Contemporary World Vocab- Islamic Extremism & Terrorism + Middle East & Arab-Israeli Conflict

Millet System

Ottoman policy allowing different religious communities (Jews,Muslims and Christians) to live by their own law while supporting the Sultan.

Sykes-Picot Agreement

a secret 1916 deal between Britain and France to divide up the Ottoman empire into spheres(mandates) after WWI

Mandate

A territory placed under the administration of a foreign power by the league of nations after WWI, rather than granted independence (colony w expiration date)

Zionism

A nationalist movement to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine

Balfour Declaration

A 1917 statement by the British government expressing support for establishment of national home for Jewish people in Palestine

Partition

The division of a territory into seperate , independent state (ex.) 1947 UN partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states

Arab Nationalism

A movement aimed at uniting Arab people based on a shared language and culture, and achieving independence from Western powers

Hamas

A palestinian sunni political and military movement that has been governed the Gaza Strip since 2007; designated a terrorist organization the US and EU

Two-State Solution

A proposed peace plan that was that a Palestinian State would be established alongside the State of Israel

Palestinian Authority

The governing body of Palestinian people, established through the Oslo Accords, led by Mahmoud Abbas

Oslo Accords

1993 peace agreements between Israel and the PLO that created the Palestinian authority and a framework for resolving the conflict

Islamic Extremism

An ideology that interprets Islam in a strict and literal way, uses religion to justify political violence and rejection of western values

Al-Qaeda

An international Sunni Islamist terrorist organization, founded by Osama Bin Laden; responsible for the 9/11 attack

ISIS/ISIL

Islamic state of Iraq and Syria; a sunni extremist group that declared a caliphate in 2014. Known for extreme violence, territorial conquest and online radicalization

Jihad

An arabic word meaning “struggle”. In extremist ideology, it refers to violent holy war against percieved enemies of Islam

Hezbollah

A Shia Islamist political and military group based in Lebanon, but funded by Iran. Designated terrorist organizations by the US and EU

9/11 attack

Terrorist attacks in the United States, carried out by al-Qaeda, killed nearly 3,000 people

Radicalization

The process by which a person adopts increasingly extreme political, religious or social ideals that promote violence