This is what I currently made up for Ummayah. If you have any suggestions to add or improve, please tell me, this is just a rough draft, it can all be changed to accommodate. Scheduled start will hopefully be 2 weeks from now when I have vacation, or when anyone would like to write the OP.
History
Ummayah is the birthplace of Shahidism. Many times united, divided, then united again, the region reached its height of power in the 17th-18th Century, before falling to Wankan colonisers in 1900-1950. Following the Wanko-Sylvan “Black War”, Wanka lost Ummayah and all other colonies, and the peninsula was taken control of by the Muttalibs whose family has ruled it ever since from the capital Al-Haram.
Demography
Total population: 55 million. 45% are Rashaida-Shahids, 35% are Kharjii-Shahids, 10% adhere to other branches of Shahidism and the other 10% believe in other religions. Youthful population, struggle with unemployment and stagnating economy.
Geography
Landmass of 600,000 km2, an isolated peninsula separated from the rest of Meridia by the desert and mountain in the south. Coastal areas are low-lying and fertile. The Coastal Highway connects the coast and is the primary transport route.
Ummayah lies on quite an important crossroads, but value lies in unexploited natural resources that have not been fully utilised due to lack of infrastructure and weak state.
Economy
Oil-Based, fishing and other primary sectors; exports these to foreign countries, low-wage area for TNCs? GDP/PC roughly at NSD2-4k, large income inequality between ruling clan and the rest.
Current Situation
The authoritarian Muttalib dictatorship is on the brink of collapse. A pariah state for quite some time, it’s human rights abuses and the government’s unwillingness to open up for fear of losing control has resulted in it being diplomatically isolated, kept alive somewhat only by the Soodean Imperium. Opposition and any dissent is suppressed, and the rights of minority Kharjii group is particularly repressed.
In the Gauliscian-Wankan war, the entire Gulf of Wanka was closed, resulting in a collapse of exports to the large economies of Casaterra. The short-term economic crisis made piracy of shipping off the coasts, particularly from Port Saladina, lucrative, and led to much increased support for the Kharjii-dominated Junud al-Kabaab (Soldiers of the Holy Rock). Meanwhile, other Rashaidan militias are springing up in the central Ummayan areas, difficult to reach and as such control by the central government. These rival the al-Kabaab group for recruits and power.
In face of this, the al-Kabaab has decided to turn the conflict into a global one. The group calls for a “Global Caliphate” under its rule and, seeking to gain attention worldwide, has launched terrorists strikes at Wanka, Sylva and Lendol, and will hit Gauliscia and the Soodean Imperium. It’s message to Shahids all over the world will be: we can hit anywhere and anytime- join our cause for a world under God while at the same time stirring up divisions and fear in infidel nations and in this way establish itself as the supreme Shahid entity in the world.
Meanwhile, piracy by often simple people who need to make a living has caused headaches for many nations. The government itself is unwilling, or too weak, to put a stop to it, and it will only be time until the international community takes the matter into their own hands. Gauliscia and New Tyran, in addition, see in Ummayah some tasty opportunities for the expansion of their own power.
In the Imperium
Actually, the entire southwest "corner" from Cheng-Emil to the Erusuian border is majority Shahid. Which, at 14% of the population, yields 39 million people. A fair portion of these are Ourin (Asian) settlers from the East who have not converted, so maybe 27 million nominal followers of Shahidism.
The vast majority of these are Rashaida-Shahids, concentrated in the provinces of Argentsant, Darisant, and Turqisant. This population is relatively secular, though, in part because from 1927 through 1988 the various Menghe governments have promoted atheism in the region. Since 1988, the Soodean government has loosened these restrictions, but retains the power to license all religious clergy and seeks to promote a "National Shahadism" which celebrates the region's unique identity but also stresses coexistence with the Ourin majority. It has also sought to ensure that these regions do not fall behind the rest of the country in terms of development and public services, though in 2004 GDP per capita is still pretty low overall.
The province of Siyadag, located in the northern corner of the southwest protrusion, is the exception. Rural and mountainous, it has traditionally been poorer than the rest of the country, and has long been a hotbed of secessionist feelings. Unlike the rest of the Southwest, its 3 million residents are majority-Kharjii, and have presented more resistance to Soodean policies. Basically Chechnya. There is particularly strong concern about the Brotherhood of the Eight-Pointed Star, a secessionist guerilla movement which has since resorted to radical-Shahadist terrorism. The government has relied heavily on military police to maintain order in the province, especially after Siyadagi secessionists bombed a passenger train near Lucheng in 1998, but there is growing fear that the Brotherhood could strike again. (Soode)
