Ba'ath Party – a pan-Arab socialist party founded in Syria in 1943. Different factions of the Ba'ath Party hold power in Syria and formerly held power in Iraq. Sadaam Hussein was a member of the Ba'ath party.
ISIS – Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria, a.k.a. IS (Islamic State) and ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and Levant)
jihad – in Islam, a religious war of Muslims against unbelievers, often seen by fundamentalists as a duty by the Qur'an and traditions.
secular – attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis.
Shia Islam – the second largest denomination of Islam; Shiites are currently in power in Iraq.
Sunni Islam – the largest branch of Islam; ISIS is Sunni.