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Zanzibar, semiautonomous archipelago and island, Tanzania

(Encyclopedia)Zanzibar zănˈzĭbär, zănzĭbärˈ [key], semiautonomous archipelago (2012 pop. 1,303,569), Tanzania, E Africa, in the Indian Ocean c. 20 mi (32 km) off the mainland, consisting of the island of Za...

Abdullah I

(Encyclopedia)Abdullah I (Abdullah ibn Husayn) äbdo͝olˈlä ĭˈbən ho͝osānˈ [key], 1882–1951, king of Jordan (1946–51), b. Mecca; son of Husayn ibn Ali of the Hashemite family. During World War I, Abdull...

Bourguiba, Habib

(Encyclopedia)Bourguiba, Habib häˈbēb bo͝orgēˈbə [key], 1903–2000, Tunisian statesman, president of Tunisia (1957–87), b. Monastir. Early active in the Destour party, he was at first an advocate of close...

Sanusi

(Encyclopedia)Sanusi or Senussi both: səno͞oˈsĭ [key], Arabic Sanusiyya, a political-religious organization in Libya and Sudan founded in Mecca in 1837 by Muhammad bin Ali al-Sanusi (1791–1859), known as the ...

alabaster

(Encyclopedia)alabaster, fine-grained, massive, translucent variety of gypsum, a hydrous calcium sulfate. It is pure white or streaked with reddish brown. Alabaster, like all other forms of gypsum, forms by the eva...

Yahya Khan, Agha Muhammad

(Encyclopedia)Yahya Khan, Agha Muhammad äˈgä mo͞ohämˈmäd yäˈyä khän [key], 1917–80, Pakistani general and president (1969–71). He fought with the British in World War II, and rose through the Pakista...

Iqbal, Muhammad

(Encyclopedia)Iqbal, Muhammad məhămˈĭd ĭkhbälˈ [key], 1877–1938, Indian Muslim poet, philosopher, and political leader. He studied at Government College, Lahore, Cambridge, and the Univ. of Munich, and the...

Lockerbie

(Encyclopedia)Lockerbie lŏkˈərbē [key], village (1991 pop. 3,892), Dumfries and Galloway, S Scotland, site of a 1988 airplane crash. On Dec. 21, 1988, a New York–bound Pan Am Boeing 747 exploded in flight as ...

hadith

(Encyclopedia)hadith hädēthˈ [key], a tradition or the collection of the traditions of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, including his sayings and deeds, and his tacit approval of what was said or done in his pres...

Moltke, Helmuth Karl Bernhard, Graf von

(Encyclopedia)Moltke, Helmuth Karl Bernhard, Graf von, 1800–1891, Prussian field marshal. Following his graduation from the Royal Military Academy of Denmark, he entered the Danish service, but resigned his commi...