25th ID: | |
The 25th Infantry Division was responsible for the Northern Area of Iraq at this time. The 10th battalion reports to the 25th ID. |
99 Names of God: | |
God is referred to by 99 names/attributes in the Quran. |
Abbasid: | |
A dynasty of Caliphs that claimed authority over all Muslims. The Abassid came to power in 750 AD and were forced from Baghdad by the Mongol invasion in 1258 AD. Because they claimed authority on the basis of descent from Abbas (the uncle of the messenger Muhammad), the Abbasid were very suspicious of the sayyids (who were actual descendants of the messenger). As a result, they often kept the Imams under arrest to separate them from their followers and control any attempt to revolt against Abbasid authority. |
Abu Hassan: | |
Literally, the father of Hassan. An honorific that refers to a man as the father of his oldest son. Calling a man by his given name instead of his honorific implies that he has no sons. |
Adhan: | |
The call to prayer. |
Ali: | |
The cousin and son-in-law of the messenger Muhammad. |
Ashura : | |
Literally the tenth. A holiday celebrated on the 10th of Muharram to commemorate the martyrdom of Hussein. |
Askari: | |
The Askari mosque (famous for its golden dome) and shrine in Samarra, Iraq where the 10th and 11th Imams are buried. A shrine to the Hidden Imam, Muhammad Mahdi, is also maintained in the Askari. On February 22, 2006 (23rd of Muharram, 1427 AH), armed men broke into the Askari and used explosives to blow up the dome. They returned on June 13, 2007 (27th Jumada Al-Awwal, 1428 AH) and blew up the minarets. |
Ayatollah: | |
Literally, miraculous sign of God. A very high rank of cleric. |
Balad: | |
A large air base about 40 miles north of Bagdad. |
Caliph: | |
Literally successor. A successor of the messenger Muhammad who claimed the authority to rule the Muslim world. |
CH-46: | |
A large helicopter capable of transporting 25 infantrymen and their equipment. |
CINC : | |
Commander IN Chief. A four star general or admiral. A theater commander. |
CNO : | |
Casualty Notification Officer. When a military man is killed in action, a CNO is assigned to notify the next of kin. |
CO: | |
Commanding Officer. The battalion CO is usually a lieutenant colonel. |
COIN : | |
COunter INsurgency warfare. |
Defense Language Institute: | |
The Defense Language Institute is located in Monterey, CA, and provides intensive language training to prepare military personnel to work as translators. |
Dinar: | |
Iraqi currency . |
E5: | |
The enlisted rank of sergeant. |
Foggy Bottom: | |
The location of the State Department's head quarters. |
FSO: | |
Foreign Service Officer. FSOs are employed by the State Department and usually work in Embassies and Consulates throughout the world. |
Hadith: | |
The collection of acts or sayings ascribed by tradition to the messenger Muhammad. |
Hawzah: | |
A seminary. |
Houris: | |
The virgins of paradise. |
HQ: | |
Head Quarters. |
Hunut: | |
The placement of Camphor on the deceased. |
Hussein: | |
The grandson of the messenger Muhammad who was martyred by the Caliph Yazid I and is buried in Karbala. |
IED: | |
Improvised Explosive Device. |
J2: | |
Theater Intelligence Office. |
J3: | |
Theater Operations Office. |
Jafari Fiqh: | |
The legal precedents from a particular school of Islamic jurisprudence. |
Kaaba: | |
The holiest shrine in Islam. It is a black cube roughly 60 feet on each side and is located inside the Haram Mosque in Mecca. |
Karbala: | |
A city in Iraq. The site of the shrine and tomb of Hussein, the grandson of the messenger Muhammad. |
Khums: | |
Literally the fifth. A fifth of all income earned beyond what is necessary to live is owed to the descendants of the messenger Muhammad. |
LAV: | |
Light Armored Vehicle. |
Muhammad Mahdi: | |
The twelfth imam who is hidden from humanity, but will return at some time in the future. Muhammad Mahdi will fight and win the war to establish a just government over the entire world. |
Marja: | |
Formally, Marja e Taqlid. The highest rank of Muslim scholar – equivalent to grand ayatollah. The marja is an authority worthy of immitation or taqlid. |
Mike mike: | |
The NATO phonetic designation for the letter “m” is mike. Mike mike is how the military refers to millimeter or mm. |
Misagh: | |
Iranian made surface to air missiles. They use technology licensed from China, which is widely believed to have been stolen from the United States Stinger design. |
MNF: | |
The Multi-National Forces command in Iraq. |
Muezzin: | |
The person who calls Muslims to prayer. |
Muharram: | |
The first month in the Muslim calendar. |
Mujtahid: | |
A qualified scholar capable of discerning God's will in a particular matter even in situations not explicitly covered by an authoritative text. |
NCO: | |
Noncommissioned Officer. |
Phrog: | |
Pronounced frog. An informal name for the CH-46 helicopter – a troop and cargo transport. |
Pylon Turn: | |
A tactic employed by AC-130 gunships. Since the cannon on the AC-130 are mounted to fire perpendicular to the axis of the fuselage, the plane can keep its guns on target by circling over it. The tactic is referred to as a pylon turn. |
Qiblah: | |
The direction to Mecca. |
Rakat: | |
The basic unit of prayer in Islam. |
Ramadan: | |
The ninth month in the Muslim calendar. Muslims are required to fast during the day throughout the month. As soon as the month is over, they celebrate the breaking of the fast. |
Resalah: | |
A book of basic questions and answers on everyday matters published by a Marja e Taqlid to help ordinary Muslims understand how to adhere to the faith. |
RPG: | |
Rocket Propelled Grenade. While propelled by a rocket, this weapon is a shaped charge designed to punch through armor – not a grenade. |
S1: | |
Personnel Officer. The battalion S1 is usually a senior captain. |
S2: | |
Intelligence Officer. The battalion S2 is usually a senior captain. |
S3: | |
Operations Officer. The battalion S3 is usually a senior captain. |
S4: | |
Logistics Officer. The battalion S4 is usually a senior captain. |
Salahad Din: | |
A province in Iraq named after a 12th century Muslim warrior. |
Salam: | |
The wishing of peace upon the messenger Muhammad. |
Salat: | |
Prayer. |
SAM: | |
Surface to Air Missile. |
Sayyid: | |
A male descendant of the messenger Muhammad. |
Sharia: | |
Muslim law.. |
Sidr: | |
A tree found in the Middle East. It is reputed to have medicinal properties and is mentioned in the Quran. It is also known as the Beri tree or the Lote tree. |
Spectre: | |
The NATO designation of an AC-130H gunship, armed with cannon of various caliber. |
Sura: | |
A chapter in the Quran. |
Takbir: | |
The phrase Allahu Akbar, or God is The Greatest. |
Talqin: | |
A final exhortation to the deceased to keep the faith. |
Tashahhud: | |
The statement in praise of God made toward the end of the daily prayers. |
Tayammum: | |
The ritual cleansing with dirt that can be used only when water is unavailable. |
Tikriti Tyrant: | |
Saddam Hussein was from Tikrit, Iraq. |
Twenty-fifth ID: | |
The Twenty-fifth Infantry Division was the Army division in command of the northern area of Iraq in late 2006 and 2007. The tenth battalion reports to the twenty-fifth ID. |
Umayyad: | |
A dynasty of Caliphs that took power after the death of Ali and ruled the Muslim world from Damascus, Syria. They were deposed by the Abbasid in 750 AD, after which their authority was limited to some parts of Spain. |
Wahhabi: | |
A denomination within Islam that condemns shrines to dead men as idolatry and apostasy. Many of the adherents do not even call themselves 'Wahhabi', because the term derives from an 18th century reformer, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. They see themselves as followers of God, not the mortal man Wahhab. |
Wahshat: | |
Obligatory prayers offered the night after the burial. |
XO: | |
Executive Officer. The battalion XO is usually a major and is second in command to the CO. |
Yazid: | |
The caliph whose forces martyred Hussein at Karbala. |
Zainab: | |
Hussein's sister. |
Zuhr Salat: | |
Noon prayer. |
