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Abd al-Hamid II

(Encyclopedia)Abd al-Hamid II, 1842–1918, Ottoman sultan (1876–1909). His uncle, Abd al-Aziz, was deposed from the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) in 1876 by the Young Turks, a liberal reformist group. Ab...

Baghdadi, Abu Bakr al-

(Encyclopedia)Baghdadi, Abu Bakr al-, nom de guerre of Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai, 1971–2019, Iraqi jihadist leader. Following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, he helped found a Sunni militia. Arres...

Ahmad bin Muhammad al-Barmaki al-Irbili ash-Shafii

(Encyclopedia)Ahmad bin Muhammad al-Barmaki al-Irbili ash-Shafii: see Ibn Khalikan. ...

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...

Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani

(Encyclopedia)Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, 1952–, emir of Qatar (1995–2013). The son of Emir Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, Hamad is credited with having turned a country of desert nomads into a modern, industriali...

Haitham bin Tariq Al-Said

(Encyclopedia)Haitham bin Tariq Al-Said, 1954–, sultan of Oman (2020–). A member of the ruling family of Oman, he held various positions in the Omani foreign ministry (1986–2002) and served as minister of nat...

Abu al-Abbas as-Saffah

(Encyclopedia)Abu al-Abbas as-Saffah äˈbo͞o äl-äbäsˈ äs-säfäˈ [key], d. 754, 1st Abbasid caliph (749–54). Raised to the caliphate by the armed might of Abu Muslim, he took the reign name as-Saffah [she...

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...

Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani

(Encyclopedia)Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, 1932–2016, emir of Qatar (1972–95). Khalifa was the son of Hamad bin Abdullah al-Thani, the second emir's heir apparent, but Hamad died (1948) before the emir. During t...

Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa

(Encyclopedia)Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, 1935–2020, Bahraini political leader, prime minister (1971–2020). A member of the Sunni ruling family, he was the brother of Sheikh Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, who ru...