Mideast Politics and Religon Quiz

Given the issues of the day and the current events in the news, I thought it would be great if we had a short three question quiz about religon and politics in the Mideast. The answers are at the bottom of the post. Enjoy!



Question #1:

Which branch of Islam is the dominant religous group of the nation of Iran and has complete control of the Iranian government:



A) Sunni

B) Shia



Question #2:

Which branch of Islam do the members of Al-Qaeda follow:



A) Sunni

B) Shia



Question #3:

Would a Shia or Sunni government provide material support to a violent extremist group of the opposing branch of Islam when the two branches have waged an often violent struggle against each other for over 1000 years?



A) Yes

B) No



Now check your answers at the bottom of the post.



Questions Answered Correctly:



3- You are a brilliant foriegn policy mind. The breadth and depth of your knowledge of geopolitics and religous affairs is astounding.



2- Not bad. You have a good grasp on the issues of the day but you could do better.



1- Well, there is room for improvement. Don't be discouraged, watch the evening news or visit websites other than ESPN.com or Facebook!



0- Great News!!! You are the presumptive Presidential Nominee for the Republican Party Arizona Senator John McCain. Continue talking about subjects that you obviously don't understand and rationalizing an irrational war.



That's right folks John McCain got all three questions wrong. From the washingtonpost.com :



http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/18/a_mccain_gaffe_in_jordan.html

Speaking to reporters in Amman, the Jordanian capital, McCain said he and two Senate colleagues traveling with him continue to be concerned about Iranian operatives "taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back."
Pressed to elaborate, McCain said it was "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate."



Fourtanately for Senator McCain, his pal Sen Lieberman was there to help his illiformed collegue.

It is all on video courtesy of the good folks at CBS News and YouTube:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=v6GBdyws5YU

The Answers

1) B

2) A

3) B

Hat tip to Daily Kos for first bringing Senator McCain's gaffe to my attention.

-Kyle