By the 20th century, only frail Ottoman and Persian dynasties maintained power,

By the 20th century, only frail Ottoman and Persian dynasties maintained power, and only a few areas
such as Afghanistan and Central Arabia avoided colonial domination. The French ruled much of North
Africa and parts of West and Central Africa. The British controlled Muslim areas of Africa, including
Egypt, and of Asia, including India, with its large Muslim minority, and parts of Southeast Asia. The
Dutch ruled most of present-day Indonesia, while the Spanish controlled parts of North Africa and the
Philippines. After World War I, the Ottoman Empire was dismembered and parceled out to Britain (the
Persian Gulf region, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq) and France (Syria, Lebanon)