1. Which of the following is NOT one of the six major world religions that originated in
the Middle East?
a) Christianity
b) Islam
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
3. Which of the following is true about Shiite Muslims?
a) Shiites make about 50% of the world’s Muslims
d) All of these are correct.
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
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
d) more fluid tribal, religious, and cultural identities
6. Which country is the center of regional film and television production?
c) Iran
d) Lebanon
7. What does the word “Islam” mean?
a) Messenger
b) Pilgrimage
8. 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.
9. 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
10. 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
11. 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
12. Compared to the rest of the world, Qatar and Kuwait have
c) similar GDP per capita
d) lower levels of economic disparity
13. 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
14. 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
15. 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
d) the Second Intifada
16. 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.
17. 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
d) The group has no political or religious goals.
18. 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
19. 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