erences between the groups. But as far as the blood feud between them, it is similar to the European religious wars of the majority Catholics and minority Protestants. See also COLONIALISM; HINDUISM; ISLAMIST; JIHAD; MOSQUE “AT” GROUND ZERO; ORIENTAL; SEPTEMBER 11, 2001; SIKHISM; TURBAN.
Adjective, from the Arabic “aslama,” to submit, as to God. Related to the Arabic for Muslim, literally, one who submits to God. Similar to the Christian “supplicant,” Latin for one who kneels down, as in prayer to God. Caution for set phrases like “Islamic fundamentalist” and “Islamic terrorist.” See ISLAMIST.
Caution. Similar to the adjectival “Islamic,” but now used with the connotation of “religious fundamentalist” and the further connotation of “possible or actual terrorist.” As with Christians and Jews, Muslim religious fundamentalism rarely expresses itself in terrorism. See JIHAD; MOSQUE “AT” GROUND ZERO; PEARL HARBOR; SEPTEMBER 11, 2001; SIKHISM; SUICIDE BOMBING; TURBAN.
Avoid, a slur. A legacy of World War II. See CHINAMAN; GOOK; INTERNMENT; JAPAN; NIP; PEARL HARBOR; SLANT; SLOPE; VIETNAMESE SLURS.
The world’s third-largest economy behind the United States, then China. With China and India, Japan makes up one-quarter of the world economy. Economic stagnation since 1990s. Japan’s cultural influence is enormous, from Nintendo to Hello Kitty to Zen. Land mass smaller than California. Historical enmity with China, Korea, Philippines and others. World War II and the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor are the source of many racial slurs by Americans. Capital: Tokyo. Population: 127 million (2012 estimate). Proportion of population younger than 15: about one-seventh.
Language: Japanese (English spoken in commerce). Faith: Shintoism and Buddhism. Ethnic groups: Japanese (99 percent). Literacy: 99 percent. (Source: World Factbook.) See BUDDHISM, Zen; GOOK; JAP; JAPANESE NAMES; NIP; PEARL HARBOR; SHINTOISM; SLANT; SLOPE; YELLOW PERIL; YELLOW SKIN.
In the United States, Chinese and Japanese are the Asian ethnic groups longest in residence (Filipinos are not far behind, but they have few restaurants). Sushi (small pieces of raw or cooked fish on rice), sashimi (raw fish sliced thinly) and tempura (seafood or vegetables dipped in batter and deep-fried) are familiar to many Americans. Ramen has long been the stuff of legend in Japan, as well as in American college dormitories. Despite its inclusion in “Pan-Asian” restaurants, Japan’s austere cuisine would never be mistaken for other cuisine in Asia.
In Japan, typically family name first, personal name second. But in the United States, Western word order is common. Women’s names often end in -ko, or “child,” as in Michiko.
Often translated as “holy war,” but, narrowly, it is a personal spiritual duty. “Jihad bis saif,” Arabic for “jihad by the sword” is armed conflict and holy war. “Jihad” is Arabic for “struggle,” as with one’s relationship to God. One of the many interpretations of jihad would be something similar to the Christian idea of penance. Nonetheless, “jihadist” is now often used to describe a religious extremism that can take violent form. See ISLAM; ISLAMIST; MOSQUE “AT” GROUND ZERO; SEPTEMBER 11, 2001; SRI LANKA; SUICIDE BOMBING.
One of the world’s most unstable regions. A disputed border area high in the frozen mountains of the Western Himalayas between India and
Pakistan. In 1949, after the first of three wars, the nations agreed to a cease-fire line that was poorly defined. The agreement said the line was to continue “north to the glaciers.” In 1984, low-level skirmishes broke out between Indian and Pakistani forces, but flared into major clashes in the summer of 1999, when India and Pakistan had both become nuclear powers. See INDIA; PAKISTAN.
Massacre of civilians in Cambodia by the Communist Khmer Rouge in mid-1970s. Broadly, any site of mass killing. Coined by Dith Pran (1942-2008), a Cambodian refugee and later a photojournalist for the New York Times. Also the title of an Academy Award-winning film (1984) chronicling Dith’s epic escape from Cambodia.
No significant