Glossary of Search Terms and People

There are two purposes for this section.  The first is to provide a short list of major search terms that can be used to locate articles, books, and websites about the events of September 11, 2001.  The second is to provide a quick and ready reference for names and terms you will encounter in your search.  Where hyperlinks appear, they are either to the official sites of the people mentioned or else to sources of objective and reliable information. 

Terms below are divided into four categories:  Flight Numbers, Afghan & Arabic Terms, People, Geographic, and Miscellaneous Terms.

Flight Numbers

(chronological by time of crash)

American Airlines Flight 11- flight from Boston to Los Angeles hijacked and crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center at 8:45 a.m. (EST).  Ninety-two passengers and crew included "Frasier" producer David Angell and Sun Microsystems executive Philip Rosenzweig.

United Flight 175-flight from Boston to Los Angeles hijacked and crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m. (EST).  Sixty-five passengers and crew included hockey player Garnet "Ace" Bailey and Father Francis Grogan.

American Airlines Flight 77- flight from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon at 9:43 a.m. (EST).  Sixty-four passengers and crew included National Geographic writer James Joe Ferguson and attorney/political pundit Barbara Olson (the wife of Solicitor General Theodore Olson).

United Flight 93-  flight from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco crashed into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, at 10:10 a.m..  It is believed that some of the forty-five passengers and crew (who included Todd Beamer and Mark Bingham) thwarted the original attempt to crash into Camp David.

Afghan & Arabic Terms

(click here for some important notes about Afghan and Arabic spelling and phraseology)

afghani- the unit of currency in Afghanistan.  The exchange rate fixed by the Taliban was 3000:$1 U.S.

burqa (a.s. burka)- a garment women are legally required to wear (on penalty of beating) by the Taliban, its distinguishing characteristic is a head to foot veil which completely covers the body and face other than a small slit for the eyes. The garment allows no peripheral vision and its internal temperature can reach more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit.  

buzkashi- the official national sport of Afghanistan, it is most similar to polo though not as structured.  Mounted players score points by maneuvering a headless and hoofless calf or goat with wooden mallets across their team's goal.

Dari- the second of the two official languages of Afghanistan, it is spoken by the majority of Afghani urban dwellers.  Its native speakers are known as Tajiks.

Hadith(s)- a collection of sayings and anecdotes of the prophet Muhammad not included in the Quran but accepted by most Muslims as sacred.

(al) Islam- (literal translation "submission") the religion founded in the 7th century by the prophet Muhammad and currently practiced worldwide by more than one billion Muslims.  Islam is second only to Christianity in the number and diversity of its followers.

Jamiat-i-Islami (full name al-Jamiat-i-Islami Mujahidin Afghanistani)- political party whose name translates as "Union of Islamic Afghan soldiers"  headed by Professor Burhannudin Rabbani.  Jamiat-i-Islami lost control of the country in a 1996 coup and now has a government in exile in northeast Afghanistan.  Jamiat-i-Islami controls approximately 10% of the Afghan population (i.e. approximately 2.6 million people).  

Jihad (a.s. jihaad)-literally meaning "struggle", a Jihad is a defensive war by an Islamic nation against an unjust regime, particularly a non-Islamic regime.  (The word is  not synonymous with "Holy War", though even reliable news media frequently use it in such a way.)

kahn- a wealthy landowner in Afghanistan.

Loya Jirga- an assembly of elders and tribal leaders with political authority similar to that of an informal parliament.

malik- the leader of a village; a local political authority.

masjid- (see also mosque), the proper term for an Islamic house of worship.

mirab- the man in a village or community in charge of water distribution; an extremely important position in Afghanistan, where only a small fraction of the land is arable.

mosque -- mo/ssp/icons/ogon.gifsk. Forms: 4 moseak, moseache; 6 muskey, muskaye, 6-7 mosquee, 7 moschy, -ee, -ie, -ey, muskie, mos'keh, moskuee, moski(e, -ee, mosquy, mozki, 7 mosquey; 6-7 moschea, 7 muskia; 7 mosquo, mosco, moscho; 7 moseque, 7-8 mosch(e, 8-9 mosk, 6- mosque. [In 16th c. mosquee (later shortened to mosque), a. Fr. mosquée, a. Ital. moschea (whence G. moschee), a. Arab. masgid (so pronounced in N. Africa; elsewhere masjid), f. sagada (sajada) to worship. Cf. early mod.Fr. mosquete, Sp. mezquita, Pg. mesquita, Ital. meschita (see mesquita1). Eng. writers have occas. used forms directly taken from Arabic, as masjid, mosged, muschid. Some of the forms above are from Italian; the precise history of the forms in Mandeville is obscure. ]  (Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition)

    1. A Muslim temple or place of worship.

mujahidin (a.s.= mujahideen, mujaheddin; singular: mujahid)- specifically, Islamic soldiers who fight in a jihad, though  more frequently used as a word for any group of Islamic soldiers.    mullah- the title given to a man who has memorized the Quran, Hadiths, or large sections of both.  It is the title of Mohammed Omar,  leader of the Taliban.

Nowruz- Afghan New Year, celebrated on the first day of Spring.

al-Qaeda (a.s. al-Kaida, al-Kaeda, al-Qaida)- literal translation: "the Base". al-Qaeda is the extreme militant fundamentalist Muslim organization whose members are believed responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks on America as well as many other acts of terrorism throughout the world.  al-Qaeda is led by Osama bin Laden and is believed to have active chapters, or "cells", in more than 60 countries (including the United States).   

(The Holy) Quran (a.s. al-Quran, Qur'an, Koran)- the Islamic holy book believed by Muslims to have been dictated to the Prophet Muhammad by the Archangel Jabril (known to English speaking Christians as Gabriel).  

Pashtuns- the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, it includes approximately forty percent of the population.  The official language of the Pashtuns is Pushtu.  

Pashtunwali- the code of tribal beliefs and practices of the Pashtuns.  It was as much a part of the belief and legal system of the Taliban as Islam.

Purdah- the Islamic segregation of the roles of men and women.  In Fundamentalist Islamic countries it is very strict (e.g. women are required to be veiled when in public) and nowhere was it as extreme as in Afghanistan under the Taliban. 

Pushtu (a.s. Pukhtu, Pashto)- the most widely spoken of the two official languages of Afghanistan.  It is closely related to Persian with heavy influences from numerous Indian dialects.  The written version is recorded in an Arabic script.  

Radio Shari'a- the official radio station of the Taliban used for political announcements and propaganda.  (See Shari'a.)

Shari'a- (a.s. Sharia)-the term for Islamic law as set forth in the Qur'an and Hadith.

al-Shaitan- the Arabic word for "adversary" or "enemy", it is the origin of the biblical name "Satan" but it is not synonymous with that entity.  (The Arabic name for the biblical Satan is al-Iblis.)  References by Fundamentalist Muslims to America as "the Great Satan" are actually referring to America as a tempter that leads the righteous from Islam.

Shia/Shi'itism (a.s. Shiah, Shi'ite)- an Islamic religion begun in the medieval era by Muslims who believed the male descendants of Muhammad should be his successors in political and religious authority.  Shi'ites account for approximately 15% of Afghans and are the majority faction in Iran and Iraq.   Sikh -a minority religion in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India with beliefs that blend tenets of Islam and Hinduism.  Their holy book is the Shri Guru Granth Sahib.     Suni (a.s. Sunni)- the largest division of the Islamic faith, it was begun in the medieval era when its followers accepted the Caliphs of Baghdad as the political and religious successors of the Prophet Muhammad.  Literally meaning "middle", it is generally considered the more moderate branch of Islam (although Osama bin Laden is a Sunni). 

Taliban- (a.s. Taleban) literally meaning "students" ("al-talib" is the term for a student of Islamic scripture ; "al-Taliban" is its plural), the Taliban is the extreme Fundamentalist organization that controls 90% of the land mass and population of Afghanistan.  They are recognized as the rightful government of Afghanistan only by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.  Taliban rule is based on literal interpretation of the Quran and on ancient tribal beliefs (including those of Pashtunwali).

Tajik- a major ethnic group of Iranian ancestry who dominate the north of Afghanistan.  Their native language is Dari.  

People

(for Arabic names, please refer to the notes about Afghan and Islamic translation)

Ashcroft, John (1942-) former governor and senator from Missouri appointed Attorney General by the Bush Administration.

Atef, Mohammed (ca. 1950-2001?) also known as Abu Hafs al-Masri, bin Laden's chief lieutenant in al-Qaida and father-in-law to at least two of bin Laden's many children.  He is believed to have been killed in an airstrike on Kabul in November 2001, but this has not been confirmed.

Atta, Mohammed (d.2001)- Egyptian born suspect in the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11. His family denies his involvement but the evidence against him is substantial.  A note he wrote on the morning of the attack read "Be prepared to meet your God.  Be ready for this moment."

bin Laden, Osama (1956-), (a.s. Usama bin Laden, a.s. BinLaden) Saudi Arabian born multimillionaire leader of the Islamic extremist organization al-Quaeda and primary suspect as mastermind of the the acts of September 11, 2001.  Formerly an officer in Afghanistan's war against the Soviet Union, he has been granted the protection of the Taliban.  

bin Laden, Sabiha (ca. 1960), a recently divorced ex-wife of Osama bin Laden who along with their son Abdullah gave interviews to English newspapers stating, among other claims, that bin Laden was planning a bizarre suicide videotape should his capture seem eminent.  (Some reports state that she was divorced in order for Osama bin Laden to take Mohammed Omar's daughter as his fourth wife [Islam forbids a man to have more than four wives at one time].)

Bush, George W. (1946-), former governor of Texas sworn in as the forty-third president and Commander-in-Chief of the United States of America in January 2001.   Winning with a majority of the nation's electoral votes and a minority of it's popular vote, President Bush's election was the most hotly contested since Reconstruction.

Carter, Jimmy (1925-), thirty-ninth president of the United States (1977-1981) and current Sumter County resident.  He issued "The Carter Doctrine" and boycotted the 1980 Olympics, both in protest of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Cheney, Dick (1941-), successful businessman, long time public servant and currently Vice-President of the United States.

Fleischer, Ari (1961-), White House Press Secretary (i.e. the official spokesperson for the Bush Administration and their  liaison to the news media)

Giuliani, Rudolph (1944-), often controversial mayor of New York City whose popularity has enjoyed a major upswing due to his skillful handling of the World Trade Center disaster.  His term expired in January 2001 and he was replaced by incumbent Michael Bloomberg.

Hekmatyar, Gulbuddin- former prime minister ousted by the Taliban.  Formerly a political enemy of Burhanuddin Rabanni, the two are now allies against the Taliban.

Karimov, Islam (1938-)- president of Uzbekistan who granted the U.S. permission to use air bases in his country for humanitarian missions but not for military endeavors.

Lindh, John Walker (see "Walker, John")

Masoud, Ahmad Shah (1956-2001), (a.s. Masad, Massad, Massoud) known as the Lion of the Panjshir; leader of the Northern Alliance guerilla movement in the service of Burhanuddin Rabbani.  He was killed by agents of Osama bin Laden who infiltrated his camp by posing as journalists two days before the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Mueller, Robert S., III (1944-), recently confirmed as the sixth Director of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), he was appointed by the Bush Administration upon the retirement of Louis Freeh.  (The Directorship of the FBI is not a cabinet position and does not change with administrations.)  The FBI is responsible for investigating domestic acts of terrorism.

Musharraf, General Pervez (1943-), acting president of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and leader of the military coup which exiled previous president Benazir Bhutto.

Muslim Brotherhood- philosophical movement founded in Egypt in 1928 which spread through the Muslim world and became the heart of modern Islamic fundamentalism.  It urges a return to the traditional values and literal interpretation of the Qur'an and Hadiths and condemns secular influences.  Osama bin Laden is an advocate of the Brotherhood as are many political leaders throughout the Islamic world.

Najibulla, Mohammed (1947-1996) (a.s. Najibullah, Najibulah)- Soviet Union backed president of Afghanistan whose regime attracted international attention for its brutality.  He was driven from Kabul in 1989 but remained politically powerful for years.  He was beaten, hanged, and shot by the Taliban during their 1996 coup.

Northern Alliance-the government in exile of Afghanistan headed by Barhanuddin Rabbani situated in the northeast of the country while the Taliban was in power.  (Prior to the U.S. deposition of the Taliban they controlled only 5% of the country and lost their greatest general when Ahmad Masoud was killed.)  They were accused of numerous human rights violations on their own and their future in the government of Afghanistan is yet to be decided.  

Omar, Mullah Mohammed (ca. 1960-) (a.s. Umar, sometimes called Mullah Mohammed Omar Akhund), leader of the Taliban. His title of mullah is technically inaccurate though his more common title was "Commander of the Faithful". Little is known of him biographically save that he lost an eye as a young man during a battle against Soviet forces and his fourth wife is the daughter of Osama bin Laden.  He refuses to be photographed or recorded but addressed the nation through Radio Shari'a.  His whereabouts since the fall of Kabul and Kandahar are unknown.

Powell, Colin (1937-) retired 4 star general and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, currently the 65th Secretary of State of the United States of America.

Putin, Vladimir (1952-), President of the Russian Federation and a supporter of the United States military activities in Afghanistan.  He offered medical and military support after the September 11 attacks.

Qutb, Sayyid (1906-1966), Egyptian educator whose stay in the United States (1948-51) made him a rabid enemy of western secularism.  He returned to Egypt where he joined the Muslim Brotherhood and became one of the most influential writers in Islamic Fundamentalism.  (He was imprisoned and executed for conspiring against Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser.)

Rabbani, Professor Burhanuddin (1941-) (a.s. Rabani, Rabanni)  leader of the political party Jamiat-i-Islami and president of Afghanistan prior to the capture of Kabul by the Taliban.   Still recognized as the legitimate president by all United Nations member nations except Pakistan.

Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)- an underground and outlawed group dedicated to the alleviation of suffering by females under the regime.  Afghanistan has received almost universal condemnation (including from other fundamentalist Islamic nations) for their violation of the rights of women.

Rice, Condoleeza (1954-), Stanford University professor appointed as National Security Advisor (the first African-American woman to hold that position) by George W. Bush.

Ridge, Tom (1945-), former governor of Pennsylvania named Director of Homeland Security (a new post) by President Bush.  Governor Ridge is responsible for airport safety and other domestic terrorist security measures.

Rumsfeld, Donald (1932-), 21st Secretary of Defense, appointed by George W. Bush and sworn on January 20, 2001.

Shah, Mohammed Zahir (1914-), king of Afghanistan from 1933-73.  His reign was considered enlightened and progressive but very weak.  He was deposed by his brother-in-law and has lived in very comfortable (courtesy of Arabian contributions) exile in Rome ever since.  In spite of his age, he hopes to be reinstated as king by the United States and has many supporters in Afghanistan and abroad.

Spann, John Micheal (1969-2001), Alabama born CIA officer (formerly an officer in the Marines) killed in a riot by Taliban prisoners in Mazar-e-Sharif on November 25, 2001.  He was the first combat related fatality of Operation Infinite Justice.  (One of the prisoners involved in the riot was American born John Walker.)

Tenet, George (1953-), director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and in charge of intelligence information gathering in Afghanistan and all other foreign lands.

Walker, John (1981-) (birth name John Walker Lindh, Arabic name Suleyman al-Faris, alias  Abdul Hamid) California native who converted to Islam at 16, traveled to Yemen to study Arabic, and after an odyssey through Pakistan became involved with al-Qaeda.  He was interviewed by CNN shortly after his arrest and was returned to the United States for trial in January 2002.  The charges included "conspiracy to kill United Citizens abroad".

Yousef, Ramzi (a.s. Youssef, many aliases)- Terrorist with suspected ties to al-Quaida whose February 26, 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center killed six, injured hundreds, and caused more than $300 million worth of damage.  He is currently serving a 240 year prison sentence.

Zaeef, Abdul Salam (a.s. Zaif, a.s. Salaam)- The Taliban ambassador to Pakistan (the only nation to recognize them as the legitimate government of Afghanistan since the September 11, 2001 events) and their sole spokesman outside of the nation.

al-Zawahiri, Ayman (1950-), Egyptian born surgeon and militant Fundamentalist extremist believed to be bin Laden's long time mentor and chief intelligence advisor.

GEOGRAPHIC NAMES

Kabul (a.s. Qabul)- the traditional capitol of Afghanistan.  It fell to U.S. forces and the Northern Alliance on November 13, 2001.

Kandahar (a.s. Qandahar)- an ancient city in southern Afghanistan named for its founder Alexander the Great (his name in Arabic is al-Qandahar).  Kandahar was the hometown of Muhammad Omar and under the Taliban it served as the seat of government in Afghanistan.  In December 2001 Kandahar became the last major city in Afghanistan to fall to U.S. forces when it was evacuated by the Taliban. 

Mazar-e-Sharif- a strategically important as well as the holiest city in Afghanistan.  Its religious importance is based on the great Masjid that houses a robe believed to have belonged to Muhammad.   On November 9, 2001 it was the first major city captured by the Northern Alliance and U.S. forces.

Tora Bora- a mountainous region in southeastern Afghanistan riddled with thousands of caves and caverns.  It was a stronghold of al-Qaida and believed to be the base of Osama bin Laden (though whether he remains there is unknown).

MISCELLANEOUS TERMS

Bamiyan Buddhas- two enormous statues of Buddha carved in the 3rd century A.D. in the valley of Baliyan in Afghanistan.  The taller was, at 165 feet, the tallest statue of Buddha on earth. In spite of international pleas and offers of huge sums of money to spare them, the Taliban demolished the statues in spring of 2001 with explosives and mortar fire.

Enduring Freedom- the name (current as of this writing) of the operation originally known as Infinite Justice.

Infinite Justice- the original term applied by the Bush Administration to the military operation to capture and punish the terrorists responsible for the September 11, 2001, events. The name was changed when complaints were raised that it sounded too much like a "holy war".

"Suitcase Nukes"- nuclear bombs small enough to fit into suitcases but powerful enough to kill up to 100,000 people if detonated in a large metropolitan area. There are more than one hundred missing from the arsenal of the former Soviet Union; best evidence indicates that al-Qaida is in possession of a large number if not most of them.

(U.S.S.) Cole- a United States destroyer attacked by suicide terrorists believed linked to al-Qauida who guided an explosives filled raft into its side as it refueled in Aden, Yemen, on October 12, 2000.  Seventeen sailors were killed and many more wounded.

World Trade Center- a complex of skyscrapers built by the Rockefeller family on Manhattan's lower east side in 1972-73.  At 1,368 feet the north tower was briefly the tallest building in the world (the 1,470 foot Sears Tower was completed the following year).  On February 26, 1993, Ramzi Youssef detonated a bomb in the parking deck killing six people and causing $300 million worth of damage.

Some brief notes about Afghan and Arabic terms and proper names:

There is no standard for the translating Arabic words or terms into English.  The reasons include the extreme dissimilarity between the Arabic alphabet and the Latin alphabet and the fact that scholars generally translate Arabic terms into a particular western dialect whose rules of spelling differs from that of other western dialects.  Consequently, the same word or name may appear in different books, articles, and websites with a wide variety of spellings.   

For example, the most common proper name on Earth is that of the founder of Islam.  The most common Latin alphabet spelling of his name is currently Muhammad, though other spellings include Mohammed, Mohammad, Muhammed, Mahomet, and Mohammet.  Though some are less used than others, all are considered correct.  

In this glossary, Arabic search terms and proper names appear after their most common spelling.  The most common alternate spellings (a.s.)  appear in parentheses following the term, such as

Muhammad (a.s. Mohammed, Mohammad, Muhammed), founder of the Islamic religion.

Whenever there are two or more frequent spellings of a term you may want to consider using the Boolean indicator "OR" in constructing a search.  

Also, the prefix "al-" precedes many Arabic nouns (e.g. al-Qaida, al-Qu'ran).  There is no exact English translation; a simple explanation is that it means "the" as one might use the term "THE George Washington" to distinguish the president George Washington from a local merchant who happens to have the same name, thus al-Islam connotes "THE" Islam (submission) from any other use of the term.  In searching it can usually be dropped without harming the search results (e.g. search for "Qaida" should bring mostly the same results as a search for "al-Qaida").  It is not used when alphabetizing.

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