Conflict In the Middle East

Sykes-Picot

An agreement between the british and the french. France gets Syria and Lebanon, and Britain gets Iraq, Palestine, and Transjordan.

Palestinian

the PLO; terrorist group. political & military organization regarded as the sole representative of the Palestinian people; Political party and organization that fought for Palestinian rights

Arab League

a regional political and economic organization focused on Arab unity and development

Suez Crisis

crisis in which Britain and France attempted to seize control of the Suez canal from Egypt

Zionism

A policy for establishing and developing a national homeland for Jews in Palestine.

Arab Spring

A series of popular revolts in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa that sought an end to authoritarian, often Western-supported regimes.

Intif

"The Uprising" against Israel by some Palestinians

Anglo-Iranian Oil Company

the British company that owned the concession to excavate, process, and export Iran's oil until 1954

Iranian

(1978-1979) a revolution against the shah of Iran led by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which resulted in Iran becoming an Islamic republic with Khomeini as its leader

Ayat

Shiite religious leader of Iran, led the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and ordered the invasion of the US Embassy.

"The Great Satan"

the muslim's nickname for the USA

Secularism

An indifference to religion and a belief that religion should be excluded from civic affairs and public education.

Israel

A Jewish state on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, both in antiquity and again founded in 1948 after centuries of Jewish diaspora.

Palestine

A territory in the Middle East on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Disputed with Israel.

6 Day War

the 1967 war between Arabs and Israelis

Yom Kippur War

Egypt and Syria attacked Israel in October 1973 (on Yom Kippur)

Gamal Abdel N

Egyptian statesman who nationalized the Suez Canal (1918-1870)

Balfour Dec

British document that promised land in Palestine as homeland for Jews in exchange for Jews help in WWI

Pan-Arab Nation

this ideology wanted unification of Arab world

Non-Alignment

Policy of not supporting either side in a conflict - such as India during the Cold War

Mohammad Mossadegh

Reform prime minister of Iran who wanted to nationalize the oil industry.

Shah Reza Khan

Modernized the civilian and military bureaucracies in Iran

Shah Mohammad Reza

A former monarch of Iran, he was the Shah (king) of Iran from 1941-1979