Deck 11: The Middle East

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT one of the six major world religions that originated in the Middle East?

A) Christianity
B) Islam
C) Buddhism
D) Judaism

Answer 1

Buddhism

Question 2

What is the Arabic term for the area stretching from the Atlantic coast of North Africa to the Iran-Afghan border (what Europeans and Americans call "the Middle East")?

A) The Maghreb
B) Persia
C) The Orient
D) There is no Arabic term for this geographic area.

Answer 2

There is no Arabic term for this geographic area.

Question 3

Which of the following is true about Shiite Muslims?

A) Shiites make about 50% of the world's Muslims
B) They form a majority in both Iran and Iraq
C) Very few countries have any Shiite communities
D) All of these are correct.

Answer 3

They form a majority in both Iran and Iraq

Question 4

What was the basis of the seventh century dispute that led to the division of the Muslim community into Sunni and Shia?

A) The correct interpretation of meaning of the hajj
B) how best to divide the spoils of the Sassanian empire
C) the proper succession to the caliphate
D) the ethical treatment of religious minorities and prisoners of war

Question 5

What, according to the authors, was imposed upon the new countries and states of the Middle East during the colonial transition?

A) the official language of the countries
B) the names of the countries themselves
C) the single, national religion of each country
D) more fluid tribal, religious, and cultural identities

Question 6

Which country is the center of regional film and television production?

A) Egypt
B) Saudi Arabia
C) Iran
D) Lebanon

Question 7

Besides the Qur'an, another religious text considered essential to many Muslims for studying the faith of Islam is the hadith. The hadith is

A) a declaration of faith, in essence stating "there is no God but God, and Muhammad is his prophet."
B) the written record of Muhammad's revelation.
C) the collected sayings and actions of the prophet and his companions.
D) a code of Sharia law.

Question 8

Some scholars believe the current era may be a time of tremendous transformation in Islam, comparable to which other major transformation in history?

A) The Industrial Revolution in the United States from 1750 to 1850
B) The Great Schism of early Christianity in 1054
C) The Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) in 1959
D) The Protestant Reformation in Europe in the 16th century

Question 9

A tribe is defined primarily as a large group of people who share a common identity based on a common

A) location
B) legal system
C) religion
D) ancestry

Question 10

As people united by common language and identity, who inhabit a coherent spatial territory split between other states, the Kurds may be described as a

A) ethnic minority
B) transnational tribe
C) proto-state
D) allocation state

Question 11

Compared to the rest of the world, Qatar and Kuwait have

A) very high average GDP per capita
B) very low average GDP per capita
C) similar GDP per capita
D) lower levels of economic disparity

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT one of the challenges facing the Middle East and North Africa, according to the book?

A) unequal distribution of resources
B) political interference and attention from more powerful nations
C) conflicts between community identities and nation building
D) stagnant population growth and insufficient labor base

Question 13

Which of the following was LEAST likely to have contributed to the Jewish diaspora maintaining a distinct identity within host communities in Europe and elsewhere?

A) Being made to live in ghettos, walled off from others
B) Toasting to "New year in Jerusalem" on important holidays like Yom Kippur and Passover
C) Evolving new languages like Yiddish and Ladino that only some Jewish communities spoke or understood
D) Exposure to religious teaching that a Messiah would come and re-establish a Jewish kingdom

Question 14

In 1917, the secretary of state of Great Britain issued a letter promising to aid in the creation of "a national home for the Jewish people" if they were awarded certain war loan guarantees from Jewish-owned banks. This document was called

A) the Aliyah
B) the Balfour Declaration
C) the Zionist Manifesto
D) the Second Intifada

Question 15

What creates a seemingly intractable obstacle to a "two-state solution" to the Palestinian situation?

A) The majority of Israelis strongly oppose a two-state solution.
B) The majority of Palestinians strongly oppose a two-state solution.
C) Disputes over settlements, refugees, and borders remain unsolved.
D) All of these.

Question 16

What is one of the main political and/or religious goals of the Islamic State of Iraq and Lebanon (ISIL/ISIS/IS)?

A) Converting all of the Middle East to one form of Islam
B) Founding and expanding a new caliphate in the region
C) Preventing forced marriages and prostitution of Muslim women and girls
D) The group has no political or religious goals.

Question 17

When it was first founded during the late colonial era, what was the Muslim Brotherhood trying to do?

A) Overthrow the Egyptian government
B) Oust the British colonial authorities in Egypt
C) Elect more Egyptian Muslims to local governing positions
D) Provide health, education, and employment services to underserved populations

Question 18

Which of the following has contributed to the rise of political Islam, according to the book's authors?

A) the failure of capitalism or socialism to bring about economic prosperity
B) the lack of democratization by foreign-backed governments in the Middle East and North Africa
C) the disillusionment with secularization in the post-WWII era
D) All of these.