Middle East History Vocabulary:

Islam
Definition:A religion whose followers believe in one God (Allah) and practice the teachings of the Koran, their sacred text. People who follow Islam are called Muslims.
Context:Islam is the dominant faith in Arab countries.

Israel
Definition:A Jewish state established in 1948
Context:Located in southwest Asia on the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Israel is the Jewish homeland.

Palestine
Definition:A historical region at the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Context:Palestine is holy to Muslims, Christians, and Jews.

PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization)
Definition:A political movement uniting Palestinian Arabs in an effort to create an independent state of Palestine; founded in 1964 as a terrorist organization dominated by Yasser Arafat's al-Fatah.
Context:Yasser Arafat became chairman of the PLO in 1968.

Zionism
Definition:A Jewish movement that arose in the late 19th century to reestablish a Jewish homeland
Context:Although opposed by most Arabs, Zionism has gained support by other nations.

Protectorate- a relationship of superior authority assumed by one power or state over a dependent one.  It is the dependent state in the relationship.

Colony- a body of people living in a new territory but retaining ties with the parent state

Partitioning- to divide into two or more territorial units having separate political status

Mandate- command, formal order

Diaspora- the scattering of the Jewish population

Negotiation- the process of bargaining to reach an agreement

Treaty- a signed agreement between nations

Holocaust- mass murder of Jews and other prisoners by the Germans in WWII

Palestinians- Arabs in Palestine and later Israel

Refugees- people fleeing from a land

Stereotypes- an incorrect and often unfair generalization about a group of people

 Vocabulary Quiz 10/16 on above History Vocabulary

Middle East Culture: 

Ethnic Group – share many common characteristics, such as language, physical appearance, customs, and traditions.

Religious Group – share a common belief system, but are not necessarily composed of a single ethnic group

Covenant – a lasting agreement

Hardships – extreme sufferings

Prohphets – people who share the message from God with other people

Clan – a group of families

Pilgrimage – a journey to a sacred place or shrine

 

Judaism - Monotheistic religion that developed among the Hebrews in the Fertile Crescent. The Hebrews’ religion.

Exodus - Hebrews’ escape from ancient Egypt.

Monotheism - The belief in one and only one God

Torah– Five books of Moses that Jews follow.  The most sacred text of Judaism.

Ten Commandments– Basic laws given to Moses.

 

Christianity – Religion based on the teachings of Jesus

Resurrection – Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead.

Gospels – first four books of the Christian Bible that tell about Jesus’ life

Discipiles- small group of followers

New Testament – Part of the Bible containing stories of Jesus, his followers, and later Christian ideas

Culture – a learned system of shared beliefs and ways of doing things that guide a person’s daily behavior

 

Islam – Monotheistic religion based on the Qu’ran and teachings of Muhammad that developed in what is now Saudi Arabia.

Qur’an – The holy book of Islam

Five Pillars of Islam – Rules Muslims follow

hajj – the religious pilgrimage of Muslims to Mecca