| A | B |
|---|
| desalination | process of removing salt & other chemicals from sea water |
| OPEC | organization that was created in 1960 to regulate price & shipment of oil |
| Bedouins | desert dwellers |
| subsistence farming | growing enough food for your immediate family with no extras |
| ethnic group | describes a group identified on the basis of religion, race, or national orignin |
| religious group | describes a group identified by common religious beliefs or practices |
| Shia Muslims | Smallest denomination of Islam who believe that leadership should go to a direct descendant of Muhammad. |
| Sunni Muslims | largest denomination of Islam who believe that leadership to whoever is the most capable of keeping the community together. |
| Islam | Religious faith of Muslims, based on the teachings of Muhammad. |
| Christianity | Religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. |
| Judaism | A monotheistic religion in Israel that traces its origins back to Abraham. |
| Kurds | An ethnic group that lives in the mountainous areas of Syria, Turkey, Iran, & Iraq. |
| Persians | Most Iranians belong to this ethnic group and speak Farsi. |
| trade barriers | anything that slows down or prevents one country from exchanging goods with another. |
| anti-Semitism | hatred of Jews |
| Zionists | a group who felt the world's Jews deserved to return to their homeland. |
| Holocaust | a time when 6 1/2 million Jews were killed in concentration camps set up by Hitler. |
| Persian Gulf War | A military force used to liberate Kuwait from the Iraqi invasion of 1991. |
| Operation Iraqi Freedom | An invasion led by the U.S. in 2003 to stop the development of nuclear weapons by Iraq. |
| Taliban | A radical Muslim government in Afghanistan. |
| Muslims | Religious group practicing Islam. |
| Arabs | An ethnic group who live in SW Asia and speak Arabic. |
| Five Pillars of Islam | Five basic obligations that Muslims must do during their lifetime. |
| Ottoman Empire | An Empire that controlled much of SW Asia until the end of WWI. |
| nomads | People who travel from one place to another in search of food/water. |
