The emir appoints the prime minister. The prime minister chooses the ministers, who the emir confirms. A 50-member National Assembly makes the laws.

People. Most people of Kuwait are Arabs and Mus­lims (followers of Islam). Arabic is the official language and Islam is the state religion. But laws forbid discrimi­nation based on language or religion.

Kuwait's population is more than 28 times as large as it was in the 1930's. Immigration has accounted for most of the increase. Today, less than half the population is made up of Kuwaiti citizens. Most of the other people of Kuwait are Arabs from other lands, Asian Indians, Irani­ans, and Pakistanis. Palestinian Arabs are by far the larg­est single group of non-Kuwaiti residents.

Relatively few Kuwaiti children attended school until the 1950's,, when oil wealth enabled the government to begin building many schools. Today, more than 85 per cent of school-age children in Kuwait attend school. Special schools provide education for disabled people, and for adults who want to learn to read and write. The University of Kuwait opened in 1966. Kuwait also has several commercial and technical schools.

Until the mid-1900's, few Kuwaiti women held a job outside the home or received much education. Today, increasing numbers of women work in business offices and earn college degrees.

Kuwait has one doctor for every 600 people. In con­trast, there were only four doctors in the country in 1949. There are more than 10 hospitals.

Land. Kuwait, including its offshore islands, covers 17,818 square kilometres. Faylakah, the most important island of Kuwait, lies about 19 kilometres off the coast. Bubiyan, the largest island, is uninhabited. The city of Kuwait lies on the southern side of Kuwait Bay, which is an important harbour.

From April to September, Kuwait is very hot. Temper­atures often exceed 49° C in the shade. But the climate is not extremely unpleasant until August and September, when the humidity is relatively high. In January, the cold­est month, temperatures average between 10° and 16° C.

Besides desert scrub, Kuwait has little vegetation most of the year. Some grass grows during the cool weather from October to March, when an average of 5 to 15 cen­timetres of rain falls.

Kuwait has no rivers or lakes. Before 1950, it had few known sources of fresh water apart from the scanty rain­fall. Ships carried drinking water to Kuwait from Iraq. Most of the wells in the country yielded only brackish (salty) water. But in 1950, engineers began producing fresh water by distilling seawater and mixing it with well water. Today, distillation provides most of the country's fresh water. The discovery of a large underground source of fresh water in 1960 also increased Kuwait's fresh-water supply.

Economy. The petroleum industry is the single most important economic activity in Kuwait. The government of Kuwait owns almost all of the industry. The sale of oil to foreign nations by the government created most of Kuwait's wealth. Following the Persian Gulf War in 1991, international teams worked to put out fires at hundreds of oil wells. Kuwait's government also receives large amounts of money from earnings on investments it has made in the United States and other foreign countries. Kuwait is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Ex­porting Countries (OPEC). Natural gas, produced in con­junction with oil, is Kuwait's second most important product.

Kuwait has little agriculture, and most of its food is imported. The country's relatively few farms raise cam­els, goats, and sheep, and grow dates, tomatoes, and a few other crops. Kuwait has a small fishing fleet, and it exports shrimps.

The government uses much of its income from oil to support Kuwait's welfare system and modernize the country. But the oil industry does not provide many jobs. Most of the work is done by machinery.

Kuwait is trying to provide more jobs by promoting the growth of economic activities other than oil produc­tion. Government plans call for the development of new industries that manufacture products from petroleum. The government also plans to build more houses, oil re­fineries, ships for transporting oil, electric power sta­tions, and distillation plants. It is working to increase ag­riculture by turning part of the desert into fertile land through irrigation. Scientists are also attempting to pro­duce crops by hydroponic farming. Instead of using fer­tile soil, they are trying to grow crops in trays of sand fed with water and plant foods.

Today, non-Kuwaiti people hold the majority of the jobs in Kuwait. Many Kuwaitis lack the education and skills needed to perform available jobs, and they de­pend on welfare for a living. The Kuwaiti government believes that its emphasis on education and job training will enable more Kuwaitis to take on jobs in the future.

Kuwait has an excellent system of paved roads. Air service links Kuwait with other countries.

History. Kuwait had few settled inhabitants before 1700. In about 1710, members of the Arab Anaza tribal confederation settled on the southern shore of Kuwait Bay, where they found a supply of fresh water. They probably fled their homeland in Arabia to escape a se­vere drought. They built a port that later became the city of Kuwait. Between 1756 and 1762, the tribe elected head of the Al-Sabah family to rule them as Sabah I.

In 1775, Britain (now called the United Kingdom) made Kuwait the starting point of its desert mail service to Aleppo, Syria. This route formed part of a system that carried goods and messages from India to Britain. Over the years, Britain's interest in Kuwait grew. In 1899, Brit­ain became responsible for Kuwait's defence.

In 1934, Kuwait's ruler granted a concession to allow the Kuwait Oil Company, a joint American-British enter­prise, to drill for oil. Drilling began in 1936, and it showed that vast quantities of petroleum lay under the desert of Kuwait. Kuwait became a major petroleum ex­porter after World War II ended in 1945. It soon changed from a poor land to a wealthy one as a result of the oil sales. Kuwait joined the Arab League soon after it became independent in 1961. It joined the United Na­tions in 1963. Kuwait has given financial aid to several Arab countries through the Kuwait Fund for Arab Eco­nomic Development. The fund has also provided aid to non-Arab countries in Africa and Asia.

Kuwait sent troops to Egypt during the Middle East crisis in June 1967. But these troops did not take part in the Arab-lsraeli War. For about two months, Kuwait cut off its oil shipments to the United States and other West­ern countries. Kuwait also agreed to pay Egypt and Jor­dan a total of 132 million U.S. dollars annually to help their economies recover after the war.

A small number of Kuwaiti troops took part in the 1973 Arab-lsraeli War. In October 1973, Kuwait and other Arab oil-exporting nations stopped shipments of oil to the United States and the Netherlands. They also reduced shipments to other countries that supported Is­rael. In March 1974, full shipments were renewed. In 1975, Kuwait's government nationalized (took control of) the Kuwait Oil Company. The government now has al­most complete control of the oil industry.

In 1976, Kuwait's prime minister denounced the Na­tional Assembly for blocking legislation. Kuwait's emir then dissolved the National Assembly. A new Assembly was elected in 1981, but the emir dissolved it and sus­pended the constitution in 1986.

In the 1980's, much fighting in a war between Iran and Iraq centred on the Persian Gulf area. In 1986, Iran began attacks on Kuwaiti oil tankers because of Kuwait's financial aid to, and other support for, Iraq. In 1987, Ku­wait asked the Soviet Union and the United States to help provide safety for its shipping. The Soviet Union leased to Kuwait vessels flying the Soviet flag. Several Kuwaiti ships were reregistered as U.S. vessels and flew U.S. flags. U.S. warships began escorting these vessels in the Persian Gulf. Some clashes between the U.S. forces and Iranians occurred. In August 1988, Iran and Iraq agreed to a cease-fire in their war (see Iran (Iran today)).

In August 1990, Iraqi forces invaded and occupied Ku­wait. Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, accused Kuwait of violating oil production limits set by OPEC, thus lower­ing the price of oil. Hussein claimed that Kuwait was le­gally a part of Iraq, and he announced that his country had annexed it as an Iraqi province. The Iraqi forces in Kuwait killed and tortured many people and stole or de­stroyed much property. They set fire to hundreds of oil wells. The United Nations Security Council declared Iraq's annexation of Kuwait null and void.

Some people believed that Iraq would next invade oil-rich Saudi Arabia. The United States and many other nations sent forces to Saudi Arabia to defend that coun­try. These nations, and Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, formed an allied military coalition. In November 1990, the United Nations Security Council approved the use of military force to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait if they had not left by Jan. 15,1991. Iraq refused to leave, and war broke out between the allied forces and Iraq. The allied forces bombed Iraqi military targets in Kuwait. In February, allied land forces moved into Kuwait. They quickly defeated the occupying Iraqi forces. For more details, see Persian Gulf War.

In October 1992, Kuwaitis elected a new 50-member National Assembly. The constitution was reinstated. See also Arab League.