(Encyclopedia) Mohammed, W. Deen (Warith Deen Mohammed), 1933–2008, American Muslim leader, b. Detroit as Wallace Dean Muhammad. The son of Nation of Islam (Black Muslim) leader Elijah Muhammad, he…
(Encyclopedia) Mahmud of GhaznaMahmud of Ghaznamäm&oomacr;dˈ, gŭzˈna [key], 971?–1030, Afghan emperor and conqueror. He defeated (c.999) his elder brother to gain control of Khorasan (in Iran)…
(Encyclopedia) haremharemhârˈəm [key] [Arabic], term applied to women's apartments in a Muslim household. In the ancient Arab world women enjoyed a certain amount of freedom. However, with the advent…
(Encyclopedia) Geertz, Clifford JamesGeertz, Clifford Jamesgĭrts [key], 1926–2006, American cultural anthropologist, b. San Francisco. He was a professor of anthropology at the Univ. of Chicago from…
(Encyclopedia) Ershad, Hussain Muhammad, 1930–2019, Bangladeshi military and political leader, b. Cooch Behar (now part of West Bengal, India). Commissioned in Pakistan's army in 1952, he was a…
(Encyclopedia) chant, general name for one-voiced, unaccompanied, liturgical music. Usually it refers to the liturgical melodies of the Byzantine, Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Anglican…
(Encyclopedia) Farabi, al-Farabi, al-äl-färäˈbē [key], d. 950, Islamic philosopher. He studied in Baghdad and later flourished in Aleppo as a sufi mystic (see Sufism). He died in Damascus. Al-Farabi…
(Encyclopedia) Pirenne, HenriPirenne, HenriäNrēˈ pērĕnˈ [key], 1862–1935, Belgian historian. He was for many years a professor of history at the Univ. of Ghent. A leader of Belgian passive resistance…
(Encyclopedia) SyriacSyriacsērˈēăkˌ [key], late dialect of Aramaic, which is a West Semitic language (see Afroasiatic languages). The early Christians of Mesopotamia and Syria gave the Greek name…
(Encyclopedia) Bulgars, EasternBulgars, Easternbŭlˈgärz, –gərz [key], Turkic-speaking people, who possessed a powerful state (10th–14th cent.) at the confluence of the Volga and the Kama, E European…
