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Al Aswany, Alaa

(Encyclopedia)Al Aswany, Alaa, 1957–, Egyptian author, b. Cairo. The son of a novelist-lawyer, he was trained as a dentist at Cairo Univ. (grad. 1980) and the Univ. of Illinois at Chicago (M.S., 1987) and has com...

Sharpton, Rev. Al

(Encyclopedia) Sharpton, Rev. Al (Alfred Charles Sharpton), 1954- , African-American minister and civil rights activist, b, Brownsville, Brooklyn, N.Y. A child-prodi...

Shatt al Arab

(Encyclopedia)Shatt al Arab shät äl äˈräb [key], tidal river, 120 mi (193 km) long, formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, flowing SE to the Persian Gulf, forming part of the Iraq-Iran bo...

Bahr al Hulah

(Encyclopedia)Bahr al Hulah: see Hula, Lake.

Rub al Khali

(Encyclopedia)Rub al Khali ro͞ob äl khäˈlē [key] [Arab.,=empty quarter], great desert of the Arabian peninsula, c.225,000 sq mi (582,750 sq km); one of the largest sand deserts in the world. The desert occupie...

Umm al-Qaiwain

(Encyclopedia)Umm al-Qaiwain o͞om äl-kīwīnˈ [key], sheikhdom (1995 pop. 35,157), c.300 sq mi (780 sq km), part of the federation of seven United Arab Emirates, SE Arabia, on the Persian Gulf. It is the least p...

Ras al-Khaimah

(Encyclopedia)Ras al-Khaimah räs äl-khīˈmä [key], sheikhdom (1995 pop. 144,430), c.650 sq mi (1,680 sq km), United Arab Emirates, SE Arabia, on the Persian Gulf; the northernmost of the seven sheikdoms in the ...

Nizam al-Mulk

(Encyclopedia)Nizam al-Mulk nĭzˈəm äl mûlk [key], c.1018–92, vizier (1063–92) under two Seljuk (see Turks) sultans. Of Persian descent, he was early educated in administration, serving the Ghaznavids sulta...

Abd al-Malik

(Encyclopedia)Abd al-Malik äbˌdo͝ol-mälĭkˈ [key], c.646–705, 5th Umayyad caliph (685–705); son of Marwan I. At his accession, Islam was torn by dissension and threatened by the Byzantine Empire. With the ...

Yaqut al-Hamawi

(Encyclopedia)Yaqut al-Hamawi yäko͞otˈ äl-hämäwēˈ [key], 1179–1229, Arab geographer. Born in Byzantium, he was bought as a slave by a merchant, al-Hamawi. He was freed on the death of his master and trave...