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SAUDI ARABIA
Critical Analysis
By Lara Maupin, a social studies teacher at Thomas Jefferson
High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia
Overview:
This lesson may be used to discuss the recent bombings
in Saudi Arabia as well as previous terrorist acts and their possible
causes and implications. It will take one class period. It may be used
in any class in which current events, foreign relations, world religions,
or the history and culture of the Middle East are taught.
Objectives:
- Students
will begin to understand the special importance of Saudi Arabia for
Arabs and Muslims worldwide as well as the history of U.S.- Saudi relations.
- Students
will identify and analyze the possible causes for terrorist acts committed
inside Saudi Arabia and by Saudi citizens in other nations.
Materials:
Students will need printed copies of the NewsHour stories cited below
or computers with Internet access.
Correlations
to National Standards
Procedure:
- Begin
by giving your students the following background on the relationship
between the United States and Saudi Arabia.
With a quarter of the world's oil reserves, Saudi Arabia is an oil rich
nation and a power in the Middle East. As the birthplace of Islam, the
kingdom has a special place in the region. While no formal written agreement
between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia exists, the two nations have had a
close relationship since World War II. In 1943, President Roosevelt
declared the defense of Saudi Arabia a vital U.S. interest and sent
the first military mission there. During the Cold War, the U.S. - Saudi
security relationship grew as the U.S. provided arms and training to
the Saudi military and established a permanent training mission in the
kingdom. This close relationship continued in the 1970s and 1980s despite
differences over Israel and Congressional debates over arms sales to
Saudi Arabia. In 1990 King Fahd invited the U.S. to send troops in order
to stop Iraqi aggression and the U.S. responded by sending an unprecedented
400,000 troops. Saudi Arabia served as a base of allied operations during
the Persian Gulf War, strengthening U.S.-Saudi relations. After the
war, debates over arms sales continued within the United States and
some within the Arab Muslim world expressed concerns about the continued
military presence in a nation of such religious importance to Muslims.
The U.S recently announced it would remove virtually all troops from
the kingdom since they are no longer needed after the fall of Saddam
Hussein.
Sources:
Online
NewsHour Special Report: The Riyadh Bombings
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/riyadh/
Congressional
Research Service
http://www.fas.org/man/crs/93-113.htm
Library
of Congress
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/satoc.html
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/791936.stm
- Next,
explain that a look at Saudi Arabia is especially important today given
the recent deadly car bombings there. Give your students the following
NewsHour Extra
story on the bombings to read and discuss. (Printer-friendly PDF)
·
How have American and Saudi leaders responded to the attacks?
· Why might American defense contractors working within Saudi
Arabia have been the targets of such attacks? Why might other foreigners
be targets as well?
· What are the implications for the war on terrorism if the attacks
were indeed mounted by al-Qaida operatives taking orders from Osama
bin Laden?
For more information about the history of westerners working within
Saudi Arabia and why such workers may have been the targets of the recent
attacks see: "Westerners in the Kingdom."
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/riyadh/westerners_5-13.html
For
more information on the significance of the attacks as well as possible
motivations of the attackers and links to al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden
see: "Terror Assault."
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june03/saudi_5-13.html
-
In order
to provide some context for understanding the current situation in
Saudi Arabia, tell your students they will now take a closer look
at Saudi society with Online NewsHour's "Into
the Kingdom." Break your students into groups of four. Give
each student the following handout of key terms and questions. (HANDOUT/
TEACHER'S KEY) Give each group the
following four stories and ask each student to read one of the stories
and take relevant notes on their handouts.
"Inside the Kingdom: Part I"
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june02/saudi_2-14.html
(Printer-friendly PDF)
"Inside the Kingdom: Part II"
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june02/Saudi_2-15.html
(Printer-friendly PDF)
"Inside the Kingdom: Part III" (Architect Sami Angawi)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june02/Saudi_2-19.html
(Printer-friendly PDF)
"Inside the Kingdom: Fatina Shaker"
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/Saudi_arabia/Saudi_shaker.html
(Printer-friendly PDF)
Be sure to let students know that each of them will not be able to
identify all of the terms or answer all of the questions individually.
They will share what they learn with each other and then complete
the handout together. After students read their articles and take
notes, have them share summaries of their articles with the others
in their groups. Then, they should work to complete the handout together.
They may write out their answers on a separate sheet of paper or you
may provide them with a fifth handout to complete and turn in. You
may wish to discuss the terms and questions on the handout as a class
after the students have completed their work.
-
Conclude
with an individual writing assignment. This may be done in class if
time allows or for homework. Ask your students to respond to the following
quote thoughtfully and critically in a 1 - 2 page written response.
"'They clad us with a strange cloth of terrorism and blame us for
every despicable deed,' he said. 'Our religion is our soul. We will
not compromise. The West has given civilization a bloody and distorted
face. They filled the earth with science, but weakened it with inequity
and shame.'" --Saudi poet ("Inside the Kingdom, Part II")
Extension
Ideas:
1. Students research the roles, rights, and requirements of
women in the Arab world. Begin with an examination of Islam's requirements
of women. What rights are granted to Muslim women? How were these rights
a great improvement in 7th Century Arabia? Focus on the following categories:
dress/modesty/veils, work outside the home, marriage and divorce, education,
and restrictions. Next, research the lives of women in the following Arab
countries: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Sudan,
and Syria. Compare and contrast. Students present their findings and write
about what they found that surprised them.
2.
Students examine the history of relations between the West and the Arab
World since the spread of Islam. What contributions have Arabs made to
Western Civilization? Be sure to focus on the Crusades and Middle Ages.
What did Westerners gain from Arab scholars in philosophy, science, and
mathematics? How did contact with Arab Muslims during the Middle Ages
change life in Europe? How did Europe later come to colonize many Arab
countries? What is the lasting impact of such relations?
3.
Students research the rise of Islam. Who was Mohammed? How did he found
Islam? Who were his early supporters? What role did the cities of Mecca
and Medina play in the early history of Islam? How did Islam spread rapidly?
What happened when the prophet died?
Related
Lessons:
A
Call to Jihad
Najaf,
A Holy City
National
Standards:
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National
Council for the Social Studies Thematic
Strands:
I. Culture
II.
Time, Continuity and Change
VI. Power, Authority and Governance
IX. Global Connections
Author Lara Maupin teaches social studies at
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria,
Virginia. She is on leave during the 2002-2003 school year. She has a
Master’s Degree in Secondary Social Studies Education from George Washington
University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology and Philosophy from
Mount Holyoke College.
To find out more about opportunities to contribute
to this site, contact Leah Clapman at extra@newshour.org.
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