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Islam

(Encyclopedia)Islam ĭslämˈ, ĭsˈläm [key], [Arab.,=submission to God], world religion founded by the Prophet Muhammad. Founded in the 7th cent., Islam is the youngest of the three monotheistic world religions ...

mysticism

(Encyclopedia)mysticism mĭsˈtĭsĭzəm [key] [Gr.,=the practice of those who are initiated into the mysteries], the practice of putting oneself into, and remaining in, direct relation with God, the Absolute, or a...

Saudi Arabia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Saudi Arabia säo͞oˈdē ərāˈbēə, souˈ–, sô– [key], officially Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, kingdom (2015 est. pop. 27,752,000), 829,995 sq mi (2,149,690 sq km), comprising most of the ...

sharia

(Encyclopedia)sharia, the religious law of Islam. As Islam makes no distinction between religion and life, Islamic law covers not only ritual but many aspects of life. The actual codification of canonic law is the ...

Idrisids

(Encyclopedia)Idrisids ĭdˈrĭsĭdzˌ [key], two historic Muslim families. 1 An Arab Shiite dynasty of Morocco (788–974), founded by Idris I, a descendant of caliph Ali. It was the first Shiite dynasty in the hi...

Selim III

(Encyclopedia)Selim III, 1761–1808, Ottoman sultan (1789–1807), nephew and successor of Abd al-Hamid I to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). He suffered severe defeats in the second of the Russo-Turkish...

Muslim League

(Encyclopedia)Muslim League, political organization of India and Pakistan, founded 1906 as the All-India Muslim League by Aga Khan III. Its original purpose was to safeguard the political rights of Muslims in India...

Fatimid

(Encyclopedia)Fatimid –ĭmīt [key], dynasty claiming to hold the caliphate on the basis of descent from Fatima, a daughter of Muhammad the Prophet. In doctrine the Fatimids were related to other Shiite sects. Th...

Mrauk U

(Encyclopedia)Mrauk U, archaeological site and capital of the former Arakan kingdom, Rakhine State, central W Myanmar. The kingdom flourished in the 15th to 18th cent., and Mrauk U was an important trading city, wi...

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...