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Maliki, Nuri Kamal al-

(Encyclopedia)Maliki, Nuri Kamal al- no͞orˈē kämälˈ äl-mälˈĭkē [key], 1950–, Iraqi political leader. A Shiite who worked as an education official in Hilla, he was a member and, later, deputy leader of ...

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...

Nimeiri, Muhammed Jaafar al-

(Encyclopedia)Nimeiri or Nimeiry, Muhammed Jaafar al- mo͞ohämˈmäd jäfärˈ äl-nĭmārˈē [key], 1930–, Sudanese army officer and politician. Early active in the Sudanese nationalist movement, he was tempor...

Majid, Ali Hassan al-

(Encyclopedia)Majid, Ali Hassan al- äˈlē hāˈsän äl-mäjēdˈ [key], 1941–2010, Iraqi general and Ba'athist, cousin of Saddam Hussein. After Hussein took power (1979), Majid played a pivotal role in the Ba'...

Abraj Al-Bait

(Encyclopedia)Abraj Al-Bait, complex of seven government-owned, mixed-use buildings in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The most impressive structure, the Makkah Royal Clock Tower, is the tallest building in Saudi Arabia, at 1...

Bukhari, Muhammad ibn Ismail, al-

(Encyclopedia)Bukhari, Muhammad ibn Ismail, al- bo͞ok-härēˈ [key] (c.810–70), Arabic scholar, b. Bukhara. He traveled widely over Muslim regions and made an authoritative collection of the hadith, the traditi...

Turabi, Hassan Abdallah al-

(Encyclopedia)Turabi, Hassan Abdallah al- häˈsän äbdäˈlä äl-to͞oräˈbē [key], 1932–2016, Sudanese religious and political leader, b. Kassala, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (now Sudan). He studied law in Sudan a...

Kadhimi, Mustafa al-

(Encyclopedia)Kadhimi, Mustafa al-, 1967–, Iraqi journalist, human-rights activist, government official, and political leader, b. as Mustafa Abdul-Latif Mishatat. A Shia Muslim, he opposed President Saddam Hussei...

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...

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...