English

• Islam


  A religion that believes in Allah and a messenger named Muhammad who received the message from the Angel Gabriel
• Muslim


  People who practice Islam
• Islam has more than 1.88 billion people
• Qur'an


  The holy book of Islam, meaning "The Recitation"
• Surah

  Chapters in the Qur'an
• Ayah

  Verses in the Qur'an, meaning "Sign from God"
• Five Pillars of Islam

  • Shahada (public & genuine acknowledgement of God & Prophet)
  • Salat (5 daily prayers)
  • Zakat (mandatory tax to support the poor)
  • Sawm (fasting from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan)
  • Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca)
• On Friday, Muslims go to mosques
• Hindu Caste System

  • Brahmins (priests)
  • Kshatriyas (warriors)
  • Vaishyas (merchants)
  • Shudras (slaves)
• Brahma

  Creator deity in Hinduism
• Vishnu

  Preserver deity in Hinduism
• Shiva

  Destroyer deity in Hinduism
• Hinduism believes in reincarnation
• Ramayana


  Hindu epic written by Maharshi Valmiki
• Key characters in Ramayana

  • Dasaratha (king of Ayodhya)
  • Kausalya (eldest queen, mother of Rama)
  • Kaikeyi (mother of Bharata)
  • Sumitra (mother of Lakshmana and Shatrughna)
  • Rama (eldest son of Dasaratha)
  • Sita (Rama's wife)
  • Lakshmana (Rama's loyal servant and brother)
  • Bharata (ruled Kosala while Rama was banished)
  • Ravana (10-headed demon king who abducted Sita)
  • Hanuman (monkey king)
• Ramanavami is the birthday celebration of Rama
• Mahabharata


  Longest Sanskrit epic, composed by Vyasa
• Key characters in Mahabharata


  • King Dushyant (ruler of ancient India, father of Bharata)
  • Shakuntala (wife of Dushyant, mother of Bharata)
  • Bharata (founder of Kuru dynasty)
  • King Shantanu (descendant of Bharata)
  • Ganga (damsel Shantanu met at Ganges River and married)
  • Vashishtha (sage who cursed the Vasus)
  • Vasus (8 gods cursed by Vashishtha)
  • Devavrata (8th son of Shantanu, later known as Bheeshma)
  • Satyavati (daughter of fishermen chief, married Shantanu)
  • Vyasa (son of Satyavati, master of Vedas)
• Bhishma vowed to remain a Brahmachari (celibate) and control when he dies
• Active Voice


  When the subject is the one performing the action of the verb (present tense)
• Passive Voice


  When the subject is the recipient of the action (past tense)
• Persian literature is the body of writings in New Persia/Modern Persia
• Persian Mythology Gods

  • Ahura Mazda (king of gods)
  • Angra Mainyu (principle of evil, chaos, discord)
  • Mithra (god of sun, covenants, contracts, kingship)
  • Hvar Kshaeta (god of full sun)
  • Ardvi Sura Anahita (goddess of fertility, health, water, wisdom, war)
  • Rashnu (angel, righteous judge of the dead)
  • Verethraghna (god who finds evil)
  • Tiri & Tishtrya (god of agriculture and rainfall)
  • Atar (god of divine element of fire)
  • Haoma (god of harvest, health, strength, vitality)
  • Vayu (god of wind and chases away evil spirits)
  • Zurvan (god of time)
• Haji Murad


  Persian short story by Sadegh Hedayat
• Key characters in Haji Murad

  • Haji Murad (protagonist, runs uncle's shop)
  • Shahrbanu (Haji Murad's wife)
  • Mashd Hossein (woman Haji Murad mistook as his wife)
• Haji Murad beat up his wife but stayed because he believed God would give them a child
• Haji Murad divorced his wife after 2 days
• Marduk


  Babylonian god who created the world from the spoils of battle
• Other Babylonian Mythology Gods

  • Apsu (god of fresh waters)
  • Tiamat (goddess of salt waters)
  • Mummu (god of the mist)
  • Ea (god of rivers, cleverest of the gods)
  • Nintu (birth goddess)
• Ea and Tiamat battled, and Marduk defeated Tiamat to rule the gods
• Nintu and Ea created humans from clay on Earth
• Article


  More than just words stitched together cohesively, it delivers values, advances knowledge, and can be persuasive or entertaining
• Parts of an Article


  • Intriguing title
  • Engaging introduction
  • Informative body
  • Impactful conclusion
• An article should have key information, an introduction that sets expectations, a body that expands on ideas, and a conclusion that wraps up the message
• Steps for writing an article


  • Find your target audience
  • Select a topic and attractive heading
  • Research thoroughly
  • Write a comprehensive draft
  • Proofread
  • Add images and infographics
• Lead


  The beginning of a news story that covers the 5 W's and H (who, what, when, where, why, how)
• News reports describe a timely event of interest, while editorials present the publisher's opinion
• Parts of a news article


  • Headline
  • Lead
  • Byline (author)
• Quotes express what someone said and are placed in quotation marks