The Road to 9-11

America Asks: “Why?”

Lecture #1 – Deep Background

Geography- A Crossroads

Europe

Asia

Africa

The Abrahamic Religions

• Aka the Great Monotheistic Religions– Judaism– Christianity – Islam

• To Muslims, Islam is God’s last, best version of the truth an updated version of Judaism and Christianity

• There is a great deal of overlapping of the faiths – For example, in Islam, Jesus is a great prophet, but not

the son of God – All three trace themselves back to the biblical character

Abraham

The Three Were Constantly in Contact and Frequently at Odds

Crusades

Expulsion of Muslims from Spain

Ottoman Conquest of Constantinople

Etc.

For a Long Period of History, Muslim Middle Eastern Empires Were the

Most Advanced on the Planet

• The empires of Persia and the Abbasid Dynasty centered on Baghdad were the intellectual and commercial centers of the world in year 1000, before the Mongolians crushed them

• The later Muslim Ottoman Empire frequently invaded

Europe – In the century after Columbus discovered America, more

books were written in Europe about the Ottoman menace to the East than about the New World

The Rise of the (Christian) West

• In the 1400s, the European Christians had an intellectual and cultural Renaissance called… the Renaissance

• This led to science and technology, and with them… – …POWER

• The Muslim Empires slowly lost ground

In World War I, the Muslims Even Lost Their Independence

• The Ottoman joined the wrong (German) side in WWI – Central Powers

• When the Central Powers Lost, Britain and France gobbled up the Middle East

• Oil was just starting to be a big deal at this point– Internal combustion engine

Uh, oh!

End of Day #1

Hansen Name _________________________U.S. History Period _________

The Road To 9-11 (Day #1)

• America Asks ______• Middle Eastern Geography ______________________

____________________________________________• The Abrahamic Religions

– Aka the Great Monotheistic Religions• ____________________• ____________________• ___________________

– To Muslims, Islam is ______________________ ______________________ an updated version of _______________________________

– There is a great deal of overlapping of the faiths • For example, in Islam, Jesus is ________

__________________________________• All three trace themselves back to ______

__________________________________

• The Three Were Constantly in Contact and ________ __________________________________________

• For a Long Period of History, Muslim Middle Eastern Empires Were _________________________________

• The empires of Persia and the Abbasid Dynasty centered ______________________ were the intellectual and commercial centers of the world in year 1000, _______________________________________

– The later Muslim Ottoman Empire frequently _______ __________________________________

• In the century after Columbus discovered America, more books were written in Europe about _______________________________ ____________________________________

• The Rise of the (Christian) West – In the 1400s, the European Christians had an

intellectual and cultural Renaissance called… ___ ____________________________________

– This led to science and technology, and with them…

• …______________ – The Muslim Empires slowly _______________

• In World War I, the Muslims even lost ______________ ____________________________________

– The Ottoman joined the wrong (German) side in WWI

• ______________________

– When the Central Powers Lost, Britain and France ________________________________

– ______________________________________• Internal combustion engine

USS Cole

• Al-Qaeda formed in Afghanistan in the late 1980’s

• Bin Laden and other generals maintain training camps in Afghanistan

• The United States offered support to Bin Laden to they could help us defeat the Russians in the Cold War

• Sounds like a bribe to me……Damn Americans never learn. It has to be done under the table