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Middle East > Key Terms > Flashcards

Key Terms Flashcards

1
Q

Al-Qaeda

A

From the Arabic word meaning a base (for example, for training recruits in Afghanistan), it came to refer to an organisation, or network of Islamists of whom Osama bin Laden was the leader

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2
Q

Alawites

A

Members of a Shiite Muslim group living mainly in Syria

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3
Q

Arab League.

A

Established in 1945 to represent the Arab states. It originally had six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria

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4
Q

Arab nationalism/Pan-Arabism.

A

These terms are used interchangeably to mean a movement striving for Arab political unity.

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5
Q

Arab Spring’.

A

A term used to describe a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests, which broke out in 2011 in many parts of the Arab world

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6
Q

Ayatollah.

A

Among Shia Muslims, the ayatollahs are the most senior scholars, experts in interpreting the Koran

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7
Q

Baath.

A

Renaissance’ or rebirth of Arab power. Founded in Syria in the 1940s, the influence of the Baathists later extended to several Arab countries.

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8
Q

Black September’.

A

A Palestinian group which killed eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics

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9
Q

Brinkmanship.

A

Pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety, in this case to the brink of war

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10
Q

C.I.A.

A

The US Central Intelligence Agency, responsible for gathering information about foreign governments for the US government

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11
Q

Cold War.

A

A state of tension that existed between the capitalist USA (and its allies) and the Communist Soviet Union between the late 1940s and late 1980s

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12
Q

Coptic Christians.

A

Most of Egypt’s Christian minority belong to the ancient Coptic Church

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13
Q

Coup.

A

Sudden or violent change of government

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14
Q

Diaspora

A

The dispersal of a people, in this case Jews, to many different parts of the world

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15
Q

Eisenhower Doctrine.

A

The policy, announced by US President Eisenhower, of opposing the spread of Communist (in this case Soviet) influence in the Middle East

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16
Q

Ethnic.

A

An ethnic group is one with a common national or cultural tradition, often based on a language or religion. Both the Jews and the Arabs have their own language (Hebrew, in the case of the Jews) and long-standing cultural traditions

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17
Q

Fatah

A

A Palestinian guerrilla group founded by Yasser Arafat in 1959. Its name is derived from reversing the initials of its Arabic name which, in translation, is ‘The Movement for the Liberation of Palestine’

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18
Q

Fedayeen.

A

Men trained to carry out raids (literally, ‘those who sacrifice themselves’)

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19
Q

Green line’.

A

The border between Israel and the West Bank before the Six-day War of 1967

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20
Q

Haganah.

A

The Jewish Defence Force, which was set up in the 1920s and was later to form the basis of the Israeli army

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21
Q

HAMAS.

A

Founded in Gaza in 1988, the movement opposed the Oslo Accords and refused to recognise the state of Israel

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22
Q

Hezbollah.

A

A radical Islamic group based in South Lebanon

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23
Q

Imperialism.

A

The practice of extending a country’s power and influence over other territories

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24
Q

Infidel

A

What Muslims call a person who does not believe in Islam

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25
Q

Insurgency.

A

An uprising to try and overthrow a government

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26
Q

Intifada.

A

The Palestinian uprising that erupted in Gaza and the West Bank in 1987

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27
Q

Intifah.

A

Literally ‘opening the door’, in this case to private investment

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28
Q

Irgun.

A

A small secret Zionist organisation which had been formed in 1937 to protect Jewish settlements from attack during the Arab Rebellion of 1936-9 and, from 1945, fought for a Jewish state in all of Palestine

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29
Q

Islamic fundamentalism.

A

The belief that the state should be based wholly on a particular version of Islamic law, as in Muhammad’s time

30
Q

Islamists.

A

Those who believe that the state should be based on Islamic law

31
Q

I.D.F. (Israeli Defence Force)

A

The Israeli armed forces, most of whose members had been in the Haganah

32
Q

Jewish Agency.

A

The governing body of the Zionist movement in Palestine during the British mandate

33
Q

Jihad.

A

An Arabic word meaning ‘struggle’, both internal and personal (against sin) and external; (against threats to Muslim lands). Also used to mean ‘holy war’

34
Q

Kurds.

A

An ethnic group that is Muslim but not Arab and speaks a different language. Forms about twenty percent of the Iraqi population

35
Q

Land-for-Peace’.

A

The formula by which Israel would give up Arab land it had conquered in return for Arab recognition of Israel’s right to exist and live in peace

36
Q

Mandate.

A

An order or command, in this case from the League of Nations, giving Britain and France control of Arab lands lands previously ruled by Turkey. Britain and France were to prepare the Arab lands for eventual self-government

37
Q

Muslim Brotherhood.

A

Its full name is the Society of Muslim Brothers and its appealed to Muslims across the Arab world

38
Q

Nakba.

A

An Arabic word for ‘catastrophe’ or ‘disaster’, used to refer to the 1948-9 war and the creation of the Palestinian refugee problem

39
Q

Nationalise.

A

To transfer from private to public (government) ownership

40
Q

Non-aligned.

A

Nations that did not wish to step into line with either the West (USA and its allies) or the Soviet Union and its allies

41
Q

Occupied territories.

A

Lands controlled by the troops of a foreign power (in this case, the West Bank, Gaza, Sinai and Golan Heights, all occupied by Israeli troops

42
Q

Ottoman.

A

The name of the Turkish dynasty, named after its founder, Osman. In the sixteenth century, the Turkish Empire conquered much of south-east Europe and the Middle East

43
Q

P.L.O. (Palestine Liberation Organistion)

A

An organisation set up in 1964 to lead the struggle to regain Palestine, it also provided many health and welfare services in the Palestinian refugee camps

44
Q

Political Islam.

A

A political movement which asserts that Islam is the solution to the problems of the modern world. Its followers advocate Islamic states where the Koran is the basis of government and society

45
Q

Palestinian Authority.

A

A Palestinian ‘government’ with limited authority, in the West Bank and Gaza

46
Q

P.F.L.P. (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine)

A

An organisation set up by Dr George Habash, a Palestinian Christian. It carried out many terrorist acts

47
Q

Regime change’.

A

A term used to describe the replacement of one government by another, often by military force

48
Q

Republic.

A

A country whose head of state is not a monarch

49
Q

Revisionist.

A

A revised interpretation is one based on a critical re-examination of historical evidence

50
Q

Rhetoric.

A

The art of using words to impress, sometimes in exaggerated fashion

51
Q

Sectarian.

A

According to their religious affiliation, in this case Shiite or Sunni

52
Q

Secular.

A

Not religious or spiritual: a secular state is one not based on a religion

53
Q

Self-determination.

A

The right of nations to rule themselves rather than be part of larger empires

54
Q

The ‘Seven Sisters’.

A

A term coined to describe the seven oil companies (one British, one Anglo-Dutch and five American) which dominated the industry. Until 1973, they controlled 85 per cent of the worlds oil reserves

55
Q

Shah.

A

The title of the king or emperor of Iran.

56
Q

Stern Gang.

A

A Zionist terrorist group founded in 1939

57
Q

Sultan.

A

The title of the Ottoman ruler of Turkey

58
Q

Taliban.

A

An Islamic movement, whose leaders were drawn from the former mujahideen, which took control of the Afghan government in 1996

59
Q

U.A.R. (United Arab Republic)

A

The union of Egypt and Syria, formed in 1958

60
Q

U.N.E.F. (United Nations Emergency Force)

A

A force made of soldiers from different countries. The troops wore distinctive blue helmets

61
Q

U.N. General Assembly.

A

The main body of the UN in which every state is represented

62
Q

U.N. Security Council.

A

The most important body in the UN, it can take action against a country either by imposing sanctions or by using UN troops

63
Q

U.N.S.C.O.M. (United Nations Special Committee)

A

The UN body set up to search for Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction

64
Q

Wafd.

A

Arabic for ‘delegation’, suggesting the party’s claim to represent the people

65
Q

Wahhabism.

A

A religious, Sunni Muslim movement that originated in eighteenth-century Arabia

66
Q

W.M.D.s. (Weapons of Mass Destruction)

A

Biological, chemical or nuclear weapons, used to kill as many people as possible

67
Q

White Paper.

A

A government document making recommendations for discussion

68
Q

White Revolution.

A

A series of reforms launched by the shah in 1963

69
Q

Yom Kippur.

A

The Day of Atonement, an important Jewish religious day of fasting and an annual Jewish holiday

70
Q

Zionists.

A

Those who advocated the creation of a Jewish homeland and, later, an independent state, in Palestine

Middle East (2 decks)

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