Boo referenced the utter ignorance of America’s representatives and of Bush’s administration.
I think it’s about time for a pop quiz to see where WE stand.
Nobody will see your answers so just be truthful to yourself.
1) Most people in Iran are ethnic Arabs:
A) True
B) False
2) Iran has elected Members of Parliament who are Jewish:
A) False
B) True
3) Iran has used its military to attack Israel:
A) Once
B) Several times
C) Never
4) In the last 20 years, the United States military has attacked Iran on Iranian soil:
A) Never
B) Several times
5) After the American military shot down an Iranian passenger plane in 1988:
A) The American government apologized and paid restitution to the victims
B) The American government awarded medals to the men who shot down the plane for “heroic achievement”
C) The American government neither apologized nor paid restitution
D) B and C
6) The predominate language spoken in Iran today is:
A) Arabic
B) Iranian
C) Urdu
D) Farsi
7) The predominante language spoken in Iran today is related to:
A) Dari
B) English
C) Russian
D) All of the above
8) Dari is a language spoken by many people in:
A) Iraq
B) Syria
C) Afghanistan
9) The United States military currently is stationed or operating out of how many countries on Iran’s border?
A) One
B) Two
C) Three
D) Four
E) Five
10) The United States support Saddam Hussein’s war against Iran:
A) Financially
B) By sharing military intelligence
C) By supplying conventional weapons and encouraging American allies to also do so
D) By providing the necessary ingredients for chemical and biological weapons
E) All of the above
11) Although Iran has large petroleum deposits, it has a shortage of gasoline for its own domestic use:
A) False
B) True
12) The position of President in Iran is the most powerful office in the country:
A) False
B) True
13) The majority of Muslims worldwide live in:
A) The Middle East
B) Europe
C) Asia
14) The majority of Muslims worldwide are:
A) Shi’ite
B) Sunni
15) The majority of Muslims worldwide are:
A) Arab
B) Kurdish
C) Africans
D) Asians
16) The number of times the United States has directly overthrown the government of Iran:
A) Zero
B) Once
17) The number of democratic Iranian governments overthrown by the United States:
A) Zero
B) One
18) The number of countries in Europe (not including Turkey) which are predominantely Muslim
A) None
B) One
C) Two
19) The Kurds are a separate ethnicity distinct from Arab or Turks:
A) False
B) True
20) Kurds are a significant minority in which countries:
A) Iraq
B) Turkey
C) Syria
D) All of the above
21) Number of dictators the United States has supported in Iran during the last 40 years:
A) None
B) One
22) Most Muslims in Lebanon today are:
A) Sunni
B) Shi’ite
23) The single largest social group in Lebanon today is:
A) Maronite Christians
B) Sunni Muslims
C) Shi’ite Muslims
24) Hizbullah (Hizb Allah) is a Lebanese organization whose name means:
A) God is Great
B) Death to Israel
C) Army of God
D) Party of God
25) Hizbullah (Hizb’Allah) was founded in:
A) 1918, after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire
B) 1948, after the defeat of Nazi Germany
C) 1982, after Israel’s invasion and occupation of south Lebanon
26) The current leader of Hizb’Allah is:
A) Hussein Talabani
B) Mohammed Sadr
C) Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
27) The government of Syria is predominantely:
A) Christian
B) Sunni Muslim
C) Shi’ite Muslim
28) The majority of the inhabitants of Syria are:
A) Christian
B) Shi’ite Muslim
C) Sunni Muslim
29) The majority of the inhabitants of Egypt are:
A) Christian
B) Shi’ite Muslim
C) Sunni Muslim
30) The president of Egypt is:
A) Anwar Sadat
B) Gemal Nasser
C) Hosni Mubarak
31) The president of Egypt has been in power since:
A) 2002
B) 1996
C) 1982
32) In the last 40 years, which countries have been run by military dictatorships:
A) Pakistan
B) Turkey
C) Iran
D) Iraq
E) All of the above
33) Of the dictatorships in the previous question, how many have been supported by the United States government:
A) Just Iraq
B) Just Iran and Iraq
C) Iran, Iraq and Turkey
D) All of the above
34) Most supporters of Al-Qaeda follow what kind of fundamentalist form of Islam:
A) Qutbism
B) Wahallism
C) Salafism
35) The governments of which countries fund, espouse and are based on Salafist theology:
A) Saudi Arabia
B) Qatar
C) Syria
D) A and B
26) There are large Shi’ite populations in which countries:
A) Iran
B) Azerbaijan
C) Pakistan
D) Bahrain
E) All of the above
27) Shi’ites are different than Sunnis because:
A) Shi’ites support terrorism and extremist violence
B) Differences over the leadership of the Muslim world after the prophet Mohammed’s death
28) Which religious book mentions Mary, the mother of Jesus, more often:
A) Jewish Torah
B) Christian Bible
C) Muslim Qur’an
29) Which religious book preaches toleration for different monotheistic religions:
A) Jewish Torah
B) Christian Bible
C) Muslim Qur’an
30) One of the prophet Mohammed’s first allies were several Jewish tribes in Medina (now in Saudi Arabia):
A) False
B) True
31) There is a functioning democracy in which country:
A) Jordan
B) Egypt
C) Saudi Arabia
D) Qatar
E) Bahrain
F) None of the above
31) Which of the following countries receives military aid from the United States:
A) Jordan
B) Egypt
C) Saudi Arabia
D) Qatar
E) Bahrain
F) All of the above
32) Martial law has been in effect in Egypt since:
A) No longer in effect
B) 9/11 attacks in 2001
C) 1996
D) 1982
33) Freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia is:
A) Encouraged
B) Discouraged
C) Illegal and prosecutable
34) The United States financially, miltiarily and politically supports which Shi’ite governments:
A) None
B) Bahrain
C) Azerbaijan and Bahrain
35) Over the last 50 years, the United States has primarily supported:
A) India
B) Pakistan
36) Number of military dictatorships that have ruled India since independence:
A) Five
B) Two
C) Zero
37) Number of military dictatorships that have ruled Pakistan since independence:
A) Zero
B) Two
C) Three
D) Four
38) Number of Pakistani military dictatorships supported by the United States:
A) Zero
B) Two
C) Three
D) Four
39) The current President of Pakistan is:
A) Shaukat Aziz
B) Farooq Lehari
C) Pervez Musharraf
40) The current President of Pakistan came to power:
A) In a democratic election
B) First in a military coup but was then elected democratically
C) Military coup only
41) Which countries recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan from 1996-2001:
A) Pakistan
B) Saudi Arabia
C) UAE
D) All of the above
42) The majority of the residents of Afghanistan today are ethnic:
A) Dari
B) Uzbeks
C) Balochs
D) Tajiks
E) Pashtun
43) The majority of the members of the current government of Afghanistan today are ethnic:
A) Pashtun
B) Balochs
C) Dari, Tajiks and Uzbeks
44) The current president of Afghanistan today is:
A) Sardar Mohammed Daud Khan
B) Yunus Qanuni
C) Abdul Rashid Dostum
D) Hamid Karzai
45) The current president of Afghanistan is a citizen of:
A) India
B) Afghanistan
C) United States
D) Both B and C
46) Some of the chemical weapons used by Saddam Hussein against the Kurds were supplied by the United States and its European allies:
A) False
B) True
47) The first government to use chemical weapons against civilians in Iraq was:
A) Ottoman Turk Empire
B) Saddam Hussein
C) British Empire
48) Poetry is highly regarded and deeply respected by much of the Muslim world:
A) False
B) True
49) The most respected and revered Iranian poet is:
A) Mohammed Khatami
B) Ayatollah Khomeini
C) Firdawsi
50) Iran’s national epic, the most treasured literary masterpiece is known as:
A) Baghavad Gita
B) Qur’an
C) Kama Sutra
D) Shahnama
Scoring:
45-50 right: Juan Cole, is that you?
35-44 right: John Conyers’ web designer
25-34 right: Ha’aretz subscriber
15-24 right: Reader of blogs
5-14 right: Reader of USA Today
0-4 right: Member of Congress or Bush administration
Good luck!
Pax
