| A | B |
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| Holy Land | Term given to lands in present day Israel that is significant to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. |
| Holy Trinity | Formed by the Creator (Father), Redeemer (Son), and Sustainer (Holy Spirit). Christians believe that these three entities are all part of a single higher power. |
| human and physical geography | The study of the environment, people, and the resources they use to live. |
| Imam | In Islam, the leader of prayers and religious scholar. |
| Islam | The word Islam, which when translated from Arabic, means "to submit to the will of Allah," is the youngest of the world's major religions. Worshippers of this monotheistic religion are known as Muslims, which means "one who submits to the will of Allah." The Islamic holy book is called the Qur’an. Islam is currently the second most practiced religion in the world, and experts predict that it will overtake Christianity as the most popular religion in the world sometime during the 21st century. |
| jihad | Effort in God’s service waged by Muslims in defense of the Islamic faith. |
| Judaism | Judaism is the oldest known monotheistic religion still practiced in the world today. Its fundamental teachings have been influential and are the basis for more recently developed religions such as Christianity and Islam. Judaism teaches that there is one God who is the creator of all things. after the Hebrew exodus from Egypt, many Hebrews began to lose their faith in God. During this time, Moses went atop Mount Sinai and returned with two stone tablets containing laws that all Hebrews needed to follow. These laws, recorded in the Exodus 20:3-17, became known as the Ten Commandments. |
| Kami | Sacred spirits that are worshipped in the Shinto religion of Japan. |
| karma | Actions in this life resulting from the consequences of a previous life’s actions. Associated with Hinduism and Buddhism. |
| Kong Fu Zi | See Confucius |
| Lao Tze | (570-490 BCE?) Chinese philosopher credited with originating Taoism/Daoism. His teachings were collected and published as the Tao-te Ching. |
| Mahabharata | Hindu epic poem that was written in Sanskrit in the 5th century BCE. Its most important part is the Bhagavad-Gita. |
| Mecca | A city in Saudi Arabia where Muslims must make a pilgrimage at least once in their life. |
| Mencius | (371?-289 BCE), Chinese philosopher, who studied Confucianism. He later refined many of the ideas and spread them across China. Also known as Mengzi, or Meng-tzu. |
| messiah | According to the Hebrew Bible, an anointed king who will lead the Jews back to the land of Israel and establish justice in the world. According to the Christians, the Messiah was Jesus Christ. |
| Mohammed | Prophet of Allah; founder of Islam |
| Moksha | In Hinduism, it is the release from the cycle of reincarnation through unification with Brahma. |
| monotheism | The belief in one god or goddess |
| Moses | He is considered a founder of Judaism due to his role in the liberation of the Hebrews from Egypt, and his delivery of the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai sometime around 2000 BCE. |
| mosque | A domed Islamic religious building. |
