AP Comparative Iran TermsDE Flashcards

9218760254	Assembly of Religious Experts	86 man assembly of clerics elected directly by the people; broad constitutional interpretation responsibility; selects the Supreme Leader; has the right to dismiss Supreme Leader; must have a seminary degree	0
9218760255	Ayatollah	Supreme leader of Iran; following the revolution, Khomeini became the country's Supreme Leader, a position created in the constitution as the highest ranking political and religious authority of the nation.	1
9218760258	Farsi	the language and people group of Iran, also often called Persian	2
9218760259	Fundamentalism	Religious beliefs of a literal nature that often lead to right-wing political views.	3
9218760261	Hezbollah	A radical Shiʿite Muslim organization in Lebanon engaged in guerrilla warfare against Israel; have strong ties to Iran	4
9218760263	Imam	Prayer leaders in mosques	5
9218760264	Jihad	Literally "struggle"; although often used to mean armed struggle against unbelievers, most commonly means spiritual struggle for self-improvement.	6
9218760265	Jurist's guardianship	Developed by Ayatollah Khomeini, supports the notion that senior clerics have the best capacity to rule in a Muslim society; Iranian clergy should rule on the grounds that they are the divinely appointed guardians of both the law and the people	7
9218760266	Majles	Arabic term for "assembly"; used in Iran to describe the parliament.	8
9218760267	Mosque	Muslim place of worship, equivalent to a church, temple, or synagogue.	9
9218760268	OPEC	Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries; Founded in 1960 by Iran, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia, it now includes most oil-exporting states with the notable exceptions of Mexico and former members of the Soviet Union. It tries to regulate prices by regulating production.	10
9218760269	Pahlavis	Leaders of the dynasty of the shahs, favored westernization	11
9218760271	People of the Book	The Muslim term for recognized religious minorities, such as Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians.	12
9218760273	Qur'an	Muslim holy book, believed to be the word of God, given to prophet Muhammad	13
9218760274	Rentier state	A country that obtains much of its revenue from the export of oil or other natural resources.	14
9218760275	Shari'a	Islamic law derived mostly from the Qur'an and the examples set by the Prophet Muhammad.	15
9218760276	Shi'ism (or Shiite)	Dominant branch of Islam in Iran, believe that the head of Islam should be a descendant of prophet Muhammad	16
9218760277	Supreme Leader	Title given to the ayatollah who sits atop all Iranian political institutions.	17
9218760278	Theocracy	A government ruled by religion; religious leaders are the head of the nation-state; rule on the grounds that they are the only interpreters of God's will and law.	18
9218760280	White Revolution	The term used by the shah to describe reforms in Iran between the end of World War II and the downfall of his regime in 1979	19
9218760281	Zoroastrianism	Persian religion founded by Zoroaster; taught that humans had the freedom to choose between right and wrong, and that goodness would triumph in the end	20
9218760282	Iran		21
9218760283	Iraq		22
9218760284	Turkey		23
9218760285	Israel		24
9218760286	Palestine		25
9218760287	Egypt		26
9218760288	Syria		27
9218760289	Afghanistan		28
9218760290	United Arab Emirates (UAE)		29
9218760291	Saudi Arabia		30