This is a brief but informational outline of important points of the Middle East

The Middle East

World History I

1. Religions

A. Judaism

a. Abraham, Moses

b. Torah- The Ten Commandments

c. Jerusalem

d. The belief in one G-d, Supreme Being, "Adonaih", the Ten Commandments dictate a way of life, one goes to a synagogue to pray, and The Torah is a history of the Jewish People.

B. Islam

a. Muhammad was a prophet.

b. The Koran

c. Mecca

d. Also the belief in one G-d, Allah, one prays in a mosque, 5 times a day. "There is no G-d but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger". The 5 pillars of Islam. (Statement, prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, donations)

C. Christianity

a. Jesus

b. The Bible

c. Jerusalem

d. The belief in heaven and retribution, the 10 commandments. The rebirth of Christ.

2. Expansion of Islam

A. Islam spread rapidly during 100 years after Muhammad's death. This was because the Arab armies were united by their beliefs and were motivated by paradise and riches.

English: A green version of http://commons.wikimed...

English: Portrait of Lord Balfour, along with his ...

English: Balfour declaration

B. Many accepted Islam and it's belief in equality, Jews and Christians did not have to convert, yet had to pay a special "non-believer" tax.

3. Creation of Israel

A. Balfour declaration

B. At the same time the British won the support of Sharif Hussein, ruler of Mecca, by promising their help in setting up an independent Arab state after the war.

C. The lands were colonized into "mandates" by the British and French.

D. The land was split, divided in Palestine and Israel, owing greatly to the sympathy given to them after World War 2.

4. Zionism- the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the resumption of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel.

5. Balfour Declaration- In 1917 the British issued the Balfour Declaration, which pledged to establish a national home...