(Encyclopedia) HarijansHarijanshârˈĭjănzˌ [key] [children of God], in India, individuals who are at the bottom of or outside the Hindu caste system. They were traditionally sweepers, washers of…
(Encyclopedia) Melaka or MalaccaMalaccaboth: məlăkˈə [key], state (1991 pop. 504,502), 640 sq mi (1,658 sq km), Malaysia, S Malay Peninsula, on the Strait of Malacca. Formerly one of the Straits…
(Encyclopedia) predestination, in theology, doctrine that asserts that God predestines from eternity the salvation of certain souls. So-called double predestination, as in Calvinism, is the added…
(Encyclopedia) philanthropy, the spirit of active goodwill toward others as demonstrated in efforts to promote their welfare. The term is often used interchangeably with charity. Every year vast sums…
(Encyclopedia) TurkicTurkictûrˈkĭk [key], group of languages forming a subdivision of the Altaic subfamily of the Ural-Altaic family of languages (see Uralic and Altaic languages). The Turkic group…
(Encyclopedia) BalkhBalkhbälkh [key], town, N Afghanistan, on a dried-up tributary of the Amu Darya River. One of the world's oldest cities, it is the legendary birthplace of the prophet Zoroaster.…
(Encyclopedia) Aga KhanAga Khanäˈgä khän [key], the title of the religious leader and imam of the Ismaili Nizari sect of Islam, originally bestowed by the Persian shah Fath Ali on Hasan Ali Shah,…
(Encyclopedia) Silk Road, ancient overland trade route linking Asia and Europe, consisting of a network of caravan routes running from China across central Asia to the shores of the Mediterranean.…
U.S. Department of State Background Note Index: Geography People History Government Political Conditions Economy Defense Foreign Relations U.S.-Iraqi Relations GEOGRAPHYIraq is bordered by…
(Encyclopedia) fundamentalism. 1 In Protestantism, religious movement that arose among conservative members of various Protestant denominations early in the 20th cent., with the object of maintaining…
