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Khalid

(Encyclopedia)Khalid khäˈlēd [key] (Khalid ibn al-Walid), d. 642, Arab warrior. He assisted the Meccans in attacking (625) Muhammad and the inhabitants of Medina after the battle of Badr. Khalid and the Meccans ...

Turkish language

(Encyclopedia)Turkish language, member of the Turkic subdivision of the Altaic subfamily of the Ural-Altaic family of languages (see Uralic and Altaic languages). Turkish is the official language of Turkey and one ...

Mirziyoyev, Shavkat Miromonovich

(Encyclopedia)Mirziyoyev, Shavkat Miromonovich, 1957–, UZbek political leader, president of Uzbekistan (2016–). A graduate of the Tashkent Institute of Engineers, he taught there before becoming a deputy of the...

Ellison, Keith Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Ellison, Keith Maurice, 1963–, African-American politician, the first Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Congress; b. Detroit. A convert to Islam from Roman Catholicism while at Wayne State Univ. (B.A...

Muallaqat

(Encyclopedia)Muallaqat mo͞oälˌäkätˈ [key], Pre-Islamic Arabic anthology compiled by the scholar Hammad al Rawiya (d. c.775). comprised of poems that were written in gold letters and hung on the walls of the ...

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...

Wolof

(Encyclopedia)Wolof wōlˈəf [key], black African ethnic group numbering over 3 million, along the Atlantic coast of W Africa; most live in Senegal, but there is a significant minority in Gambia. Traditional Wolof...

Bolkiah Mu'izzadin Waddaulah, Sir Hassanal

(Encyclopedia)Bolkiah Mu'izzadin Waddaulah, Sir Hassanal, 1946–, sultan of Brunei (1967–). He succeeded to the throne after the abdication of his father, Sultan Sir Omar Ali Saifuddin. Known as a playboy, he no...

madrasa

(Encyclopedia)madrasa or madrassah, in Islamic countries, a school, historically usually one devoted to higher education in religious studies, but the term may refer to any school. Privately endowed, often by royal...

Aurangzeb

(Encyclopedia)Aurangzeb –zĭbˌ [key], 1618–1707, Mughal emperor of India (1658–1707), son and successor of Shah Jahan. He served (1636–44, 1653–58) as viceroy of the Deccan but was constantly at odds wit...