History of the Middle East - Coursework Example

Your Full Your s 14 December Part I 1914-1918 The breaking up and division of the Ottoman Empire as an aftermath of siding with Germany during WW I. This was seen by some as a direct attack on Muslim sovereignty by the Western powers. July 1915-March 1916 McMahon Correspondences between British High Commissioner of Cairo and Sherif of Mecca agree to Arab independence including Palestine, present day Israel. 1916 The Sykes-Picot Agreement. France and Britain agreed to divide Ottoman lands in the Middle East between the nations. It was essentially antithetical to the promises made to the Arabs regarding territorial distribution. November 2, 1917 The Balfour Declaration, in which Britain openly shows support for a Jewish state in Palestine. This was once again seen to be antithetical to the earlier promises made by Britain to the Arabs, and this is precisely why, even to this day, this Declaration is considered to be very contentious and the root of all, if not most, problems the Mideast Peace Process faces. May 14, 1948 Israel declares independence. This resulted in many attacks launched by the surrounding Arab countries, however, Israel managed to thwart them as well as expand its territory. 1973-74 The Oil-Embargo of Middle Eastern countries on states favoring Israel through their policies. Even though this did not cause a lot of changes in the policies of such nations, however, it was economically detrimental to the countries that were targeted by it. September 17, 1978 Camp David Accords are signed by Egypt’s Nasser, and Israel’s Begin, in the presence of United States’ Carter. With these accords, it was shown that peace talks were possible between Israel and the Arab World. 1979 Iranian Revolution. Ousting the Shah of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini became the new leader of Iran. The new Islamic Republic not only proved to be a great threat to the nation of Israel, but also maintained an anti-West temperament, thus shifting the paradigms against Western interests. 1987-1989 The Intifada. A popular Palestinian uprising, at grass root level, occurred in the Palestinian refugee camps, bringing their plight to the fore front in world politics. 1991 The Persian Gulf War was fought as a result of Iraq’s non-compliance with UN’s demands between Iraq and a multi-national force, comprised mostly of US army. It was propagandized as the West attacking Islam, and caused much more suspicion and hatred on the grass-root level. Part II ___Yitzhak Rabin  Born on 1st March, 1922, Yitzhak Rabin was a general in the Israeli army, who later became a politician. He served twice as the Israeli Prime Minister, with his first term being from 1974 to 1977. His second term started in 1992, and continued till he was assassinated in 1995 by a right –wing radical Israeli Jew. He won the Nobel Peace Prize shared with Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat in 1994. His signing of the Oslo Accords angered many right-wing Jews who vehemently opposed his ‘treatment’ of the Palestinians, or what they saw to be his pro-Palestine stance. He was blamed for Jewish deaths in terror attacks by his peers. While this action was not favored by his fellow countrymen, the fact that he was willing to negotiate for peace in the region with his race’s sworn enemies won him respect in the eyes of the Arab and Western world, hence the Nobel Peace Prize. Although, as stated above, it was his signing the Oslo Accords that not only caused him to win the Nobel Peace Prize, but also got him assassinated on 4th November, 1992 by his own compatriot, who saw him as a traitor to Israel. After his assassination, however, he was dubbed a national hero with many important places throughout Israel renamed after him in his honor, including the square where he was assassinated. Despite his earlier military career, he is lauded as one of the greatest symbol of peace of his time. His willingness to negotiate with the Palestinians and the resultant peace accords he made prove that he was indeed a man of peace. ___Shah Reza Pahlavi  Born on 26th October, 1919, Shah Reza Pahlavi was the last emperor of Iran whose reign lasted for thirty-eight years. Interestingly enough, he came to power as a result of a forced abdication of his father, caused by an Anglo-Soviet invasion. His reign was marked by modernization and secularization. Even though he was a Muslim, the Shah opted for secularization of Iran, instead of taking the more orthodox route of kowtowing to the clergy, as leaders of the Muslim countries are often forced to do. Moreover, he also tried to uplift Iran into becoming a global power by introducing many economic and social reforms, under the banner of White Revolution. As a result of these reforms not only were many of Iran’s natural resources nationalized, but he also managed to give voting powers to the women of Iran, again a contentious point for the clergy. Interestingly enough, Shah Reza Pahlavi also maintained close ties with Israel from the time of the declaration of independence of Israel in 1948. The Shah’s rule also oversaw the attempts of the armies of both countries to develop a missile. His rule was marred by his autocratic rule and cruelty towards political dissenters, carried out by SAVAK, the Iranian intelligence agency, which was notorious for its underhanded tactics and for making political dissenters of the Shah “disappear” so to speak. Moreover, as his policies were very Western friendly and modern, and because he did not heed the clergy of his country, which in turn controlled the opinion of the masses, his rule came to an abrupt end as a result of a public uprising in 1979. The Shah died in exile on 27th July 1980 in Egypt and was given a state funeral by the then President of Egypt, Anwar-El-Sadat. He is considered to be one of the more modern and pro-West leaders of the Muslim world, more so as his rule was directly followed by the religiously toned revolution of the people. His stance regarding Israel was quite unique; at one point, Iran was providing most of the oil needed by Israel. Although he would have been a good mediator in times to come, between Israel and the rest of the Muslim world especially, it was his autocratic and brutal rule at home, which caused the murder and imprisonment of many political dissenters, which were his undoing. ___Kemal Ataturk Born somewhere in the year 1881, Mustafa Kemal was a Turkish army officer. He was given the title Atatürk, with which he is still known, which literally translates as the Father of the Turks. After the Ottoman Empire faced defeat, in the aftermath of the First World War (the Ottoman Empire sided with Germany and its allies), Mustafa Kemal Atatürk led the Turkish national liberation struggle in a bid to win independence for Turkey. He defeated the Allied forces sent to Turkey for a takeover. He succeeded in his aims to establish a government in Turkey and set up a temporary government in Ankara in 1920. He is known as a great statesman of his time, and is responsible for creating the modern state of Turkey. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire (or the Ottoman Caliphate), which was based in Turkey, a great need was felt for Turkey to be wrested from the clutches of the remnants of the Empire and its religious based policies. For this purpose, Atatürk embarked upon a political, economic and cultural reform program in an effort to create a modern and secular Turkey. He laid the legislative and judicial structures of modern Turkey in line with the Western model. Moreover, Atatürk also secularized Turkey, ensuring that the Shari’ah based laws were not practiced and a more secular judiciary was put in its place. Moreover, he also changed the Turkish script from Arabic to Latin in a bid to solve the Turkish literacy problem, as more people found it hard to read the Arabic script. He died on 10th November 1938, and is still revered and remembered not only as the founder of modern Turkey but as a modern statesman who brought his people out of strife through his social, legal and economic reform policies. Part III The Clash of Civilization, a theory proposed by Samuel P. Huntington suggests that in the post-Cold War world, cultural and religious identities and differences will be the main reason for conflict. He outlined his belief that with the end of the age of ideology the world had reverted to conflict fueled by cultural differences. Ever since the downfall of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 as the aftermath of their siding with Germany in WW I, the whole of the Middle East has been in turmoil with one conflict following another. Following the history of the region, it can be said that there is a clash of civilizations. There is deep resentment between the different races, namely the Arabs and Jews. Cultural and religious differences are the main cause for this. There are many events that have occurred in the history of the world in general that point towards this thesis. Events such as the invasion of Israel by the Arab nations, particularly Egypt and Syria; the Iranian Revolution, which was based on religious grounds, and their anti-America stance; the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in consequence of signing the Oslo Accords at the hands of a Jewish zealot; the assassination of Anwar-el-Sadat in pursuance of a religious fatwa against his life for his pro-Israel stance; the coming to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan, who were a group of religious zealots; the attack on the World Trade Centers in the United States by religious zealots; the president of the United States of America, George W. Bush, referring to the war on terror as a crusade; the London suicide bombings carried out at a metro station; the Madrid train bombings; and the Bali bombings which were carried out in popular nightclubs of the area. Read More