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Allah
(Encyclopedia)Allah ălˈə, äˈlə [key], [Arab.,=the God]. Derived from an old Semitic root refering to the Divine and used in the Canaanite El, the Mesopotamian ilu, and the biblical Elohim, the word Allah is u...Farouk
(Encyclopedia)Farouk färo͞okˈ [key], 1920–65, king of Egypt (1936–52), son and successor of Fuad I. After a short regency he acceded (1937) to the throne. A constitutional monarch, Farouk was frequently at o...Mecca
(Encyclopedia)Mecca măkˈə [key], city (1993 pop. 966,381), capital of the Hejaz, W Saudi Arabia. The birthplace c.a.d. 570 of Muhammad the Prophet, it is the holiest city of Islam, and the goal of the annual Mus...caliphate
(Encyclopedia)caliphate kălˈĭfˌ [key], the spiritual head and temporal ruler of the Islamic state. In principle, Islam is theocratic: when Muhammad died, a caliph [Arab.,=successor] was chosen to rule in his pl...Qur'an
(Encyclopedia)Qur'an or Koran kōrănˈ, –ränˈ [key] [Arab.,=reading, recitation], the sacred book of Islam. Revealed by God to the Prophet Muhammad in separate revelations over the major portion of the Prophet...Sokoto
(Encyclopedia)Sokoto sōkōˈtō, sōˈkətō [key], city (1987 est. pop. 164,000), NW Nigeria, on the Sokoto River. It is the commercial center for a wide region and a collection place for hides, skins, and peanut...Kurdufan
(Encyclopedia)Kurdufan kôrˌdəfănˈ [key], region (1983 pop. 3,093,294), S central Sudan. Kurdufan is divided into Northern and Southern Kurdufan states. Its terrain, generally level in the north, rises in the s...Idrisids
(Encyclopedia)Idrisids ĭdˈrĭsĭdzˌ [key], two historic Muslim families. 1 An Arab Shiite dynasty of Morocco (788–974), founded by Idris I, a descendant of caliph Ali. It was the first Shiite dynasty in the hi...Nimeiri, Muhammed Jaafar al-
(Encyclopedia)Nimeiri or Nimeiry, Muhammed Jaafar al- mo͞ohämˈmäd jäfärˈ äl-nĭmārˈē [key], 1930–, Sudanese army officer and politician. Early active in the Sudanese nationalist movement, he was tempor...Mazar-i-Sharif
(Encyclopedia)Mazar-i-Sharif mäzärˈ-ē-shärēfˈ [key], city (1988 est. pop. 131,000), capital of Balkh prov., N Afghanistan, near the Uzbekistan border. It is held sacred as the alleged burial place of Ali, so...Browse by Subject
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