Teaching the Middle East
Charles Kurzman
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
World View
February 3, 2017
Pop Quiz!
1. When was the term “Middle East” coined, and in which language?
a) 7th century, Arabic
b) 16th century, Turkish c) Late 19th century, English
d) Mid-20th century, Arabic
Pop Quiz!
1. When was the term “Middle East” coined, and in which language?
a) 7th century, Arabic
b) 16th century, Turkish c) Late 19th century, English
d) Mid-20th century, Arabic
Harper’s Bazaar, March 10, 1883, page 154.
Pop Quiz!
2. Which map(s) represent the Middle East? (Circle all that apply)
a)
b)
c)
d)
Pop Quiz!
2. Which map(s) represent the Middle East? (Circle all that apply)
a)
b)
c)
d)
Alfred Thayer Mahan, “The Persian
Gulf and International Relations,”
National Review, September 1902, pages
27-45.
Pop Quiz!
2. Which map(s) represent the Middle East? (Circle all that apply)
a)
b)
Middle East Studies Association,
http://mesana.org/about/index.html
c)
d)
Pop Quiz!
3. What are the three most widely spoken native languages in the Middle East?
________________________
________________________
________________________
Pop Quiz!
3. What are the three most widely spoken native languages in the Middle East?
________________________
Gulf/2000, Columbia University,
http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/maps
________________________
________________________
Pop Quiz!
4. What percentage of the world’s Muslim population lives in the Middle East?
a) 10.4%
b) 20.1%
c) 48.3%
d) 61.9%
5. What country has the largest percentage of the world’s Muslim population?
a) Nigeria
b) Egypt
c) Iran
d) Indonesia
Pop Quiz!
Pew Research Center,
Mapping the Global
Muslim Population
(2009)
Pop Quiz!
6. Which of the following statements is/are true about Sunni and Shia Muslims? (Check all that apply)
a) Approximately half of the world’s Muslims are Sunni and half are Shia.
b) Sunni and Shia Muslims follow five different pillars of Islam.
c) Sunni and Shia Muslims disagree about the succession of leadership after the Prophet Muhammad.
d) Sunni and Shia have been unable to live in mixed communities due to recurrent conflict.
Pop Quiz!
6. Which of the following statements is/are true about Sunni and Shia Muslims? (Check all that apply)
a) Approximately half of the world’s Muslims are Sunni and half are Shia.
b) Sunni and Shia Muslims follow five different pillars of Islam.
c) Sunni and Shia Muslims disagree about the succession of leadership after the Prophet Muhammad.
d) Sunni and Shia have been unable to live in mixed communities due to recurrent conflict.
Gulf/2000, Columbia University,
http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/maps
Pop Quiz!
7. When did Israeli-Palestinian conflict begin?
a) Biblical times
b) The Crusades
c) After World War I
d) After World War II
Pop Quiz!
7. When did Israeli-Palestinian conflict begin?
a) Biblical times
b) The Crusades
c) After World War I
d) After World War II
Political Zionism founded c. 1896; Palestinian nationalism founded c. 1917
Duplicate nationalisms:
Yesha: http://myisrael.org.il/maps; Hamas: http://www.hamasinfo.net
Pop Quiz!
8. In which of the following Middle Eastern countries has the United States conducted armed interventions? (Circle all
that apply)
a) Algeria
b) Iraq
c) Libya
d) Somalia
e) Syria
f) Yemen
Pop Quiz!
8. In which of the following Middle Eastern countries has the United States conducted armed interventions? (Circle all
that apply)
a) Algeria
b) Iraq
c) Libya
d) Somalia
e) Syria
f) Yemen
Pop Quiz!
8. In which of the following Middle Eastern countries has the United States conducted armed interventions? (Circle all
that apply)
a) Algeria
b) Iraq
c) Libya
d) Somalia
e) Syria
f) Yemen
David Vine, “Where in the World Is the U.S. Military?” Politico, July/August 2015,
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/06/us-military-bases-around-the-world-119321
Pop Quiz!
9. Which of the following Middle Eastern countries have sizeable oil reserves? (Circle all that apply)
a) United Arab Emirates
b) Syria
c) Saudi Arabia
d) Jordan
Pop Quiz!
9. Which of the following Middle Eastern countries have sizeable oil reserves? (Circle all that apply)
a) United Arab Emirates
b) Syria
c) Saudi Arabia
d) Jordan
http://www.eia.gov/energy_in_brief/article/world_oil_market.cfm
Pop Quiz!
10. Between September 12, 2001, and the end of 2016, how many people in the United States were killed by Islamist
terror attacks? (Out of the total of 240,000 Americans who were murdered during this period.)
a) 123
b) 456
c) 789
d) 1,234
Pop Quiz!
10. Between September 12, 2001, and the end of 2016, how many people in the United States were killed by Islamist
terror attacks? (Out of the total of 240,000 Americans who were murdered during this period.)
a) 123
b) 456
c) 789
d) 1,234
123
Source: Charles Kurzman, “Muslim-American
Involvement with Violent Extremism, 2016,” January
2017, http://kurzman.unc.edu
Total number of murders in this period:
more than 240,000
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the
United States, 2015, Table 1, “Crime in the United
States by Volume and Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants,
1996‐2015.”
Pop Quiz!
11. How many of these were killed by extremists from the seven countries whose U.S. visas were recently blocked?
a) 0
b) More than 0
Pop Quiz!
11. How many of these were killed by extremists from the seven countries whose U.S. visas were recently blocked?
a) 0
b) More than 0
0
Source: Charles Kurzman, “Muslim-American
Involvement with Violent Extremism, 2016,” January
2017, http://kurzman.unc.edu.
Civil Wars Around the World
Source: UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset,
http://ucdp.uu.se/#/year/2015
Meta-rules
1. Don’t avoid touchy issues.
2. Seek and evaluate systematic evidence.
3. Disagreement is okay…
4. So long as it is evidence-based.
5. Most of the “ancient” aspects of the Middle East
are modern inventions.
http://ncmideast.org