The Middle East and North Africa are regions often grouped together because they have many things in common.
Islam is the dominant religion and Arabic is the most widely spoken language across the region. About two-thirds of the region is composed of deserts or semi-arid lands where little rain falls. There are, however, many exceptions:
Most Iranians speak a Persian language called Farsi. Iran was known as Persia until 1935.
Lebanon includes a significant Christian minority. Lebanon once had a Christian majority, but Muslims now outnumber Christians because Muslims have tended to have more children. Lebanese Americans once formed the largest Arab community in the United States, but immigration from other nations such as Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen has made the Arab American population more diverse.
Most people in Israel speak Hebrew and practice Judaism. After World War II, the United Nations supported the creation of Israel as a homeland for Jews in the Middle East.
About forty million Kurds live in the mountains between Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The Kurds are Muslims, but they have their own language and culture. Many Kurds want to keep their traditional lifestyle and resist assimilating into the population of their host nations.
A minority of the people of Morocco and Algeria speak Berber languages. The Berbers are the descendants of people who lived in North Africa before the Arab invasion. The Berber language and traditions are scattered in isolated parts of North Africa, such as mountains and deserts. Most ethnic Berbers today are Arabic-speaking Muslims.
Because many nations in the Middle East and North Africa were once ruled by European powers, languages such as French and English are still widely used, especially in schools, business, and government.
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Mr. Donn has an excellent website that includes a section on the Middle East and North Africa.