The Middle East and North Africa are regions often grouped together because they have many things in common. About two-thirds of the region is desert or semi-arid land where little rain falls. Islam is the dominant religion, and Arabic is the most widely spoken language. The region is also the birthplace of the world’s three major monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. There are, however, many exceptions:
Most Iranians speak a Persian language called Farsi. Iran was known as Persia until 1935. Iranians are not Arabs. Most Iranians also follow a different branch of Islam than most Arabs. They are Shia Muslims, while most Arabs are Sunni Muslims.
Most people in Turkey are Muslims but speak Turkish rather than Arabic. Like Iranians, Turks are not Arabs. Since 1928, Turkish has been written in the Latin alphabet, the same letters used in English.
Lebanon includes a significant Christian minority. Lebanon once had a Christian majority, but Muslims now outnumber Christians because Muslims have tended to have more children and many Christians have emigrated. Lebanese Americans once formed the largest Arab community in the United States, but immigration from other nations such as Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen has made the Arab American population more diverse.
Most people in Israel speak Hebrew and practice Judaism. After World War II, the United Nations supported the creation of Israel as a Jewish homeland in the Middle East. Israel declared independence in 1948. About one in five Israeli citizens is Arab.
About forty million Kurds live in the mountains between Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The Kurds are Muslims, but they have their own language and culture. They are often called the largest ethnic group in the world without a country of their own. Many Kurds resist assimilating into the population of their host nations, and many hope for a country of their own.
A minority of the people of Morocco and Algeria speak Berber languages. Many Berbers prefer to be called Amazigh. The Berbers are the descendants of people who lived in North Africa before the Arab invasion. The Berber language and traditions are scattered in isolated parts of North Africa, such as mountains and deserts. Most ethnic Berbers today are Arabic-speaking Muslims. Morocco and Algeria now recognize Berber as an official language.
The Bedouins are Arabic-speaking Muslims, but they keep a distinct identity built on family ties, ancestry, and their own Arabic dialects. Today most have settled in towns and cities, but for centuries, Bedouins lived as nomads, herding camels, goats, and sheep across the deserts of Arabia and North Africa.
Because many nations in the Middle East and North Africa were once ruled by European powers, languages such as French and English are still widely used, especially in schools, business, and government. French is common in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Lebanon, which France once ruled. English is widely used in Egypt, Jordan, and the Persian Gulf states, where Britain held power.
Despite these differences, a shared faith, language, and climate have tied the Middle East and North Africa together for centuries. That story begins with the Arabs, whose language and religion spread from the Arabian Peninsula across the region.
Resources
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Mr. Donn has an excellent website that includes a section on the Middle East and North Africa.