The Middle East was the birthplace of three religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam˳ The largest religion practised in the region is Islam˳ There are two major strands of Islam: Sunni and Shia, with Sunnis making up the vast majority (85%)˳ Iran has a large Shia population and Shia populations form an influential minority in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq˳ As a result of contrasting beliefs and practices, inter-Islamic rivalry and conflict has existed since the early development of the religion, both within countries and between neighbours˳ Additionally, there are ethnic and historic tribal differences resulting in cultural tensions that exacerbate the situation˳ This includes the application of Sharia laws˳
Water wars coming conflicts in the Middle East
As the threat of global warming looms above us, many believe that the next conflicts will arise over access (and lack of access) to freshwater˳ Freshwater in the Middle East mostly comes from rivers˳ Several rivers in the region lost half of their annual flow when temperatures exceeded over 50 degrees in the summer of 2021˳ Part of the reason for the loss is due to the building of dams in the basins which increases evaporation rates˳ Not only does the construction of dams reduce access to water, but it also has the potential to increase geopolitical tensions because they can be viewed as an active way of one country blocking water access from another country, and using their rightful supply˳ In the event of water insecurity, not all countries can afford desalination (as this is a very expensive technique) and are likely to use less water-intensive farming methods as solutions to reduced freshwater supplies˳ A heavily contended area is the Tigris and Euphrates rivers˳ Another example is the Israel-Palestine conflict where control of the River Jordan in Gaza has been majorly sought after˳
Conflicts in the Middle East Case Study: Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
The Tigris and Euphrates rivers run through Turkey, Syria, and Iraq (in this order) before entering the Persian Gulf via the Mesopotamian Marshes˳ The rivers merge into the southern marshes – also known as the Fertile Crescent – where one of the first-ever large-scale irrigation systems was built˳ This is also where the first-ever recorded water war took place 4,500 years ago˳ Currently, the rivers host major diversion dams which supply hydroelectric power and water to millions˳ Many of Islamic State’s (IS) battles have been fought over large dams˳
Fig˳ 2 – Map of the Fertile Crescent (highlighted green)
Conflicts in the Middle East: Iraq, the United States, and Haditha Dam
Upstream of the Euphrates is the Haditha Dam which regulates the flow of water across all of Iraq for irrigation and a third of the country’s electricity˳ The United States, invested in Iraqi oil, directed a series of airstrikes that were targeting IS at the dam in 2014˳
Conflicts in the Middle East: IS and Fallujah Dam
Downstream of Syria is Iraq where the Euphrates is diverted for massive crop irrigation projects˳ In 2014, IS captured and shut down the dam causing the reservoir behind to overflow east˳ Rebels reopened the dam which caused flooding downstream˳ The Iraqi army has since recaptured the dam aided by airstrikes from the United States˳
Conflicts in the Middle East: Iraq and Mosul Dam
Mosul Dam is a structurally unstable reservoir on the Tigris˳ Failure of the dam would flood Mosul City, Iraq’s second-biggest city, within three hours and then flood Baghdad within 72 hours˳ IS captured the dam in 2014 but it was retaken by the Iraqi and Kurdish forces in 2014 supported by airstrikes by the United States˳
