 | Term | Definition |
| |
Hijra |
journey in 622 Muhammad and his followers left Mecca for Yathrib—later Medina (feared death b/c of preaching) |
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Monotheism |
belief in one God |
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Mosques/ masjids |
houses of worship |
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Hajj |
pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in lifetime (& visit Kaaba) |
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Oasis |
a fertile area in a desert, watered by a natural well or spring |
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Jihad |
effort in God's service, another duty |
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Recognize |
formally agree to treat a country as a legitimate state with a legitimate government |
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Kibbutz |
collective farm in Israel |
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Desalinization |
process of converting salty sea water into fresh water |
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Hejab |
head covering, traditional form of dress worn by Muslim women |
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Delta |
triangular area of marshland formed by deposits of silt at the mouth of some rivers |
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Ayatollah |
title given to a learned Shiite Muslim legal expert |
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Theocracy |
a government run by religious leaders |
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Client state |
nation dependent on the support of a stronger power |
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Intifada |
mass uprisings mounted by Palestinians in territory held by Israel |
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Militia |
band of citizen soldiers |
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No-fly zone |
area over which Iraqi aircraft were not permitted to fly after the Persian Gulf War |
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Allah |
name of the Islamic God |
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Islam |
means submission, God is Allah |
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Quran |
or Koran, sacred text of Islam, God is all-powerful and compassionate, people are responsible for their own actions, final judgment before God, no official priests as intermediaries |
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Sharia |
immense body of law interpreting the Quran and applying its teachings to daily life, regulates moral conduct, family life, business practices, government, and other aspects of a Muslim community |
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Bedouin |
a group of nomadic herders in the Middle East that move from place to place |
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Kurd |
an ethnic group that tries to win autonomy; largest ethnic minority without a homeland: spread among Turkey, Iraq, and Iran |
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West Bank |
Israel annexed this territory from Jordan after the 1967 war with Palestine; territory along the Jordan River |
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Gamal Abdel Nasser |
military officer who set out to modernize Egypt and end western domination; nationalized Suez Canal (taken from Britain); led 2 wars against Zionists in Israel: symbol of Arab pride & independence |
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Anwar Sadat |
first Arab leader to make peace with Israel; opens Egypt to foreign investment & private business, leaves Soviets to build ties with USA; life for most Egyptians still not better with American aid—assassinated 1981 by Muslim extremists |
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Hosni Mubarak |
reaffirms Israel peace & peace with other Arab nations |
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Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi |
gets western backing (anti-communist), faces opponents at home who want limit to his powers & end of Brit oil control |
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Muhammad Mosaddiq |
leads vote to nationalize oil |
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Ayatollah Khomeini |
condemned western influences and accused the shah of violating Islamic law |
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Ariel Sharon |
prime minister in Israel; after he took office the violence escalated |
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Yasir Arafat |
leader of the PLO |
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George H. Bush |
president; put together a coalition of American, European, and Arab powers to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait |
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Saddam Hussein |
a Sunni; a dictator; crushed Shiite revolts in the South; used chemical weapons against Kurds in the North; jailed, tortured, and executed critics |
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George W. Bush |
president who, along with Blair, accused Hussein of supporting terrorism and decided to invade Iraq |
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Tony Blair |
prime minister of Britain who, along with George W. Bush, accuse Hussein of supporting terrorists and having weapons of mass destruction |
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