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Qaddafi, Muammar al-

(Encyclopedia)Qaddafi, Muammar al- mo͞oäm-märˈ äl-käd-däˈfē [key], 1942–2011, Libyan army officer and dictator. He graduated from the Univ. of Libya in 1963 and became an army officer in 1965. In 1969 he...

Gadhafi, Moammar El-

(Encyclopedia)Gadhafi, Moammar El-: see Qaddafi, Muammar al-. ...

Idris I

(Encyclopedia)Idris I, 1890–1983, king of Libya (1951–69). A grandson of the founder of the Sanusi Muslim sect, he became leader of the group in 1917. He was acknowledged (1920) by the Italians as emir of Cyren...

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...

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 ...

Kuwait, Al-

(Encyclopedia)Kuwait, Al- – [key] or Kuwait City, city (1991 pop. 150,1000), capital of Kuwait, on the SE coast of Kuwait Bay, an inlet of the Persian Gulf. The city and its suburbs constitute about a third of Ku...

Mamun, al-

(Encyclopedia)Mamun, al- (Abu al-Abbas Abd Allah al-Mamun) mämo͞onˈ [key], 786–833, 7th Abbasid caliph (813–33); son of Harun ar-Rashid. He succeeded his brother al-Amin after a bitter civil war, but was una...

Shafi'i, al-

(Encyclopedia)Shafi'i, al- (Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i), 767–820, Islamic jurist. Raised and educated in Mecca and Medina, he taught in Egypt and Baghdad. His teachings laid the groundwork for the...

Baladhuri, al-

(Encyclopedia)Baladhuri, al- äl-bäläˈᵺo͝orē [key], d. c.892, Arab historian. One of the most important Arab historians, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and enjoyed great influence at the court of the c...