Chapter 7:Book Terms Flashcards
Arab League
-a regional and economic organization focused on Arab unity and development
Arab Spring
a series of public protests, strikes, and rebellions in the Arab countries, often facilitated by social media, that have called for government and economic reform
brain drain
migration of the most educated from developing countries to developed countries where economic opportunities are greater
choke point
strategic waterway where narrow waterways or other narrow passages are vulnerable to military blockade disruption
cultural hearth
an area of historical cultural innovation
domestication
the purposeful selection and breeding of wild plants and animals for cultural purposes
exotic river
a river that issues from a humid area and flows into a dry area lacking streams
Fertile Crescent
an ecologically diverse zone of lands in Southwest Asia that extends from Lebanon eastward to Iraq and that is often associated with early forms of agriculture
fossil water
water supplies that were stored under ground during wetter climatic periods
Hajj
An Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca
hydro politics
the interplay of water resource issues and politics
Islamic fundamentalism
a movement between both Shiite and Shia Muslims to return to a more conservative, religious-based society and state. Often associated with a rejection of Western culture and with a political aim to merge civic and religious authority
Islamism
challenges the encroachment of global popular culture and blames colonial, imperial, and Western culture for many of the region’s problems
Levant
the eastern Mediterranean region
Maghreb
a region in northwestern Africa that includes portions of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia
medina
the original urban core of an a traditional Islamic city
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
formed in 1960
an international organization of 12 oil producing countries that attempts to influence global oil prices and supplies of oil
Ottoman Empire
A large Turkish based empire(named for founder Osman) that dominated large portions of Southeastern Europe, North Africa, and Southwest Asia between 16 and 19th centuries
Palestinian Authority
-a quasi government body that represents Palestinian interests in the West Bank and Gaza
pastoral nomadism
a traditional subsistence agricultural system in which practitioners depend on seasonal movements of livestock within marginal natural environments
physiological density
a population statistic that relates the number of people in a country to the amount of arable land
Quran
a book of divine revelations received by the prophet Muhammad that’s serves as a holy text in the religion of Islam
Shiites
favored passing on power within Muhammad’s family
Sunni
advocated passing down power to established clergy
