A White Lie

by Madeeha Hafez Albatta

  Martyr (Al Shahid in Arabic): Refers to a person killed or who sacrificed their life for their country or for just causes.

  Mulokhia: A type of mallow, the leaves of which are finely chopped and made into a popular Palestinian soup.

  Muezzin: Muslim crier who proclaims the hours of prayer from the minaret of the mosque.

  Mukhtar (pl. makhateer): Male head and decision-maker of an extended family or clan.

  Nakba: The catastrophe, referring to the mass expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from British Mandate Palestine during Israel’s creation between 1947 and 1949.

  Qersh: See Maleem.

  Piaster: Monetary unit (qersh in Arabic), equal to 1/100 of a Palestinian pound of the time (before the Nakba and the destruction of Palestine).

  Ramadan: Islamic holy month, during which there is fasting during daylight hours and a meal at nightfall and before daybreak.

  Sheikh: The title Sheikh is used to refer to Muslim scholars with a high level of Islamic knowledge and to those scholars who graduated from Al Azhar University.

  Shabbat: Jewish sabbath.

  Sham: During the Ottoman Empire, the people of Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria were known as the people of Sham (the Levant).

  Shari’a: Islamic religious law.

  Sharkas: Minority group in Jordan believed to be descended from Mamluks, who originally came from the Caucasus. They shared the same culture and language of the Ottoman Turks.

  Shash (pl. shashat): Traditional Palestinian women’s long headdress, which covers the upper body to the waist. Sometimes twisted and tied at the waist of a tawb like a belt.

  Sumud: Steadfastness.

  Tawb (pl. tiab): Traditional Palestinian women’s long embroidered gown with long sleeves. Each Palestinian village had a particular embroidery pattern that distinguished it and its people from other villages.

  Tawjihi: Graduating or senior certificate from high school, the results of which determine whether the student is eligible for university study.

  Um: Mother (of); generally used with the name of a woman’s firstborn son rather than her first name; e.g., Um Ahmad is the mother of Ahmad, her first son.

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