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Young, Al

(Encyclopedia)Young, Al (Albert James), 1939-2021, Univ. of Calif., Berkeley (BA, 1969), African-American poet, b. Ocean Springs, Ms. The son of sharecroppers, Young'...

Ahmad Khan, Sir Sayyid

(Encyclopedia)Ahmad Khan, Sir Sayyid säˈyēd äkhmädˈ khän [key], 1817–98, Indian Muslim educator. His family was long connected with the Mughal court, but he entered the service of the British East India Co...

Hallaj, Hussein ibn Mansur al-

(Encyclopedia)Hallaj, Hussein ibn Mansur al- ho͞osānˈ ĭbn mänso͝orˈ [key], 857–922, Arabic-speaking Persian Muslim mystic and poet popularly known among Muslims as “the martyr of mystical love.” Born a...

Abu al-Ala al-Maarri

(Encyclopedia)Abu al-Ala al-Maarri äˈbo͞o äl-äläˈ äl-mä-är-rēˈ [key], 973–1057, Arab freethinking poet. He was born and lived most of his life in Maara, S of Aleppo. He was blind from childhood. Brill...

Abadi, Haidar Jawad Kadhim al-

(Encyclopedia)Abadi, Haidar Jawad Kadhim al-, 1952–, Iraqi political leader. A Shiite, Abadi received a doctorate in electrical engineering from the Univ. of Manchester (1981), then lived and worked in exile in B...

Bukhari, Muhammad ibn Ismail, al-

(Encyclopedia)Bukhari, Muhammad ibn Ismail, al- bo͞ok-härēˈ [key] (c.810–70), Arabic scholar, b. Bukhara. He traveled widely over Muslim regions and made an authoritative collection of the hadith, the traditi...

Bashir, Omar Hassan Ahmed al-

(Encyclopedia)Bashir, Omar Hassan Ahmed al- ōˈmär häˈsän äˈmĕd äl-bäshērˈ [key], 1944–, Sudanese military and political leader, president of Sudan (1994–2019). He graduated from the Sudanese milita...

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...

Chishti, Muin ad-Din Hasan

(Encyclopedia)Chishti, Muin ad-Din Hasan mo͞oēnˈ äd-dĭn häsänˈ chĭshˈtē [key], 1142–1236, Indian Muslim saint, b. Sistan, Persia. He founded a Sufi mystic order responsible for spreading Islamic teachi...

Ajmer

(Encyclopedia)Ajmer ăjmērˈ, əj– [key], former state, NW India. Now part of Rajasthan state, it formerly consisted of two detached areas surrounded by Rajasthan and was identical w...