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Haftar, Khalifa

(Encyclopedia)Haftar, Khalifa, 1943–, Libyan military officer. He participated in the 1969 coup that brought Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi to power and then held a variety of posts in the military. In the 1980s he w...

harem

(Encyclopedia)harem hârˈəm [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 of Islam, the ve...

Freer, Charles Lang

(Encyclopedia)Freer, Charles Lang frēr [key], 1856–1919, American art collector, b. Kingston, N.Y. He gave to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., his entire collection and the building (designed acc...

Gómez, José Miguel

(Encyclopedia)Gómez, José Miguel hōsāˈ mēgĕlˈ gōˈmĕs [key], 1858–1921, president of Cuba (1909–13). He took part in the Ten Years War (1868–78) and the successful revolution begun in 1895. A libera...

Ghor, the

(Encyclopedia)Ghor, the, Arabic Al Ghawr, region of the Jordan Valley, c.70 mi (110 km) long, between the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias) and the Dead Sea, on the border of Jordan and Israel and the West Bank. Entir...

Fort Fisher

(Encyclopedia)Fort Fisher, Confederate earthwork fortification, built by Gen. William Whiting in 1862 to guard the port of Wilmington, N.C.; scene of one of the last large battles of the Civil War. Because Wilmingt...

Eliasson, Olafur

(Encyclopedia)Eliasson, Olafur, 1967–, Danish sculptor, architect, and installation artist. His work is influenced by nature and natural phenomena. Early works involved frozen water droplets, electric fans, and s...

Nafud

(Encyclopedia)Nafud nĕfo͞odˈ [key], desert area in the northern part of the Arabian peninsula, occupying a great oval depression; 180 mi (290 km) long and 140 mi (225 km) wide. This area of red sand is surrounde...

naked mole rat

(Encyclopedia)naked mole rat, name applied to a species (Heterocephalus glaber) of small rodents found in E Africa, whose members—the only hairless rodents—live entirely in underground communities of 80 or more...

mufti

(Encyclopedia)mufti mŭfˈtē [key], in Islamic law, attorney or judicial/religious scholar who writes his opinion (fatwa) on legal subjects for private clients or to assist judges in deciding cases. The recorded o...