Events From WWII to 2000
Egypt's new leader
Egypt had its formal independence in 1922 however Great Britain still occupied the suez canal zone. The Egyptian monarch at the time was King Farouk I. The people didn't like him because he lost the Arab-Israeli war, they thought he was corrupt, and he lead to a big gap between the rich and the poor. Gamal Abdel Nasser lead a military coup against King Farouk and forced him out of power. Nasser gained control of Egypt and made reforms so there wasn't a monarch, he made a land reform for the poor, and he eliminated political parties.
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis has its roots from the cold war. Nasser, the leader of Egypt refused to join the Baghdad Pact, a pact to eliminate communism in the Middle East, instead Nasser signed an arms deal with Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia at this time was controlled by the Soviet Union, a communist group. The United States and Great Britain responded by not funding Egypt in a dam they were building on the Nile, the Aswan Dam. This angered Nasser so he decided that he wanted to take control of the Suez Canal that was controlled by Britain. Nasser took over the canal but France, Britain, and Israel secretly plan to launch a counterattack. The United States doesn't want them to go to war because of the predicament with the Cold War. However Britain regains control of the canal, but even though Nasser lost the effort he became a hero in Egypt for standing up to the Western countries.
Causes of the Suez Canal Crisis
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Effects of the Suez Canal Crisis
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Guerrilla wars in Algeria
France had controlled Algeria since the 1830's and French people were encouraged to settle in Algeria. So by the 1950's more than one million French and European settlers lived there. In 1954 a nationalist group was created, the National Liberation Front (FLN). This group started to target the French so they would give them independence. The French them responded with mass arrests and raids on Muslim towns. The FLN them decided to escalate their attacks, but so did the French. Anywhere between 1,200 to 12,000 Muslins were killed by the French. The FLN them launched attacks, raids, and bombs on civilians and the military. The FLN demanded independence and a new government. These demands then were met in 1958 when France appointed a new prime minister, Charles de Gaulle. Algeria then won its independence in 1962.
Iran's Shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was the shah of Iran and was loyal to Great Britain, because of this a British company controlled he oil in Iran. Iranian nationalists didn't like this, they wanted the power to control their oil and decrease the power of the shah. This group was lead by Mohammad Mosaddeq, so the parliament named Mosaddeq prime minister. While in power he reduced the power of the shah and nationalized the oil in Iran. Great Britain and the United States didn't like this so they boycotted the Iranian oil crippling their economy. Along with this many military officials didn't like how the shah's power was decreased and, backed by Britain and the U.S., revolted. The Shah was put back into power and made many new reforms. These reforms included an increase in education, industry, healthcare, and employment for women. He also put into effect a secret police, he tortured and kill all opposition and moved away from traditional Islamic views.
Oil in the Middle East
Two-Thirds of the oil in the world comes from the Middle East so they created an organization for exporting oil. This organization is called OPEC, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. This organization increases revenues, modernizes, increases economic development, and raises social programs. However it also causes countries to build up their military, maintain power, threaten other neighboring countries, and because of the need for foreign oil, also causes countries to get involved with foreign affairs.
Islamic Fundamentalism
There was a growth in the population of Islamic people in the Middle East, Islamic people believe that governments and society should be reordered to follow Islamic Law. They believe that the governments have strayed from these laws by following western modernization. Countries such as Egypt, Iran, and Iraq have higher Islamic populations that leads to conflicts and Islamic extremists that can carry out terrorism.
Iranian Revolution and the Hostage Crisis
In 1978 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a Shia religious leader, encouraged the protest of the shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. After Pahlavi abdicated his throne, Khomeini became the leader of the Republic of Iran. He enforced strict religious and social values, and supported anti-westernization. The Shah went to the U.S. for medical attention but in 1979 the revolutionaries wanted him back to be put on trial. To get him back the revolutionaries seized the U.S. embassy in Iran and took 66 americans as hostages and demanded that the shah returns to be put on trial. The Shah returned however they kept the hostages until January 1981.
Conflicts between Iraq and Iran
In 1980 war broke out between Iran and Iraq because of boarder disputes and Iran called for a revolution against Iraq's Shiite population. Iraq used chemical weapons against Iran along with many other tactics. After five years of a stalemate, 500,000 people were killed and in 1988 Iran and Iraq agreed to a cease-fire.
Persian Gulf War
Saddam Hussein, the dictator of Iraq continued to build his military power and at one point it was the largest army in the world. The militarism in Iraq was great so in 1990 Iraq accused Kuwait of drilling into Iraq's oil reserves and used this as an excuse for invading Kuwait. A U.S.-led force attacked Iraqi forces in Kuwait and pushed the Iraqi troops out of Kuwait. This lead to economic sanctions on Iraq by the UN and insisted that Iraq destroys its chemical and biological weapons while also promising to never build a nuclear weapon.