This noncredit, self-study course is designed to provide homeland security professionals and students of homeland security with a primer that provides context, both historically and in terms of contemporary issues, on the Middle East. This region has figured prominently in both the homeland security and national security realms as it was, and is, a central area of operations for terrorist threats represented by Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Hezbollah as well as an area of critical importance in terms of global energy supply. The course will explore the background and current status of the region, its conflicts, its ideologies, and its impact on the United States and its allies in the recent past and its likelihood to impact the U.S. and its allies in the future.