Physical and Cultural Geography, Part 2

Question 1: Define Kurds, Armenians, and Bedouins, and explain where one is likely to find them in the Middle East.

Answer 1: Kurds – The Kurds are an ethnic group in the Middle East. There are significant Kurdish populations in Iraq and Turkey; Kurds also live in Iraq and Syria. They are a minority ethnic group in each of these nations.Armenians – The Armenians are an ethnic group of the Middle East. There is a significant population of Armenians in Turkey, though they are a minority of the population.Bedouins – The Bedouins are an ethnic group of the Middle East. Traditionally, Bedouins are nomads, living in desert regions of the Middle East as herdspeople. Most are Muslim. Less than 2 percent of the Middle East population is Bedouin.

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Question 2: Discuss the three Abrahamic religions: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.

Answer 2: Islam – the primary religion of the Middle East. Islam means submission in Arabic, and followers of Islam are called Muslims. Islam is a monotheistic religion, thus Muslims believe that there is only one God (Allah, Arabic for God) and that Mohammed is his prophet. They accept Jesus as a prophet, but they do not believe that Jesus was divine. Christianity – a religion based on the Bible. Christianity is a monotheistic religion, meaning that according to Christians, there is only God. Christians believe that Jesus was divine and that Jesus is the savior.Judaism – one of three Abrahamic religions. It is a monotheistic religion, and followers are Judaism are called Jewish or Jews. According to Judaism, there is only one God, and God is the creator of the universe. According to Judaism, God and the chosen people (the Jews) share a covenant, or contract.

Question 3: Compare and contrast the main beliefs of Islam with the main beliefs of Judaism and Christianity.

Answer 3: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity are all Abrahamic religions: they are based on the God of Abraham, and followers of each claim to be descended from that biblical patriarch. According to all three religions, there is only one God (the terms Allah and Yahweh each refer to that one god; in other words, followers of each religion worship the same God). All three religions subscribe to a belief in an afterlife, heaven and hell, and Judgment Day. All three regard prophets such as Abraham and Moses as religiously important, viewing those prophets as genuinely receiving revelation. Although Islam considers Jesus an important prophet, Islam does not regard Jesus as divine (unlike Christianity). Unlike Judaism, Islam does not regard God as having made a special contract (covenant) with one people. According to Islam, Mohammed received revelations from God in the seventh century, and these revelations supersede the Old and New Testaments.

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