THE WESTERN FRONTIER

WHAT IS FRONTIER? It is a border separating two or more countries.

The Western frontier in the context of Western Asia, the term “frontier” is often used to
describe the border regions between countries or areas that are sparsely populated (with
few people living in the area) and underdeveloped.
Western Asia or West Asia, known as the Middle East, is the birthplace of many of the
world’s most popular religions. Some of the religions that originated in West Asia are
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Judaism is a monotheistic religion that believes in one God and traces its ancestry through
the tribal patriarch Abraham, Moses, and The Hebrew prophet, and by religious life through
scriptures.
Christianity is another monotheistic religion that developed from the life and teachings of
Jesus Christ, who was born in Judea, located in modern-day Israel.
Islam is also a monotheistic religion that teaches the existence of one God and emphasizes
the belief in Muhammad as the last prophet.
(Monotheistic means belief in a single god)
Binubuo ng lugar na nasa hangganan sa kanluran ng matabang baybayin ng Dagat
Mediterranean at sa silangan ng mga tuyong disyerto ng Arabia, ang kasaysayan ng mga
relihiyong ito ay malapit na magkaugnay sa mga rehiyong ito.
( ang history ng relihiyon sa mga lugar na ito ay strongly connected or magkaugnay
(STANZA 2) Countries to the east of the Mediterranean include:
 Cyprus
 Turkey (Anatolia), including its smaller Hatay Province
 The Greek Dodecanese islands
 Lebanon
 Syria
 Palestine
 Israel
 Jordan
 Egypt

Countries that are closest to the north of the Arabian Sea include:

 Pakistan,
  Iran, and
 Oman
The countries near Turkey include:
 Greece
 Bulgaria
 Georgia
 Azerbaijan
 Armenia
 Syria
 Iran
 Iraq
 Lebanon and
 Cyprus
These are the countries called as Levant.
The term Levant refers to a historical region along the eastern Mediterranean shores, north
of the Arabian Sea, and south of Turkey and certain adjacent areas.
The name is derived from the French word “lever,” meaning “to rise,” as in sunrise, which
implies the rising of the sun in the east.
 These countries have experienced countless disasters or violence/calamity because
of their existence as nation-states or bansang estado.
 (Ang mga bansang ito ay nakaranas ng maraming relihiyosong kalamidad sa
kanilang pag iral bilang mga bansang estado.)
 Pagkamit ng kalayaan noong 1944, ang Lebanon ay sumailalim sa isang matagalang
digmaang sibil mula 1975 hanggang 1990 sa pagitan ng mga Kristiyano at Muslim.
 During that time, Christians controlled the wealth and power and the majority of
Muslims felt discriminated AND NAGKAINITAN WHICH RESULTED INTO CIVIL WAR
and the result sa ilang conflicts are around 250,000 lives were lost. Today Christians
and Muslims are the world's two largest religious communities. Although they can
coexist fairly peacefully, at times they still engage in violent confrontation. Its
because Dili jud ni sila magkasinabot ang Muslims ug Christians kay they have
different perceptions man to things, especially sa religious topic and most of the time
mag end up jud sa violent actions because Muslims are known as a dominant group.
 After 1917, Jewish people migrated from Europe to Palestine due to a combination of
factors.
 One of the most significant factors was the Balfour Declaration, which was a
statement issued by the British government in support of “the establishment in
 Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”. This declaration was seen as a
major victory for the Zionist movement which had been advocating for the creation
of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
(Zionism is a nationalist movement that emerged in the 19th century to support the
establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine)
 Another factor that contributed to Jewish migration to Palestine was
the pioneering ideology of “conquest of soil and labor”. This ideology
encouraged Jews to settle in Palestine and cultivate the land, which was seen
as a way to reclaim their ancient homeland and build a new Jewish society.
 By 1917, there were already 44 Jewish agricultural settlements in Palestine, mostly
Moshavot. Over the next few decades, waves of Jewish immigrants arrived in
Palestine, including those who fled persecution in Europe and those who were drawn
by the Zionist vision of a Jewish homeland. By the time Israel was established in
1948, there were 148 kibbutzim and 94 cooperative villages in Palestine.
(Moshavot was a form of rural Jewish settlement in Ottoman Palestine, established
by the members of the Old Yishuv (the Jewish communities of Palestine) in the late
1870s and during the first two waves of Jewish Zionist immigration)
(Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism.
An intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture.)
 After Israel was established in 1948, it sparked the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The war
resulted in the Palestinian exodus and subsequently led to waves of Jewish
emigration from other parts of the Middle East.
(The Palestinian exodus refers to the mass displacement of Palestinian Arabs during
the 1948 Arab-Israeli War 1. More than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs, about half of
prewar Palestine’s Arab population, were expelled or fled from their homes by Zionist
militias during the war 1. The exodus was a central component of the fracturing,
dispossession and displacement of Palestinian society, known as the
Nakba 1. Between 400 and 600 Palestinian villages were destroyed, village wells were
poisoned in a biological warfare program to prevent Palestinians from returning, and
other sites were subject to the Hebraization of Palestinian place names 1. The precise
number of refugees is a matter of dispute, but around 80 percent of the Arab
inhabitants of what became Israel (half of the Arab total of Mandatory Palestine) left
or were expelled from their homes ).
 The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been ongoing for decades, and the situation
remains tense. The conflict has resulted in a number of violent incidents, including
bombings, shootings, and rocket attacks 1. The conflict has also led to the
displacement of many Palestinians from their homes and the establishment of Israeli
settlements in the West Bank 1. The United Nations has been involved in efforts to
resolve the conflict, but a lasting peace agreement has yet to be reached.
(May patuloy na kaguluhan sa populasyon ng Palestino bilang resulta ng mga patakaran ng
Israel na tumatakbo laban sa kanilang mga nasyonalistang ideal.)
(nationalist ideals – a person who wants their country to be politically independent.
-who strongly believes their country is better than others. MGA TAWO NGA
PERFECTIONIST IN TERMS OF POLICIES)
At syempre, automatically,ang mga relihiyon ay lalong naging kasangkot sa pulitika ng bansa,
ng mga estado ng bansa at pati na rin sa pagitan ng mga bansa.

 The Arab peninsula is the world’s largest peninsula. Consists of countries that are
mainly Islamic individuals. These are:
 SAUDI ARABIA
 QATAR
 BAHRAIN
 KUWAIT
 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
 YEMEN and
 OMAN
 The topography of west Asia is characterized by Huge(MALAWAK) areas of
mountainous terrains. (malawak na lugar ng bulubunduking lupain.)
 Ang mga bundok ay may mahalagang papel sa maraming paniniwala sa relihiyon,
dahil ang mga anyong lupa na ito ay nagbibigay ng magagandang lugar kung saan
nakatira ang mga diyos o kung saan nagtatagpo ang mga diyos at mortal.
Mountains have played significant roles in many religious beliefs across the world, OF
COURSE INCLUDING the west Asia, they are often considered sacred and are usually the
subjects of many legends ( MGA ALAMAT). For many, the most symbolic aspect of a
mountain is its peak because it is believed that it is closest to heaven or other religious
realms. Many religions have traditions centered on sacred mountains, which were
considered holy. Like Mt. Sinai in Judaism.
 ANG MALAWAK NA KALAWAKAN NG MGA DISYERTO AT MGA KATAWAN NG TUBIG SA
KANLURANG ASYA AY MALAKI RIN ANG MAKABUKUHANG PANINIWALA SA
KASAYSAYAN NG BIBLIYA.
Deserts and bodies of water in West Asia are significant in Biblical history because they are
often the settings of important events and stories.

 FOR EXAMPLE, the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years after their exodus
from Egypt.
 The Red Sea is where Moses parted the waters to allow the Israelites to escape from
Egypt.
 The Jordan River is where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. (FOR THE CHRISTIANS)
 The Dead Sea is where Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt.

 Sa kasalukuyan, ang mga tagasunod ng tatlong relihiyong Abrahamiko ay naglalagay

ng mataas na pagtingin sa lungsod ng jerusalem sa israel dahil sa maraming mga site
 na sentro sa kanilang sistema ng paniniwala.
(JUDAISM, CHRISTIANS, AND ISLAM ARE CALLED ABRAHAMIC RELIGION BECAUSE
Abraham is a central figure in the sacred texts of these religions, and his story is
interpreted in different ways by each of them.
For example,
 Jews look to the Hebrew Bible for the history of Abraham,
 while Christians consider the Old Testament as the precursor of the New
Testament that narrates the birth, ministry, death and Resurrection of Jesus
Christ as well as the life and preaching of the earliest followers of Jesus.
 Muslims engage with the figure of Abraham/Ibrāhīm in their holy book, the
Qur’an, as well as in the Hadith, which transmits the sayings and actions of
Prophet Muhammad.)
Jerusalem is considered a holy city by three major religions (Abrahamic religions): Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam. Each religion has its own reasons for considering Jerusalem
important.

 For Jews(Judaism), Jerusalem is the holiest city and the spiritual homeland of
the Jewish people. It has been the center of Jewish worship since King David
established it as the capital of Israel around 1000 BCE. The Western Wall, also
known as the Wailing Wall, is a sacred site for Jews and is believed to be the
last remaining part of the Second Temple, which was destroyed by the
Romans in 70 CE.
 For Christians, Jerusalem is significant because it is where Jesus Christ was
crucified and resurrected. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s
Old City is believed to be the site where Jesus was crucified and buried before
his resurrection.
 For Muslims, Jerusalem is considered the third holiest city after Mecca and
Medina. It is believed that Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven from the
site of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
 The religious significance of Jerusalem has led to many conflicts over its control
throughout history. Today, it remains a controversial issue between Israelis and
Palestinians.
 In today’s world, this three Abrahamic religions are still widely practiced and have a
significant impact on the world. While there have been conflicts between followers
of these religions throughout history, many people today believe that they can
coexist peacefully. In fact, there are many interfaith initiatives and organizations that
promote dialogue and understanding between people of different faiths.
Topographic mpap of Western Asia