| A | B |
|---|
| pogroms | episode of persecution, ethnic cleansing, and sometimes massacre, especially conducted against Jews |
| polygamy | the taking by a man of more than one wife at a time |
| protectorate | relationship of partial control over a region, yet allowing local sovereign rule |
| recharge area | the area recieving precipitation that refills an aquifer |
| salinization | the impregnation of the soil by salts and other minerals left by the evaporation of water, damaging soil fertility |
| seclusion | requirement (Purdah) that a woman stay out of public view, common in Islam and previously in Hinduism |
| secular states | countries in which religion has no direct influence on affairs of state or civil law |
| shari'a | "the correct path", Islamic law that guides daily life according to the Qur'an |
| sheikhs | patriarchal leaders of tribal groups in Arabian Peninsula |
| Shi'ite (or Shi'a) | the smaller of 2 major groups of Muslims, different interpretations of shari'a, primarily in Iran & southern Iraq |
| Sunni | the larger of 2 major groups of Muslims with different interpretations of shari'a |
| terrorism | violence intended to create a climate of fear in a population |
| theocratic states | countries governed through religious law |
| veiling | covering the body with a loose dress, the head (and often face) with a scarf |
| Zionism | The 2,000 year-old desire of Jews to return to Israel, realized in 1948 |
