Deck 6: The Middle East and Africa

Question 1

The term "Middle East" is used to describe the concept of the Muslim world, despite the fact that many residents of the Middle East are not even Muslim and a larger Muslim population exists outside of the Middle East.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

As a recent essay for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace notes, a number of Islamist movements

A) have chosen to participate in the legal political processes of their countries and seek change within those legal political processes.
B) recently increased the violent rhetoric in an "all at once" effort to get the United States out of the Middle East.
C) are setting up educational systems glorifying suicide attacks.
D) call for the destruction of Israel and the United States.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

What is the significance of Saudi Arabia to the Muslim world?

A) Osama Bin Laden is originally from Saudi Arabia.
B) It is the birthplace of Islam and two holy sites are located in Saudi Arabia.
C) The end of the world is traditionally predicted to be in Saudi Arabia by Muslims.
D) Most Muslims live in Saudi Arabia.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab formed Wahhabism, which is

A) a strict puritanical form of Islam that tolerates no dissent and no shared interpretations of Islam.
B) the original form of Islam.
C) a more radical form of Islam than that of those within Al Queda and is therefore no longer practiced nor is it influential.
D) The only form of Islam that advocates terrorism in its goals for an Islamic Caliphate.

Question 5

Ibn Saud eventually had to defeat the military wing of the Wahhabists to avoid losing British support for his position. The influence of Wahhabism consequently

A) has diminished seriously.
B) extends only over a few aspects of Muslims in Saudi Arabia.
C) still exists over the religious, cultural, social, and political life of Saudis.
D) left Saudi Arabia and instead took root in several other countries in the middle east.

Question 6

Al Queda was founded by

A) Wahhab
B) the Al Saud family
C) Yasser Arafat
D) Osama Bin Laden

Question 7

The Saudi government set out to evangelize the Islamic world, using the billions of riyals at its disposal through the religious tax -- zakat --to

A) construct hundreds of mosques and colleges and thousands of religious schools around the globe, staffed with Wahhabi imams and teachers
B) emphasize the teachings of the Sunni sect of Islam over Wahhabism.
C) unite all Islamic nations against Israel in order to take it back and claim the holy city of Jerusalem.
D) support Jihad and terrorism against the United States and its other enemies.

Question 8

Al-Queda was named for the idea that it forms both the physical and ideological base for Islamic jihad that will one day

A) bring all the world under the true and pure practice of Islam.
B) end the world in a sea of blood from the infidels.
C) unite the Middle East into a caliphate, free from Western ideas and practices.
D) kick all other nations out of the Middle East but leave Arabs free to choose their religion.

Question 9

Bin Laden was exiled from Saudi Arabia and sought refuge in the Sudan, but eventually was expelled from there as well. What country did he settle in after being expelled from the Sudan?

A) Iran
B) Iraq
C) Afghanistan
D) Russia

Question 10

What was the United States' response to 9/11?

A) They threatened Iraq with a nuclear war and they attempted to help the United States to find Bin Laden.
B) President Bush called for people in the Middle East wanting freedom to assassinate terrorists.
C) The nation and the military were asked to wait for another terrorist attack before taking any action.
D) U.S. forces entered Afghanistan, overthrew the Taliban government, and forced Al-Queda out of the Afghan mountains into Pakistan.

Question 11

Where was Osama Bin Laden's final hiding spot and why was it important?

A) Iraq - his hiding place also was a storage facility for weapons of mass destruction that we knew were there the whole time.
B) Afghanistan - after we kicked him out, he managed to come back which means we should have done a better job in Afghanistan.
C) Pakistan - it was likely that the Pakistan government knew where he was and was hiding him.
D) Egypt - he aided in the effort to overthrow the Egyptian government.

Question 12

How were North and South Yemen able to form an agreement and become the united Republic of Yemen?

A) Terrorist attacks had plagued both nations and so in order to improve things, they united their efforts and their nations.
B) The need to effectively exploit discoveries of oil in the ill-defined border region between the two impoverished countries.
C) They were both experiencing shortages of food and water, to be more effective they joined forces to help each other and solved this crisis.
D) A terrorist group gained power in both countries and formed an Islamic Caliphate by combining the two nations.

Question 13

In 1981, Hosni Mubarak became President of Egypt after

A) being the first democratically elected President of Egypt.
B) deciding to take a hard stance against Israel, which made him immensely popular.
C) the United Nations appointed him to be the leader of Egypt.
D) Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated for his efforts to pursue peace with Israel.

Question 14

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al Banna in order to

A) radicalize all of Islam into a terrorist organization.
B) inform the world that Islam is a peaceful religion and try to spread it.
C) create the terrorist organization to end Israel.
D) purify Islam and create a single Muslim nation, through education and reform.

Question 15

Sayyid Qutb's influence far outreached his life - for example, his views of using violence to overthrow governments that did not follow pure Islamic practice,

A) made him a martyr for the Islamic cause when Egypt executed him for his views.
B) helped to make Osama Bin Laden rich and indirectly funded Al-Queda.
C) spread Wahhabism far beyond what it would have otherwise reached.
D) provided much of the justification Bin Laden used for Al-Queda's activities and goals.

Question 16

President Morsi was removed as President of Egypt by the military, who acted because the people who voted for him and the Muslim Brotherhood just the previous year called for it.

Question 17

Gama'a al Islamiyya (IG)'s goal and targets were

A) nearby governments first, in order to unify a Palestinian Islamist state, and then targeted the United States and Israel.
B) overthrow the Algerian government and replace it with an Islamic state.
C) Algerian targets in its effort to create an Islamic caliphate, and Western targets as well.
D) to create an Islamic state, replacing the sovereign state of Egypt; they targeted Egyptian security officials, Coptic Christians, and any Egyptians opposed to the fundamentalist view of Islam.

Question 18

Gama'a al Islamiyya (IG) is still relevant today, working with but independently from Al Queda.

Question 19

Egyptian Islamic Jihads(EIJ)'s original focus was

A) to target the nearby governments first, in order to unify a Palestinian Islamist state, and then target the United States and Israel, among other nations.
B) to overthrow the Algerian government and replace it with an Islamic state.
C) to create an Islamic state, replacing the sovereign state of Egypt, then target Egyptian security officials, Coptic Christians, and any Egyptians opposed to the fundamentalist view of Islam.
D) Algerian targets in its effort to create an Islamic caliphate, as well as Western targets.

Question 20

How did EIJ come to an end?

A) It ended shortly after Zawahiri was assassinated by the Saudi government.
B) When it merged with Al-Queda through marriage and its leader became Bin Laden's number two.
C) EIJ decided to stop their terrorist efforts and instead pursued peaceful means to their goals.
D) EIJ became unpopular when they began to stop differentiating between their enemies and innocent bystanders.

Question 21

Qadhafi was a vicious dictator who ruled by his own bizarre political ideology that combined parts of Socialism and Islam. How did he promote this ideology?

A) Anyone who disagreed with him was tortured or executed.
B) He implemented it in Libya and it worked astoundingly well.
C) Qadhafi was the leader of the IG and made sure people knew that's what the group stood for.
D) He used Libya's oil to spread it abroad and to support a number of terrorist groups.

Question 22

Which of the following has never ruled Libya?

A) Egypt
B) Italy
C) The Ottoman Empire
D) The United Nations

Question 23

How was Qadhafi's dictatorship toppled?

A) His attempts to use his air force to shell Arab Spring protesters and militias prompted international military intervention by the UN.
B) It ended when his own military forced him out and took power.
C) Qadhafi's support of terrorism extended beyond his control and terrorist groups joined together to end his reign.
D) Muslims, actually a minority in Libya, had only managed to hold power under unusual circumstances and as an unpopular leader, his dictatorship quickly fell.

Question 24

How involved was Qadhafi in support of or against terrorism?

A) Under Qadhafi, Libya was the most involved state in supporting terrorism. He provided money, safe havens, and even operational support to the PLO and their split off groups.
B) Qadhafi secretly supported terrorism where it saw benefits, but was nothing more than a political means to Libya's goals.
C) Qadhafi fought against terrorism, but when his military was slowly decimated by it, he realized the futility of trying to stamp it out.
D) Qadhafi has always been a vocal opponent of terrorism and where possible, sought to legally execute terrorists, particularly those abiding by the Shia sect of Islam.

Question 25

The Armed Islamic Group (GIA)'s goal is to

A) create an Islamic caliphate by targeting Algerians and Westerners as well, such as the United States.
B) create an Islamic state, replacing the sovereign state of Egypt; they targeted Egyptian security officials, Coptic Christians, and any Egyptians opposed to the fundamentalist view of Islam.
C) target the nearby governments first, in order to unify a Palestinian Islamist state, and then targeting the United States and Israel, among other nations.
D) overthrow the Algerian government and replace it with an Islamic state.

Question 26

GIA gained its support from Islamists abroad, when they saw that the GIA avoided targeting citizens at all costs.

Question 27

How have AQIM's goals changed over time?

A) Initially they wanted to create an Islamic state, replacing the sovereign state of Egypt; later they targeted Egyptian security officials, Coptic Christians, and any Egyptians opposed to the fundamentalist view of Islam.
B) First they targeted the nearby governments, in order to unify a Palestinian Islamist state, and then they decided to target the United States and Israel, among other nations.
C) They have always had the goal of overthrowing the Algerian government and replacing it with an Islamic state.
D) Originally, they concentrated mostly on Algerian targets in its effort to create an Islamic caliphate, but when it merged with Al-Queda, it turned to Western targets as well.

Question 28

The city of Fallujah is again at risk of being controlled by the group _______. They drove police and the Iraqi army units from the city in January 2014.

A) Al Queda
B) ISIS
C) EIJ
D) GIA

Question 29

In early 2011, antigovernment protests calling for basic political reforms broke out in Syria's southern region. How did the Assad government respond?

A) Initially, with both moderate concessions and force. By the end of 2011, force won out as the defining government reaction.
B) The government made reforms, but the military acted without permission and attacked Syrian citizens.
C) Syria held nothing back and attacked its unarmed citizens to show they would not tolerate differences of opinion.
D) The protests went completely ignored in the media and the government has refused to listen to the people.

Question 30

The Obama Administration is reluctant to help arm the rebels against the Syrian government because

A) they fear that the weapons may go to the wrong people.
B) President Obama does not want to make an enemy out of the Syrian government.
C) it seems hypocritical to his gun control policies that he wants to put in place in the United States.
D) the United States is already in so much debt and involved in other Middle Eastern conflicts.

Question 31

Iran's monetary, training, operational, strategic, and political support was and is key not only to Hezbollah's success in carrying out a number of high-profile terrorist attacks against Lebanese, Israeli and Western targets, but also

A) protecting Iran's supply of nuclear materials.
B) Hezbollah's evolution into a significant military force and a major player in Lebanese politics.
C) bringing the Middle East one step closer to creating an Islamic caliphate and finding peace for all of Islam.
D) converting a large number of Arabs within Lebanon to the Shia form of Islam.

Question 32

In September 2014, a U.S. airstrike killed the leader of Al-Shabbab, Ahmed Ali Godane. The group's new leader, Ahmed Omar, has called for attacks against Kenyan, U.S., and other Western targets. His statement about why, points to this as an example of

A) failed state terrorism.
B) terrorism motivated by revenge.
C) Terror in the Middle East.
D) terrorism motivated by religion.

Question 33

Groups like Boko Haram and its affiliates across Africa may be far more brutally violent than even the acolytes of Bin Laden can accept.

Question 34

How was Al Queda formed?

A) Desperate for money, Osama Bin Laden found some political allies that were willing to fund his ideas and support him publically, and the group he formed came to be known as Al Queda.
B) Osama Bin Laden had been mistreated by less-pure forms of Islam as a child that fueled his need for vengeance.
C) Al-Queda was formed following the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan with the goal of overthrowing all apostate Muslim regimes.
D) Osama Bin Laden's father told him to build an Islamic Caliphate with his money.

Question 35

Since the death of Bin Laden in 2011, the danger from Al-Queda has in some ways become harder to deal with as it has become more of an ideology.

Question 36

What is the difference between the Greater Jihad and the Lesser Jihad?

A) The Greater Jihad refers to an individual's personal internal conflict to do what's right. The Lesser Jihad refers to the violent struggle on behalf of Islam.
B) Greater Jihad is the global war for Islam, while the Lesser Jihad is the struggle in the Middle East for a caliphate there.
C) The Greater Jihad refers to the holy war with the United States (The "Great Satan"). The Lesser Jihad refers to the holy war with Israel (The "Little Satan").
D) Greater Jihad is the violent global conflict to spread Islam, while Lesser Jihad refers to the individual struggle to follow God's commandments.

Question 37

The most important biological factors in determining risk of being a radical terrorist are

A) age and gender - young and male are most likely.
B) religion and employment - Islam and unemployed are most likely.
C) religion and age - Islam and middle-aged are most likely
D) employment and gender - unemployed and male are most likely.

Question 38

Family commitments have clearly prevented individuals from embracing jihad. Getting married and settling down is a significant factor in explaining desistance from crime in general.

Question 39

What did Sageman observe about how religious members of terrorist groups were before they joined?

A) Generally, most members were never more than moderately religious before joining a terrorist group.
B) Almost all members were described as being very religious prior to joining.
C) Most members had not been religious during their lives.
D) Members had been very religious when they were younger but later found that it brought them very little peace.

Question 40

Which of the following is not something discussed that pushes people towards radicalization?

A) A desire for revenge
B) Violent video games
C) The social opportunity to do so
D) Status and personal rewards

Question 41

How does the presence of particular ethnic or religious communities with legacies of persecution or repression aid terrorists?

A) People in such areas are likely to turn terrorists in.
B) Such groups are unlikely to give the terrorists new recruits but they may give them resources.
C) These communities would not give terrorists tribal support (they are, after all, terrorists), but they appreciate the religious guidance terrorists provide.
D) They may also create "black holes," where terrorists can hide.

Question 42

Terrorist groups may emerge in poverty stricken countries, but their motives always extend beyond the fact that young men cannot find any alternatives to employment.

Question 43

Why may governmental failure result in terrorism?

A) The government is unable to provide basic services that are expected by the people thus causing frustration with the government.
B) State terrorism is always a side effect of governmental failure.
C) Terrorism overthrows the government beforehand, and in its failure the terrorists offer an alternative.
D) The citizens become jealous of more developed countries resources and services.

Question 44

Most economic factors seem unhelpful in predicting terrorism, but uneven economic development is one difference between the Ivory Coast and Somalia.

Question 45

The history of a country may also be influential. In, Chelli Plummer's, "Failed States and Connections to Terrorist Activity", he did not test it but claims it would be worth looking into.

Question 46

Should the United States support Syria, its citizens, or neither in the conflict that has emerged between them? Why?

Question 47

How can a country's economic situation affect its probability of engaging in terrorism?