Middle East Since 1945 - Key People/Terms

Mustafa Kamal Atatürk

Turkish nationalist who wanted to modernize Turkey. He wanted to remove western imperialists and declare Turkey a republic. He created a secular state.

Gamal Nasser

Egyptian nationalist whose goal was to modernize Egypt and nationalize the Suez Canal. Attempted to achieve Pan-Arabism

Anwar Sadat

Egyptian leader who signed a peace agreement with Israel

Yasser Arafat

Palestinian statesman who is chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization

Theodore Herzl

Founder of Zionism

Menachem Begin

Leader of Israel who signed a peace treaty with Egypt withdrawing from Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip and returning them to Egypt

Yitzhak Rabin

The Israeli prime minister who agreed to grant the Palestinians their own land. In 1995 he was killed by Jewish extremists

Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi

the leader of Iran after World War II that was supported by Western government and Western oil companies. He tried to weaken the political influence of religion in Iran by limiting the role of the Islamic legal and academic experts. He was forced to flee from Iran in January 1979.

Ayatollah Khomeni

Islamic Religious leader who led the opposition group to the Shah that created Islamic republic, fundamentalism

Saddam Hussein

Was a dictator in Iraq who tried to take over Iran and Kuwait violently in order to gain the land and the resources. He also refused to let the UN into Iraq in order to check if the country was secretly holding weapons of mass destruction.

Osama Bin Laden

Founder of al Qaeda, the terrorist network responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001, and other attacks.

Nationalism

Loyalty and devotion to a particular nationality

Suez Canal

A ship canal in northeastern Egypt linking the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea. Trade route between Europe and Asia. Gamal Nasser nationalized the canal's operation.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Formed to give member nations more influence in world markets

Pan-Arabism

movement in which Arabs sought to unite all Arabs into one state

Zionism

A movement to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine

Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)

This organization formed in 1964 with the purpose of creating a homeland for Palestinians in Israel

Intifada

"The Uprising" against Israel by some Palestinians

Six Day War

(1967) Short conflict between Egypt and her allies against Israel won by Israel; Israel took over the Golan Heights , The West Bank of the Jordan River; and the Sanai Peninsula.

Yom Kippur War

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

Camp David Accords (1979)

The Camp David Accords were the peace accords signed by Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War to finally end the Israeli-Egyptian disputes. The achievement by Carter is considered his greatest while in office.

Oslo Accords

An agreement in 1993 in which Israeli prime minister Rabin granted Palestinian self-rule in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Islamic Fundamentalism

A movement among many Muslims to return to the fundamentals of Islamic Faith, Life, and Society.

Hamas

a militant Islamic fundamentalist political movement that opposes peace with Israel and uses terrorism as a weapon

Hezbollah

A radical Shiʿite Muslim organization in Lebanon engaged in guerrilla warfare against Israel

Kurds

A minority group in Turkey and neighboring countries

Taliban

A group of fundamentalist Muslims who took control of Afghanistan's government in 1996

Al Qaeda

Islamist terrorist organization that launched a series of attacks against U.S.

ISIS

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria