Do Now
• Get out a sheet of notebook paper and
something to write with.
Cultures in the Middle East
Study Guide for Test
1. Which do Kurds share as part of their ethnic
group? the Kurdish language
2. Which are the 3 main religious groups of
Southwest Asia? Christianity, Islam, Judaism
3. Which ethnic group is most numerous in
Southwest Asia? Arabs
4. What modern country is the home to those who
call themselves Persian? Iran
5. What is the religion of most Persians?
Shi’a Muslim
6. What is the religion of most of the Arabs in
Southwest Asia? Sunni Muslim
7. What is the religion of most of the Kurds? Sunni
Muslim
8. What issue led to the split between the Sunni
and Shi’a in Islam? They disagreed over who
should lead the Muslim community after the
death of Muhammad.
9. Why were the 4 leaders of the Muslims after
Muhammad’s death called the “4 Rightly Guided
Caliphs”?They had been friends of Muhammad.
90
10. What part of the
population of Iran is Sunni? 9%
80
70
60
Shi'a
Muslim
Sunni
Muslim
Christian
50
40
11. Which would be the
BEST alternative for
showing these data in
another way? Use 2 circle graphs
30
20
10
0
Iraq
Iran
12. Which question could be
answered using information
from the graph?
“Which country has the
highest proportion of its
population as Shi’a Muslim?”
90
80
70
60
Shi'a
Muslim
Sunni
Muslim
Christian
50
40
30
20
13. What is the main belief that
distinguished the Jewish faith
from the others in the ancient
world? the worship of a single
god rather than many gods.
14. Which is the holy writing of
Judaism? Torah
10
0
Iraq
Iran
15. The “Exodus” in the history of the Jewish
people was the time when …Jews were freed
from slavery in Egypt and returned to the land of
Canaan.
16. Why did Jesus have trouble with both the
Jewish leaders and the Roman authorities?
Jews accused him of crimes against their
teachings; Romans saw him as a threat to the
Roman Empire.
17. What basic belief made Christianity different
from Judaism? Christians believed Jesus was
the Messiah, or savior of men.
18. Why was Christianity finally accepted by the
Roman Emperor as a legal religion? Emperor
Constantine recognized that many Romans had
become Christians.
19. What is the relationship among Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam? Islam includes much of
the old and new testaments in its holy book, the
Qur’an.
20. What did Muhammad believe the angel Gabriel
was asking him to do? Tell the word of God to
the people.
21. What is the importance of the Ka’aba to
Muslims? They believe it was originally
built by the prophet Abraham.
22. Why did Islam spread so quickly after
Muhammad’s death? Muslim armies
conquered empires that had weakened
over the years.
23. What are the Five Pillars? Five basic
obligations that Muslims are supposed to
meet in their lives.
24. Why do Muslims call Jews and
Christians “People of the Book”? Much of
the Old and New Testaments in included
in the Qur’an.
25. What generalization can be made about
literacy and national wealth in a country?
Literacy is usually higher in wealthy
countries.