Middle Eastern Terms-Study Guide

Question 1

Occupied Territories

Answer 1

Land taken by Israel in the Six Day War, Included the Sinai Peninsula., Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, West Bank.

Question 2

Allah

Answer 2

Islamic name for God

Question 3

Covenant

Answer 3

Term for the agreement between the Jewish people and god.

Question 4

Cradle of Civilization

Answer 4

Name for the Fertile Crescent due to the civilizations began there.

Question 5

Diaspora

Answer 5

Term for the scattering of Jewish people after their expulsion.

Question 6

Gulf States

Answer 6

Name given to the oil-rich nations located along the Persian Gulf.

Question 7

Hebrews

Answer 7

Followers of Judaism who established a kingdom by the Jordan River around 1,000 BC.

Question 8

Islam

Answer 8

Arabic word for “submission” or “surrender”.

Question 9

Mandates

Answer 9

Territory put under another nation’s control.

Question 10

Messiah

Answer 10

Name Christians call Jesus because he is believed to be their Savior.

Question 11

OPEC

Answer 11

Group established in 1960 by oil producing countries to control the price of oil. (Organization of Petroleum Exporting)

Question 12

People of the Book

Answer 12

Muslim name for Christians and Jews because they share the same scriptures.

Question 13

PLO

Answer 13

Group organized to destroy Israel and establish a Palestinian State.

Question 14

Promised Land

Answer 14

Name for Israel because it was given to the Jews by God.

Question 15

The Prophet

Answer 15

Name given to Mohammed by Muslims.

Question 16

Quran (Koran)

Answer 16

Holy book of Islam

Question 17

Refugees

Answer 17

People forced to leave their homeland; refers to Palestinians today.

Question 18

Sunni

Answer 18

Name for the larger sect of Muslims

Question 19

Yahweh

Answer 19

Jewish name for God.

Question 20

Zionism

Answer 20

Movement started in the late 1800’s to get a homeland for the Jews.

Question 21

Balfour Declaration

Answer 21

issued by Britain in 1917, it promised the Jews a homeland in Palestine

Question 22

empty quarters

Answer 22

nickname for the Rub al Kali Desert due to the lack of life

Question 23

camp David accords

Answer 23

peace treaty between Israel & Egypt: Israel’s first with an Arab nation

Question 24

desalination

Answer 24

process of removing salt from ocean water used on Arabian Peninsula to increase amount of drinking water

Question 25

intifada

Answer 25

means "the shaking" ; Palestinian uprisings in the occupied territories

Question 26

Turkist straights

Answer 26

2 waterways that connect the Black Sea to the Mediterranean

Question 27

reformation

Answer 27

the split in the Catholic Church that began in the 1500's

Question 28

Breadbasket in the desert

Answer 28

nickname for the Fertile Crescent because the land is good for farming

Question 29

Pan- Arabism

Answer 29

efforts to unify the Arab nations of the Middle East

Question 30

Islam

Answer 30

Arabic word of "submission" or "surrender"

Question 31

refugees

Answer 31

people forced to leave their homeland;refers to Palestine today

Question 32

Torah

Answer 32

sacred book of, and history of Jewish people

Question 33

fundamentalism

Answer 33

strict interpretation of the writings of Islam or Christianity

Question 34

oil politics

Answer 34

nations using their resources to gain concessions from other nations

Question 35

oasis

Answer 35

rare watering sites in deserts

Question 36

Hebrews

Answer 36

followers of Judaism who established a kingdom by the Jordan River around 1000BC

Question 37

Arab league

Answer 37

organization established by Gamel Abdel Nasser to end outsiders' domination of some nations in the Middle East

Question 38

Protestant

Answer 38

Christian church began after the Reformation

Question 39

six day war

Answer 39

1967 conflict where Israel seized Arab lands

Question 40

chosen people

Answer 40

what the word "Judaism" means

Question 41

Trinity

Answer 41

Christians belief that "God" also includes Jesus & the Holy Spirit

Question 42

Resource curse

Answer 42

economic & political problems faced by nation that have a great deal of a valuable resource like oil, gold, or diamonds

Question 43

bedouin

Answer 43

a member of the Arab tribes that lives a nomadic life in the desert

Question 44

Sultan

Answer 44

term for a ruler of the Ottoman Empire

Question 45

Farsi

Answer 45

language of Persian in in Iran today

Question 46

crusades

Answer 46

several wars between Christians & Muslims around 1200 AD that were fought over control of the Holy Land

Question 47

dynasty

Answer 47

term for a hereditary line of rulers

Question 48

Gulf war

Answer 48

1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq resulting in outsiders intervening

Question 49

abayas

Answer 49

full-length, sleeveless garment worn by some Muslim women

Question 50

Anti- Semitism

Answer 50

discrimination against Jewish people

Question 51

fossil fuels

Answer 51

resource formed over millions of years from the remains of plants and aminals

Question 52

terrorism

Answer 52

use of violence to create fear for political reasons