Context Flashcards
The main themes that are prominent in the novel "A Thousand Splendid Suns"
When does the novel take place?
1960s - early 2000s
Where does the novel take place?
Afganistan
religion
What are the two major factors of Islam?
Sunni Islam
Shia Islam
religion
What do Sunni Muslims believe?
Anyone who follows the ways of Islam can lead people in the religion.
religion
What do Shia Muslims believe?
Shia Muslims believe that a religious leader must be a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.
marriage
Who organises marriages in Afganistan?
The party’s families (mainly the fathers)
marriage
Does the bride have a choice in who she marries
No (in most cases)
marriage
T/F - A man can take more than one wife
True - a man is allowed up to four wives; a woman must stay devoted to one husband
marriage
If a woman wants to divorce her husband in Islam, how does she do it?
- A woman could initiate a divorce butshe is often not allowed to go through with it.
- If a man doesn’t agree to the divorce the woman has to go before a court of Sharia experts who may send her back to her husband.
politics
Define ‘Sharia’
Islamic code of law
politics
Who are the Taliban?
An extremist Islamic group who try and take control over Afganistan in the 1990s but are forced out of most cities they occupied
saib tabrizi
Who is Saib Tabrizi?
regarded as one of the greatest masters of classical Persian poetry
saib tabrizi
What poem does the quote: “One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs/Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.” come from?
Kabul, by Saib Tabrizi
saib tabrizi
What is the poem ‘Kabul’ about?
An ode to the city of Kabul (the capital city of Afghanistan)
