Which of these contributes most to political divisions in the Middle East - see choices in Discussion Section?

Answer 1

Of the choices provided, D. Land and Religion is the best answer.

If we look at the various choices, we can see that they are: A. minerals and timber B. water and food C. oil and coastline D. land and religion.

Right off the bat, we can eliminate (A) because neither minerals nor timber are valued resources in the Middle East, save for the cedar market in Lebanon and Israel. While there are some battles over oil wells, usually they arise in the context of a larger war. That combined with the fact that nearly every Middle Eastern country already has coastline, and therefore does not need to fight for one, eliminates (C).

(B) is the best wrong answer. There are historians who have argued that a large percentage of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, the Israeli-Syrian conflict, and fractious relations among the Euphrates River Valley countries (Turkey, Syria, and Iraq) are due to water resources. As the population in the Middle East continues to rise and water sources are increasingly overtaxed to produce food (inefficiently as Israel and Turkey are the only Middle Eastern countries to heavily invest in modern agronomy and water-saving techniques), water and food will likely become a significant part of fight for the Middle East. However, at this point, water and food tend to lead to unrest or protest, but not actual war.

(D) is clearly the best answer, each of the conflicts in the Middle East, such as the Arab-Israeli Conflict, the Arab-Palestinian Conflicts, the Iran-Iraq and Persian Gulf Wars, the Arab Spring Wars, the Lebanese Civil Conflict and War, the Turko-Cypriot Conflict, the Egypt-Libya Sand Wars, the Darfur Genocide, the Yemeni Civil Wars, and the Iranian-Israeli Proxy Wars, the War Against Islamic State, the Syrian Civil War, and the Turkish Repression of the Kurds can all be explained in terms of land and/or religion. There are also Cold Wars between Saudi Arabia and an alliance of Sunni leaders, like the King of Jordan, the King of Bahrain, and the Emirs of the UAE in opposition to Iran, Iraq, and Syria. These two have a religious dimension as it is the "Sunni Axis" against the "Shiite Axis".