Middle East Flashcards
In Islam there is also another controversial belief/practice:
jihad
an ancient building at the center of Islam’s most
holy mosque in Mecca
Ka’bah
Fast from dawn to dusk each day during the month of
Ramadan
The Five Pillars of Islam:
- The Profession of Faith
- Daily Prayer
- Fasting
- Almsgiving/charity
- Pilgrimage
Muslims believed that the leader should come from
Muhammad’s original tribe
Shia
Muslims thought that any worthy Muslim could rule
Sunni
the second most holy scripture in Islam
Hadith
Islam “Bible”
Quran
Muhammad was born in
Mecca
Origin of Islam
Founder:
Muhammad
three major monotheistic religions:
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
Saudi Arabia
Largest and most influential country in the Middle East. Birthplace of Islam
a strict ultra-conservative sect of Sunni Islam
Wahhabism
Women’s Rights
Forbidden to drive until 2018. Public dress must cover everything beneath the neck except hands and feet. Marital rape is not illegal
Yemen
The least developed country in the Middle East
Biggest cash crop in Yemen
a addictive stimulant thats leaves are chewed
an Islamic terrorist group
founded by Osama bin Laden
Al-Qaeda
Emirates of the Persian Gulf
Four countries:
United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and
Kuwait
Largest state in UAE
Abu Dhabi
Largest city in UAE
Dubai
Richest country in the Persian Gulf region thanks in large part to
their oil reserves
UAE
In 1960 it joined Saudi Arabia and other oil exporting countries of the
region to form the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC)
Kuwait
led Iraq invaded Kuwait claiming
both that it had exceeded OPEC production limits and that it was a
territory that rightfully belonged to Iraq
Saddam Hussein
A coalition of nations led by the US responded to Saddam Hussein
Persian
Gulf War
most important rivers in the Middle East,
Tigris and Euphrates
an ethnic group divided
amongst several countries which has long fought for independence
Kurds
took over in 1979 and until the invasion of Iraq by the
US in 2003, brutally persecuted any who opposed his government
Saddam Hussein
The US pulled out of Iraq in 2011 but the country soon fell into
civil war between Sunni and Shia Islamic groups and various
insurgency groups waged war against the newly installed
government forces
Did not pursue Saddam Hussein
Eventually one of these insurgency groups gained control of more
than ⅓ of Iraq, brutally “cleansing” Iraq of both Western and
non-Islamic influence; this group was called
ISIS (Islamic State of
Iraq and Syria)
The people of Iran are Persians not Arabs
(it was called Persia until
1935)
an ancient pagan religion
of the Persian Empire
Zoroastrianism
overthrew a Western-established
monarchy and installed an Islamic theocracy
Iranian Revolution of 1979
Iran has often expressed the desire to wipe ___________off the map
and has shared similar sentiment toward the US
Isreal
Turkey is often called
Asia Minor
The father of modern Turkey
Kemal Ataturk
was the capital of both the Byzantine and
Ottoman Empires
Istanbul
NATO
(North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
The land southeast of Turkey along the eastern Mediterranean is
called
Levant
France and Britain shared took Ottoman Empire
France and Britain then took over these territories
the oldest continually inhabited city in the world
Damascus
“elected” in a one man race in 2000
Bashar al-Assad
Israel officially became a sovereign nation
1948
Every Israeli citizen must serve in the military, 2 yrs for women and 3 yrs for men
Military requirements
West Bank and Gaza Strip regions of
Israel
Palestine region
Israel, the US, the UK, and several others do not recognize
this claim; most UN countries do
Claim of Palestine area
