GLOSSARY

Allah:  Name given to God in the Islamic religion.

Al-Qaeda : An Islamist network of organizations in Muslim countries but with groups also in the United States and in Canada. It is involved in various endeavors including humanitarian work and terrorism. The leader of Al-Qaeda is Osama bin Laden.
Aquifer:  An underground layer of porous rock that contains water.  A desert aquifer can support an oasis, a well, or a natural reservoir.
Anti-Semitism: Prejudice against Jews.
Arab League: An association of states formed in 1945 to give common expression to the political interests of Arab nations.
Ayatollah:   Religious leader of the Shiite community
B.C.E:  Before the Common Era.  (Used in place of B.C.)
Baath:  Arab Renaissance Party, separate branches of which control the government in Syria and Iraq.
Balfour Declaration: Statement issued by the British government in 1917, which supported the creation of a Jewish homeland.
Bedouin: A Middle Eastern nomad

Berber: People living in North Africa.  Berbers make up a majority of the population of North Africa in terms of race.
Berber children
C.E.:  Common Era (used in place of A.D.)

Caliph:  a title for the religious and civil head of a Muslim state and successor to Muhammed as civil and spiritual leader of Islam.
Camp David Accord: 1979 Treaty between Israel and Egypt.  Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt and Egypt became the first Arab country to recognize Israel's right to exist.
Copts:  Group of the Egyptian population considering themselves as the true descendants of the ancient Egyptians.  The Copts are distinguished by their Christian beliefs.
Cuneiform :  writing in the form of wedge like symbols
Desertification: The drying up of comparatively moist areas along the margins of a desert, generally caused by overuse by people and animals.
Diaspora: The dispersion of Jews outside Palestine. Palestinian refugees sometimes apply the term to their dispersion and community outside of Palestine.
Dome of the Rock: A mosque built in the 7th Century CE.  Muslims believe that Muhammad went on a might journey that carried him from Mecca to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

Dome of the Rock is located in Jerusalem.

Druze:  a Muslim religious group centered in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel.
Emir:  A ruler or prince.
al-Fatah:  A guerilla group formed several years before the PLO.  Yassir Arafat was one of its founders.
Fellahin:  The peasant farmers and labors in Arab countries.
Fertile Crescent:  The semicircle of fertile land from the southeast coast of the Mediterranean Sea to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
First Arab-Israeli War: First war fought between the Jews of Palestine and their Arab neighbors (1947-1949) over the control of Palestine.
Gulf War: War fought between Iraq and allies of Kuwait from Jan 15 to February 28, 1991.
Haji:  Muslim rite of pilgrimage to Mecca
Hamas: Arabic for "zeal."  Hamas is a Palestinian Islamism political group founded in 1988 with the goal of waging a jihad against Israel in order to liberate Palestine.
Hanukkah: Jewish festival commemorating the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem.
Hashemite:  Pertaining to descent from Hashim or the Hashemite clan, which included Mushammad's family; commonly pertaining to the dynasty in Jordan and in Iraq before 958.
Hegira (hejira): The flight of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE which marked the beginning of the Islamic calendar.
Hezbullah:  Arab for "Party of God."  A Lebanese Shiite political group formed in 1992.  Hezbullah wages war against the Israeli troops stationed in the southern section of Lebanon.
Hieroglyphics :  A system of writing with picture symbols used by the ancient Egyptians.

Imam: In the Muslim religion, the person who leads the prayers in a mosque.
Intifada: Beginning in 1987, the attack of the Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem on the Israelis seeking the end of Israeli occupation in these territories.
Islam: The Muslim religion that regards Allah as the supreme deity and Muhammad as his prophet.
Jihad: A holy war on behalf of the Muslim religion.
Judaism: The religion of the Jewish people.
Kaab: A cube-shaped building in Mecca that includes a black stone sacred to Muslims.

Kibbutz: An Israeli communal settlement, especially a farm cooperative.
Knesset:  The Israeli legislature

Koran ( al-Quran) The book of sacred writing for the Muslims as revealed to Muhammad
Levant: Designation of the region in the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, particularly Lebanon and Syria, but also for Greece, Turkey, Israel, and Egypt.
Maghreb:  Northwest Africa, chiefly Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.
Mamelukes: Former Turkish slave soldiers who ruled Egypt.
Mandate:  In the Middle East, a commission awarded by the League of Nations to Britain or France to administer an assigned territory toward timely independence.
Mesopotamia: "land between the rivers"  Specifically referring to the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
Middle East:  Geographical area without clear borders, with its center in the eastern Mediterranean basin.
Minaret: A slender tower attached to a mosque from which the call to prayer is made.
Monotheism:  The belief in one god.  Judaism was the first religion to preach monotheism.
Moshav: A cooperative community in Israel in which each family owns its own land
Mosque: A Muslim house of worship.
Muezzin: The crier who calls Muslims to prayer five times  a day.
Mullah: In Muslim countries a title of respect for one who is learned in or teaches the sacred law.
Oasis: An area of sandy soil that surrounds a deep well or spring and provides a fertile place where people can live and grow crops
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries: A cartel of oil exporting countries mostly from the Middle East but also including oil exporting countries in Africa and South America. OPEC provides  a common oil policy for its member nations.
Oslo Accord: An agreement between the PLO and Israel that was signed in Washington D.C. on September 13, 1993.  The agreement involved autonomy for parts of Gaza Strip and the West Bank
Oslo II: Divides West Bank land into three divisions of varying Palestinian autonomy.  In type A there are to be unlimited control for the Palestinian Council.   Zone B gives the Palestinian Council full civil authority, but leaves security to Israel.  Zone C are areas strategically important to Israel and areas with Jewish settlers.
Ottoman Empire: A vast state founded in the 13th century by the Osmani Turks and ruled by the descendants of Osman I, the empire's first sultan, until its dissolution after World War I.  Most of the Middle East and North Africa was absorbed by the Ottoman Empire.
Palestine Liberation Organization:  The political organization that represents the Palestinian people in their goal to establish Palestine as a national state.
Ramadan: The ninth month of the Muslim year that is a period of fasting from sunrise to sunset. This celebrates the month when Muhammad received the first revelations from Gabriel.

Road Map For Peace: A two state solution plan supported by the United States, Russia, the EU, and the United Nations, which would lead to an independent Palestine by the year 2005.

Rosh Hashanah: The celebration of the Jewish new year.
Shah:  Title of royal rulers in Iran until 1979.
Shari'a: Islamic law based on the Koran.
Shia: A Muslim sect that believes that Ali  and the Imams as the only rightful successors of Muhammad.
Shiite: A Muslim of the Shia branch of Islam.
Six-Day War: War fought between Israel on one side and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria on the other side in 1967.  The war left Israel with the additional territory of the Sinai and Gaza Strip from Egypt; the Golan Heights from Syria; and Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan.
Suez- Sinai War: War fought between Egypt on one side, and Israel, Great Britain and France on the other for control of the Suez Canal.  This war was the start of the United States leading position as a mediator in the Middle East
Sufism:  A Muslim sect or movement that places great emphasis on individual worship, piety, and mysticism.
Sunni:  A sect of Islam that recognizes the first four caliphs as the rightful successors of Muhammad.
Sultan:  A ruler of a Muslim state.
Synagogue: A Jewish house of worship
Talmud:  The authoritative collection of legal interpretations of Jewish law and customs and commentaries on these interpretations.
Temple of Jerusalem: There have been two temples.  The first, built by King Solomon in the 10th century BCE was destroyed by the Babylonians.  It was rebuilt in 20 BCE but was completely destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE.  The part remaining (known as the Wailing Wall), was the western wall that surrounded the temple.  The Wall serves as an important religious center and is a symbol of unity and justice for the future.

Temple Mount:  A thirty-five acre plateau located at the southeastern corner of Jersulame's walled Old City,  In Bibilicat times, the First and Second Jewish Temple stood there, but today the surface is entirely Mulism and is where the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosques are located.  The Muslims refer to the Mount as the Noble Sancutary and they believe that the Prophet Muhammad ascended to Heaven from a rock that the Dome now encloses.  Jewish tradition holds that the Mount was buit over the spot where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Issac.
Torah: The first five books of the Old Testament..
United Arab Republic:A political union between Egypt and Syria when Nasser was president.  With Northern Yemen, the Untied Arab Republic formed a federation called the United Arab states in 1958.  Syria withdrew in 1961 and Yemen soon followed thus ending an attempt at Arab political unity.
Wadi:  In North Africa and Southwest Asia, a dry river bed through which water flows during periods of heavy rainfall.

Yom Kippur: In the tenth month of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur is a holy day of atonement.
Yom Kippur War: War fought between Israel on one side, and Egypt and Syria on the other, backed by Iraq and Jordan starting on October 6, 1973, and ending on Oct 22 of the same year.
Ziggurat: An ancient Mesopotamian temple tower consisting of a terraced pyramid with outside staircase and a shrine on top.
Zionism: The movement that was established to promote the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine and that now supports the continued existence of Israel as a state.

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